TLS signed “King,” one page, 8.5 x 11, The Selznick Studio letterhead, May 3, 1945. Letter to movie critic Ward March of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, thanking him for recognizing a recent film and explaining why he left M.G.M. In part: “Please accept this long-delayed appreciation for your inclusion of AN AMERICAN ROMANCE in your ten best of 1944. I think you were the only critic who mentioned it. Are you and I crazy and everyone else sane, or vice versa? I couldn’t stand to return to M.G.M. after the butchering the picture got, so I came over to Selznick for DUEL IN THE SUN. After that my plans are indefinite. We are suspended at the present time in the middle of production because of the strike. We have about six weeks to go before finishing. It should be a good picture, but I’ll keep my mouth closed this time.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope.
In addition to producing An American Romance, Vidor also wrote the screenplay, which, much to his chagrin, was shortened by nearly 30 minutes of running time by studio head Louis B. Mayer. The cut portions, according to Vidor, were critical to the storyline and the film’s cohesion. The movie was released in late 1944 to mixed reviews. It failed financially and Vidor blamed the results, in part, on Mayer “butchering” the film by his cuts. He left M.G. M. in protest in early 1945 and his acrimony towards M.G.M. clearly comes through in this letter.
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