Search Results: Con Men, Grifters, and Hustlers from Royal Books, Inc.

Tokyo: Toei, 1974. Draft script for the 1974 Japanese film. Text and titles in Japanese. Based on a series of magazine articles written by journalist Koichi Iiboshi, which were in turn based on memoirs written by yakuza crime boss Kozo Mino. The fifth, and final, film in director Kinji Fukasaku's yakuza pentalogy, following feuding gangs in post-war Hiroshima. Recently the subject of a complete restoration helmed and issued by Arrow Films in England. Tan titled perfect-bound wrappers. 67 leaves, with last page of text numbered D27. Mimeograph duplication, printed on rectos and versos. Pages Very Good plus, wrapper Very Good, with light dampstains to the extremities. Arrow 2164.

Universal City: Universal Pictures, 1964. Vintage studio still photograph of producer Stanley Shapiro and actor Marlon Brando in conversation between takes on the set of the 1964 film. With a printed mimeo snipe affixed to the verso. A love-them-and-leave-them womanizer meets a man equal in skill at deceiving women, but with an added knack for conning them out of money. The two men attempt to seduce a naive American woman to settle a bet as to which one is the better con artist. Later remade as "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (1988). Set and shot on location in Alpes-Maritimes, France. 8 x 10 inches. Near Fine.

Universal City: Universal Pictures, 1964. Post-production Continuity and Dialogue script for the 1964 film. Manuscript annotations in ink and pencil to the title page. A love-them-and-leave-them womanizer meets a man equal in skill at deceiving women, but with an added knack for conning them out of money. The two men attempt to seduce a naive American woman to settle a bet as to which one is the better con artist. Later remade as "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (1988). Set and shot on location in Alpes-Maritimes, France. White titled wrappers, noted as production No. 01934, dated JANUARY 25, 1964, with credits for director Ralph Levy and actors Marlon Brando, David Niven, Shirley Jones, and others. Title page integral with the front wrapper, as issued. Multilith duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, bound with two gold brads at the top edge.

Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures, 1964. Collection of 11 color negatives for film still photographs from the 1964 film. Four of the negatives have mimeo snipes associated with them. Marlon Brando stars as a love-them-and-leave-them womanizer who meets a man equal in skill for deceiving women, but with an added knack for conning them out of money at the same time. The two men attempt to seduce a naive American woman to settle a bet as to which one is the better con artist. Later remade as "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (1988). 5 x 4 inches. Near Fine.

Rome: Union Photos, 1959. Vintage borderless reference photograph from the 1959 Italian film, showing actress Elsa Martinelli. With the stamps of Union Photos and Atlantic Press on the verso. Loosely based on Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1955 novel "Ragazzi di vita," following three amoral young men as they make their way through Rome's seedy criminal underworld. The third collaboration between director Mauro Bolognini and screenwriter Pasolini (who would of course go on to become a great and arguably better-known filmmaker in his own right), preceded by "Marisa" (1957) and "Giovani mariti" (1958) and followed by "Bell' Antonio" (1960) and "From a Roman Balcony" (1960). Set and shot on location in Rome. 7.25 x 9.5 inches. Near Fine.

Universal City: Universal Pictures, 1950. Vintage mini-banner poster for the 1950 film. Police officer Claire Trevor goes undercover to get close to Raymond Burr, the leader of a drug-smuggling ring in Mexico. Just as she meets Ritchie, she is kidnapped by Fred MacMurray, who unbeknownst to her is an undercover federal agent. Shot on location in Southern California. 4.75 x 28 inches. Very Good plus, with light creasing at the extremities. Grant US. Selby US. Spicer US.

Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures, 1950. Continuity and Dialogue for the 1950 film. Loosely based on the real deportation of Italian-American gangster Lucky Luciano. A gangster is deported from the US to Italy, where he falls in love with a widowed countess and becomes involved in black-market goods dealing. Set in Italy, shot on location in Colle di Val d'Elsa, Tuscany, Italy. White titled self-wrappers, noted as Continuity and Dialogue on the front wrapper, production No. 1607, dated February 21, 1950, with credits for director Robert Siodmak. Approximately 130 leaves, with last page of text numbered 5. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Near Fine, bound with two gold brads along the top edge. Indicator 330.

Los Angeles: American International Pictures [AIP], 1973. Vintage reference photograph from the 1973 film, showing a side-by-side comparison of John Dillinger and actor Warren Oates in costume as Dillinger. With a printed mimeo snipe affixed to the verso. A dramatization of the crimes of folk hero, midwestern bank robber, and notorious mobster John Dillinger, best known for killing five FBI agents during a shootout in Kansas City. Hot on the heels of Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967), a movie which reignited the US public's interest in 1930s gangster films. Set and shot on location throughout Arizona and Oklahoma. 10 x 8 inches. Very Good plus, with light creases and curling.

N.p.: N.p., 1946. Vintage borderless reference photograph of Jean-Pierre Aumont and Mikhail Rasumny from the 1946 film, with two editorial annotations in manuscript wax pencil and ink on the recto, and a "Silver Screen Archives" provenance stamp on the verso. A remake of the 1940 French film "Battement de cœur," directed by Henri Decoin, and starring Danielle Darrieux and Claude Dauphin. Ginger Rogers stars as the young reform school runaway, Arlette, who joins a pickpocket academy in Paris and ends up falling in love with the handsome diplomat she's been tasked to steal from, played by Aumont. 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine. Byrge and Miller, The Screwball Comedy Films: A History and Filmography 1934-1942.

Beverly Hills, CA: United Artists, 1943. Vintage reference photograph of actress Pola Negri from the 1943 comedy film. When the mother of a soon-to-be bride claims she has been swindled by one of her daughter's former suitors, the groom's father-a small-time con man-schemes to set the situation right. 8 x 10 inches. About Very Good, with light edgewear, a chip to one corner margin, and a small tear to the bottom right corner with accompanying creasing.

Beverly Hills, CA: United Artists, 1943. Vintage studio still photograph, linen-backed, from the 1943 comedy film, showing actors Adolphe Menjou and Martha Scott. When the mother of a soon-to-be bride claims she has been swindled by one of her daughter's former suitors, the groom's father-a small-time con man-schemes to set the situation right. 10 x 8 inches (25 x 20cm). Very Good, with a small dampstain to the left edge and light, offset toning.

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1937. Vintage reference photograph of actors Ralph Forbes, William Powell, Joan Crawford, Aileen Pringle, and Frank Morgan on the set of the 1937 film. With a mimeo snipe on the verso, along with the stamp of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Based on the 1925 play. A beautiful American grifter and jewel thief posing as a wealthy widow seduces her way into London high society. Director Richard Boleslawski's final film. Set in London. 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine, lightly and evenly toned.

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1937. Vintage publicity photograph from the 1937 film, showing Joan Crawford, William Powell, and Robert Montgomery. MGM stamp and annotations in manuscript ink on the verso. From the archive of film historian and author Joel Finler. Based on the 1925 play. A beautiful American grifter and jewel thief posing as a wealthy widow seduces her way into London high society. Director Richard Boleslawski's final film. Set in London. 8 x 10 inches. Very Good plus, lightly and evenly toned.

Hollywood: Turman-Foster, 1975. First Draft script for an unproduced film. Based on noted African American writer and academic Cecil Brown's 1969 debut novel. An cynical, silver-tongued black man from the rural south makes a living through scamming and stealing, which he considers informal reparation for the injustices he has faced. Fed up with the quality of life in the US, he decides to leave for Sweden, where he spends his days with other black expatriates, and his nights with beautiful Swedish women. Set in New York and Stockholm, Sweden. Blue titled wrappers. Title page present, dated March 21, 1975, noted as FIRST DRAFT, with credits for screenwriter Roland Cutler and novelist Cecil Brown. 120 leaves, with last page of text numbered 118. Xerographic duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Near Fine, bound with two gold brads.

Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1966. First Draft script for an unproduced film called "The Operators," written by novelist Norman Bogner, and set in London in the 1960s. A crime-based drama about ex-cons and their cons. Brief notation in manuscript ink on two pages. Bogner's other credits include "Privelege" (1967, screenwriter, his only film), "Emerald Soup" (1963 television series, story editor), the "Armchair" theatre television series (1965-1966), and "Seventh Avenue" (1977 television series based on his novel). Blue titled wrappers, noted as FIRST DRAFT on the front wrapper, dated November 30, 1966. Title page present, dated November 30, 1966, noted as First Draft, with a credit for screenwriter Bogner. 127 leaves, with last page of text numbered 126. Xerographically reproduced. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound internally with two gold brads.

N.p.: N.p., 1960. Draft script for an unproduced play by noted playwright Howard Richardson. Notated as copy No. 15 and with the name of Seymour Kravitz, both in manuscript ink on the title page. Seymour "Sy" Kravitz worked in theatre briefly in New York during the 1960s before becoming a producer and assignment editor at NBC. A fast-paced mystery involving two gay con artists who plot to drive an eccentric millionaire widower into a Swiss sanatorium and thereby become caretakers of her extensive wealth. Playwright Howard Richardson was best known for his play "Dark of the Moon," which ran for 318 performances on Broadway beginning in 1945. Set in New York. Red wrappers with a die-cut title window in the British style. Title page present, with credits for screenwriter Howard Richardson. 130 leaves, with last page of text numbered 2-2-46. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound internally with three silver brads.

Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, 1937. Three vintage reference photographs from the 1937 film, two showing actors Jane Wyman and William Hopper, and one showing Wyman and actors Berton Churchill, Dick Purcell, Archie Robbins, and Raymond Hatton. A family of con artists decide to stage a sham public wedding to make money off the ticket sales, not counting on the bride actually falling in love with the groom. Jane Wyman's first starring film role. Set in New York. Two photographs 10 x 8 inches, one photograph 8 x 10 inches. Two Very Good plus, with light edgewear and toning, and one Very Good, with a small open tear to the bottom right corner.

San Francisco: Zoetrope Studios, 1983. Vintage studio still photograph from the 1983 film. Francis Ford Coppola's passion project, and an earnest look at the complex relationship between brothers. With a style reminiscent of German Expressionism, French New Wave, and Film Noir, Coppola weaves a tightly packed plot with an experimental music score. Shot on location in Oklahoma. 8 x 10 inches. Fine.

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures, 1934. Vintage borderless reference photograph from the 1934 pre-Code film, showing actresses Toby Wing and Verna Hillie. With a mimeo snipe on the verso, along with a dealer label. Two lovers and Olympic athletes fall prey to con artists who want to use their images and good reputations to sell adult magazines. 7.5 x 9.5 inches. Near Fine.

Los Angeles: RKO, 1950. Vintage mini-banner poster for the 1950 film noir. Claudette Colbert stars as a woman who is accused of bigamy by an intruder during her wedding ceremony to David McLean. The two then must travel to a small seaside village to investigate the claim, where villagers claim to have remembered her previous nuptials. Shot on location in Santa Monica, California. 4.75 x 28 inches. Very Good plus, with light creasing at the extremities. Grant US. Selby Master List. Silver and Ward US. Spicer US.