Tucked away on the fifth floor of Boston University’s Mugar Memorial Library are two manuscript boxes containing some of Orson Welles final unrealized projects.
Part of the library’s Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, the papers were purchased from Elizabeth Derby. She typed manuscripts for Welles for three years until his death in 1985. Some of the documents acquired by the Boston library include notes from Welles addressed to “Liz.”
Among the Welles items in the Boston University collection are:
My Father Wore Black Spats – Several drafts totaling 85 pages for an autobiographical piece that appeared in French Vogue and was part of planned autobiography.
The Big Brass Ring – An original screenplay by Welles and Oja Kodar There are four typed scripts of the political drama with five notes from Welles – four addressed to Derby and one to producer Sidney Beckerman (Joe Kidd, Marathon Man).
The Cradle Will Rock – Welles’ auobiographical look at the controversial musical he staged for the Federal Theatre Project in 1937. Several scenes in two drafts each are included with many corrections., along with five notes to Derby. There are also typed fragments of scenes and a continuity breakdown.
The Dreamers – Based on Isak Dinesen’s tale of the same title. There is a 45-page typed script dated October 1982, along with a 34-page script and accompanying January 6, 1983 bill for typing. There is a heavily corrected draft and a ninth revised screenplay,
Mercy – Another unrealized project by Welles with a screenplay credited to Kodar. Ten pages of her script with Welles’ handwritten corrections.
Correspondence – A letter to Derby from Welles about The Dreamers, as well as letters to producers Sebastian Cody and Flandina Rigamonti regarding financing an unrealized film adaptation of King Lear.
Other items in the collection a photocopy of Sept. 24, 1985 check to Derby from Welles, as well as two articles published about Welles after his death on October 10, 1985.
As Welles scholars know, much of Welles’ personal papers are archived at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Indiana University’s Lilly Library. However, there are smaller collections at the National Cinema Museum in Turin, Italy; Yale University’s Beinecke Library in New Haven, Connecticut; and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences library in Beverly Hills, California.
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