Watch on the Rhine, The. Typescript.
Original Mimeograph Acting Script
—
Inscribed
Hellman, Lillian. Watch on the Rhine, original mimeograph acting script. Herman Shumlin Presents a New Play by Lillian Hellman. [New York: Random House, 1941.]
8vo.; 86 mimeograph typescript leaves, each with two holes punched in the left margin; contemporary red morocco and marbled boards, stamped in gilt; minor tears to some pages.
Original mimeograph typescript of Hellman’s political melodrama, the complete unpublished acting script from the original production, including nearly 200 words of dialogue, plus accompanying stage directions, which did not appear in the 1941 Random House edition. The final leaf bears the identification of the mimeograph service: “Manuscript Mimeographed By American Stenographic Service 229 West 42nd Street New York, NY Wisconsin 7-9553.”
A presentation copy, inscribed on front endpaper to one of Hellman’s financial backers: For Dr. Orgel, because his part was important Lillian, April 1941. (Someone—not Hellman—has penciled Orgel’s last name on the verso of the final leaf.) With four minor pencil emendations, presumably made by the typist: changing “at” to “upon” twice (pp. 1-15-a), “for” to “from” (pp. 2-8), adding quotation marks (pp. 3-7), and striking out a stage direction (pp. 3-16). With three clippings (two of which are annotated in an unknown hand) related to the play and the film version (Warner Brothers, 1943) loosely inserted.
In addition to the minor proofing corrections noted above, this version was further edited prior to publication, and contains fifteen instances of words, phrases, and speeches that never appeared in print—nearly 200 words—along with accompanying stage directions, as follows:
page description (appx number of words)
1-6 last three speeches (10)
1-18 line four of Babette’s second speech (12)
1-19 last speech (7)
1-21 line two of final speech (7)
1-24 Fanny’s last speech, and David’s and Sarah’s ensuing speeches (19)
1-29 three words from David’s second speech (3)
2-2 Final speech (3)
2-3 first two speeches (25)
2-4 Teck’s and Joshua’s first speeches (12)
2-14 Sara’s first speech (9)
2-19 Most of Babette’s final speech (50)
3-2 second sentence of Sara’s first speech (6)
3-2 last sentence of Sara’s second speech (7)
3-9 one line of Kurt’s first speech (13)
3-16 last two sentences of David’s first speech (5)
These changes serve to tighten the script, without altering its essential plot, tone, or message. In addition, minor diction, punctuation, and syntactical discrepancies exist between the two versions throughout, as well as substantial changes to the stage directions.
Watch on the Rhine, one of Hellman’s most well-known and popular plays, enjoyed a successful run on Broadway when it premiered in 1941 and was awarded the New York Drama Critic’s Circle Award. The film adaptation was also well-received both commercially and critically, and featured Paul Lukas, who appeared in the original stage production, and Bette Davis. The play’s political relevance was undoubtedly in part responsible for its success—produced just eight months before the United States’ entry into World War II, the dramatic action centers around a anti-fascist German refugee named Kurt and his American wife, Sara, whose family has difficulty grasping the complexity of the situation in Europe.
Though her family moved to New York while she was still a child, Hellman (1905-1984) was born in New Orleans, providing her with the southern settings in a number of her plays. She attended both New York University and Columbia University but ended her formal education in 1924 prior to receiving a degree from either school. In 1925, Hellman married Arthur Kober, a theatrical press agent and playwright, and they spent the next several years traveling throughout Europe, where Hellman encountered firsthand the rising anti-Semitism brought on by the Nazi movement. The experience clearly had a great influenc
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