http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c86m3cwx No online items Emily Hodgkins, Marje Schuetze-Coburn and Sue Luftschein USC Libraries Special Collections 2017 March Doheny Memorial Library 206 3550 Trousdale Parkway Los Angeles, California 90089-0189 specol@usc.edu URL: http://libraries.usc.edu/locations/special-collections 6107 1
Language of Material: English Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections Title: Harry Horner papers creator: Horner, Harry Identifier/Call Number: 6107 Physical Description: 1.5 Linear Feet5 boxes Date (inclusive): 1924-2000 Abstract: The Harry Horner papers consist of correspondence, notebooks, sketchbooks, programs, clippings, scripts, and scrapbooks, 1924-2000, created and collected by director and production designer Harry Horner. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, both professional and personal. It also includes two of Horner's personal sketchbooks; clippings and related ephemera pertaining to Max Reinhardt; film scripts; and biographical statements written by Horner. Harry Horner was born in Czechoslovakia in 1910, and after graduating from the University of Vienna with a degree in architecture, he joined Max Reinhardt's repertory company in Vienna. He came to New York with Reinhardt in 1935 and became a US citizen in 1940. Horner became a noted production designer and director in Hollywood, on Broadway, for operatic productions and large pageants. He won 2 Academy Awards and was nominated for an additional six. He died in Los Angeles in 1994. Biographical / Historical Harry Horner, two-time Academy Award-winning production designer, director and producer, was born in Czechoslovakia in 1910 and raised in Vienna. After graduating from the University of Vienna with a degree in architecture, he worked as an architect for a year, then turned to acting under the guidance of Max Reinhardt. For two years (1933-1935) he appeared in a number of Reinhardt productions in Vienna and Salzburg, and then in 1935 he traveled to New York with "The Eternal Road" as Reinhardt's assistant, and in 1937 took over as designer of the show (succeeding Norman Bel Geddes). From this success, he went on to design a number of Broadway productions. Horner served in the US military during World War II (he became a citizen in 1940), during which time he designed a production of "Winged Victory" for both stage and film and wrote, designed and directed the Air Force training show "You Bet Your Life". After leaving the military, Horner moved to Los Angeles and continued his career as a production designer and director. He was nominated for several Academy Awards (production design for "Our Town", "The Little Foxes", "Separate Tables", "Double Life", "Born Yesterday" and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They") and won for "The Heiress" (1951) and "The Hustler" (1962). Horner very often worked as both production designer and director on films. His first effort in this dual role was "Beware, My Lovely" starring Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan. He also directed for television, continued to work on Broadway productions, and for the Metropolitan and San Francisco Operas. Horner also worked in Canada and England, where he produced Francois Truffaut's "Farenheit 451". Horner died in Los Angeles in 1994. The Harry Horner papers consist of correspondence, notebooks, sketchbooks, programs, clippings, scripts, and scrapbooks, 1924-2000, created and collected by Harry Horner. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, related to both Horner's work as a production designer and director for Broadway, Hollywood, and operas, and personal correspondence. Also included are two of Horner's personal sketchbooks, depicting nudes and some studies for set designs; clippings and related ephemera pertaining to Max Reinhardt; a number of film scripts, some of which include notes and letters by and from Horner regarding work on those scripts; and biographical statements written by Horner. Conditions Governing Access COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access. Conditions Governing Use All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. Preferred Citation [Box/folder no. or item name], Harry Horner papers, Collection no. 6107, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California Immediate Source of Acquisition Gift of Joan Horner, February 6, 2015. 6107 2
Subjects and Indexing Terms Motion picture producers and directors -- Archival resources Set designers -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources Set designers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Archival resources Clippings Correspondence Notebooks Scripts (documents) Horner, Harry -- Archives Feuchtwanger, Lion -- Correspondence Reinhardt, Max -- Archives Business records Correspondence Box 1, Folder 1 Literary correspondence 1963-1976 Box 1, Folder 2 Production correspondence 1965-1967 Box 1, Folder 3 Correspondence re: "The Castle" 1969 Box 1, Folder 4 Ellis Kohs correspondence 1969-1977 Box 1, Folder 5 General correspondence 1970-2000, undated Box 1, Folder 6 Notes and correspondence re: "The Strange One" 1972 Box 1, Folder 7 Correspondence with Curt Siodmak and Rodolfo Loewenthal 1973-1974 Box 1, Folder 8 Correspondence with Norman Gambill 1977-1982 Box 1, Folder 9 Viennale Internationale correspondence 1993 Box 1, Folder 10 Letter to Carl/Manuscript notes for "Brotherhood of Fear" undated Production Design Box 1, Folder 11 Railroads on Parade/New York World's Fair 1939 Horner designed costumes for this attraction. Box 1, Folder 12 Opera productions 1939-1963 1 copy of "Opera News" (January 9, 1939) containing reproductions of Horner's sketches for the San Francisco production of "Elektra"; two programs for Darius Milhaud's "David", premiering at the Hollywood Bowl, September 22, 1956, of which Horner was the stage director; and press reelease for Metropolitan Opera's 1963-1964 season, for which Horne rrevised and restaged his production of "The Magic Flute". Box 1, Folder 13 "Winged Victory" programs and sketchbook 1943 Corporal Harry Horner was the set designer for the Army Air Forces production of Moss Hart's musical. Box 1, Folder 14 50th Anniversary Program for the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund 1971 Horner designed the visual concept for "The After-Show Gala: The Movies". 6107 3
Business records Production Design Box 2 Scripts Scripts, primarily used by Horner for productions in which he was involved. The Castle, by Max Brod (includes photocopies of Horner's sketches); The Poison Tree, by Hugh Brooke (accompanied by Horner's notes inserted into the script, and letters to Hugh Brooke regarding the script and the production design; Flight of the Dancing Bear, by Julian More and Charles Kasher; OF Shadows Cast By Men (play) by Eugene Vale; The Man Who Couldnt Sin, by Curt Siodmak; SImone, by Lion Feuchtwanger and Berthold Brecht, accompanied by two letters from Feuchtwanger; Eulenspiegel in Flandern, by Paul Kalbeck; Lily of the Valley, by Ben Hecht (designed by Horner); and Moonbirds, by Marcel Ayme. Box 3, Folder 1 Notes Notebook containing Horner's notes and sketches, addresses, lists, etc.; a handwritten document titled "Notes on Theater"; notes on newspaper reviews of Horner's production of Joan of Arc. Box 3, Folder 2 Programs designed by Horner 1972, 1974 Programs for the American National Theatre and Academy and the Women's Auxiliary of the A.N.T.A. tribute to Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne's 50th wedding aniversary and Rosalind Russell. Horner designed the covers. The Program for Russell is accompanied by a letter to Horner from Ezra Stone, and a dried leaf. Box 3, Folder 3 Inventory list of Horner drawings and sketches Box 2, Box 4, Folder 9 Publications "The Stages"--spiral bound book of photographs of ancient and modern stage designs. "The Ideal Theater: Eight Concepts"--exhibition catalog from the American Federation of Arts, 1962-1964. "Festmatinee Zum 125-Jahr-Jubiaum Der 'Presse'" (1973). One copy each of American Cinematographer (July 1969)--cover story on photographing "They Shoot Horses, Don't They"; Film and TV Bi-Weekly (January 19, 1966)--article on Horner and Enterprise Films moving to England; and American Film (February 1977)--Horner interview. Box 3, Folder 4 Biographical materials and resumes Box 3, Folder 5 Materials re: forming Canadian film studio 1965-1975 Box 3, Folder 6 Articles on set design and filmmaking by Harry Horner 1941, undated Box 3, Folder 7 Newspaper clippings about Horner Box 4, Folder 1 Materials regarding Max Reinhardt Personal papers 6107 4
Personal papers Box 4, Folder 2 Correspondence between Harry and Joan 1967-1975 Box 4, Folder 3 Personal correspondence 1960-1980 Box 4, Folder 4 Diary notes 1943-1978 Box 4, Folder 5 Notebook undated Box 4, Folder 6 Prayer books 1924, 1941 Box 4, Folder 7 Ephemera 1943, 1957 Box 4, Folder 8 Daily calendar cards 1943 March 13-August29 Box 5 Family scrapbook 1953-1968 Box 5 Sketchbooks undated 6107 5