Page 72 - Catalog 46 | 2020

DIRECTORS | Frank Capra
46. Frank Capra (director)
HEARTBEAT ONE [later released as: MAROONED] (1965)
Hollywood: Frank Capra Productions, 1965. Printed wrappers,The wrappers designate this as a Second Estimating Draft, with a date of June 30, 1965, but the title page notes this as a Fourth Draft by Walter Newman, with revisions by FC [Frank Capra].The name of John Solie, in the film’s art department, is written on front wrapper. Brad bound, mimeograph, light stains to wrappers, generally near fine.
A massive script, on which producer/director Frank Capra worked at length, for an unproduced film. Eventually a film was made from this basic story, a dull slog by director John Sturges, which bears little relation to Capra’s intended creation.
In his autobiography, Capra tells the story of the MAROONED that never got made:
“Howard Houseman, head of the William Morris New York office, called my attention to a book a writer client, Martin Caidin, had just written. Marooned dealt with an American astronaut whose re-entry retrorockets fail to fire, and the consequent dramatic rescue race between Russian and American space agencies. It read like great theater.
“I obtained an option and presented the project to Mike Frankovich, successor to Harry Cohn at Columbia Studios. Twenty-four years earlier I had given football star Frankovich his start in motion pictures. He had played a football announcer in Meet John Doe. Mike went for Marooned in a big way. I moved back into Columbia Studios in May, 1964. Walter Newman began writing what was to become a most magnificent script.”
This is the “magnificent”Walter Newman screenplay for the production that director Frank Capra was “Euchre-ed” (Capra’s word) out of making by Frankovich and his studio, an incident that led directly to Capra’s retirement. Eventually, Frankovich produced his own version of MAROONED but with a different director, John Sturges.
For further details, see listing on website.
$1,500.00
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