Scope and Contents
The Western Filmscript Collection consists of over two thousand filmscripts dating from 1918 to 2013, for motion pictures set in the trans-Mississippi West. The collection includes continuity, cutting, dialogue, and shooting scripts in a range of drafts from initial to final, and in some cases revised versions of the same draft. Photographs accompany a small number of scripts. Scripts for produced, as well as unproduced films, are represented. Highlights include: fifteen Tom Mix silent scenarios from 1919 through 1927; four scripts by Zane Grey, including Riders of the Purple Sage (1931); eleven scripts directed by John Ford, including My Darling Clementine (1946), Stagecoach (1938), and Fort Apache (1947); five films featuring Gary Cooper, including The Virginian (1929), High Noon (1952), and Springfield Rifle (1952); eleven featuring Clint Eastwood, including For a Few Dollars More (1966), Dirty Harry (1970), and Pale Rider (1985). Scripts set in the twentieth-century West include American Graffiti (1972), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), The Buddy Holly Story (1978), Heaven's Gate (1979), The Long Goodbye (1972), and Terms of Endearment (1981).In addition to scripts written for theatrical release, there are teleplays for episodes of television series including Rawhide, Death Valley Days, Dallas, and others.
Dates
- 1918-2013
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Western Filmscript Collection is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from various sources since 1982. For more information consult the appropriate curator.
Arrangement
Organized in thirty-two groupings: Western Filmscripts Acquired Before July 1996; Western Filmscripts Acquired After July 1996; July 1995 Acquisition; July 2007 Acquisition; July 2013 Acquisitions; September 2013 Acquisition; October 2013 Acquisition; November 2013 Acquisition; December 2013 Acquisitions; February 2014 Acquisitions; March 2014 Acquisition; July 2015 Acquisitions; November 2015 Acquisition; January 2016 Acuisitions; September 2016 Acquisition; October 2016 Acquisitions; February 2017 Acquisition; July 2017 Acquisitions; October 2017 Acquisition; January 2018 Acquisition; July 2018 Acquisition; December 2018 Acquisition; July 2019 Acquisition [1 of 3]; July 2019 Acquisition [2 of 3]; July 2019 Acquisition [3 of 3]; November 2019 Acquisition; January 2020 Acquisition; July 2020 Acquisition; February 2021 Acquisition [1 of 2]; February 2021 Acquisition [2 of 2]; July 2021 Acquisition; April 2022 Acquisition; and June 2022 Acquisition.
Extent
172.68 Linear Feet (213 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.westfilmscriptc
Abstract
The Western Filmscript Collection consists of over two thousand filmscripts dating from 1918 to 2013, for motion pictures set in the trans-Mississippi West. The collection includes continuity, cutting, dialogue, and shooting scripts in a range of drafts from initial to final, and in some cases revised versions of the same draft. Scripts for produced, as well as unproduced, films are represented. Highlights include: fifteen Tom Mix silent scenarios from 1919 through 1927; four scripts by Zane Grey, including Riders of the Purple Sage (1931); eleven scripts directed by John Ford, including My Darling Clementine (1946), Stagecoach (1938), and Fort Apache (1947); five films featuring Gary Cooper, including The Virginian (1929), High Noon (1952), and Springfield Rifle (1952); eleven featuring Clint Eastwood, including For a Few Dollars More (1966), Dirty Harry (1970), and Pale Rider (1985). Scripts set in the twentieth-century West include American Graffiti (1972), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), The Buddy Holly Story (1978), Heaven's Gate (1979), The Long Goodbye (1972), and Terms of Endearment (1981). In addition to scripts written for theatrical release, there are scripts for episodes of television series including Rawhide, Death Valley Days, Dallas, and others.
Other Finding Aids
The Western Filmscript Collection Database provides the ability to employ boolean search operators across fields of data to isolate relevant scripts.
Processing Information
The Collection was processed in two separate groups: filmscripts acquired before and after July 1996. The content and formatting of the listings in the finding aid reflect the fact that the two groups were processed at different times and in different ways. The data for the finding aid was extracted from the Western Filmscript Collection Database in which film credits and descriptive notes are provided for the first group but not, currently, for the second.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- Title
- Guide to the Western Filmscript Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- by Beinecke Staff
- Date
- August 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- April 2024: Updated with July 2022 acquisitions.
- April 2022: Updated with April 2022 acquisition.
- July 2021: Added July 2021 acquisition
- March 2021: Added February 2021 [2 of 2] acquisition
- February 2021: Added February 2021 acquisition
- September 2020: Added July 2020 acquisition
- March 2020: Updated with six FY19 and FY20 acquisitions
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.