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britannica - americana
droits cinématographiques quelconques dans
ladite pièce
Le Loup des mers
et dans ledit
livre,
Le Loup des mers
. Il est expressément
entendu qu’il abandonne à Joseph Noel ses
droits dans la production scénique du
Loup
des mers
avec des acteurs vivants. Il est
expressément entendu qu’il retient par tous
les moyens toute propriété de tous droits
cinématographiques pour la pièce
Le Loup
des mers
et pour le livre
Le Loup des mers
…
Une petite note jointe précise qu’il faut taper
tout ça avec double carbone.
LONDON JACK
(1876-1916).
Autograph letter (minutes?)
and signed autograph document
(minutes), Oakland (California)
17 December 1913, [to Joseph NOEL] ;
14 pages in-8, in pencil, 2 pages in-4
format ; 2 lines on 1 page oblong
in-12 ; in English.
1 200 / 1 500 €
Jack London rants about investors and
colleagues swindling him over the drama
rights to
The Sea Wolf.
Jack London entered into agreements
with Joseph Noel, novelist, and George S.
Pelton and Ben Stern investors, regarding
the dramatic rights to
The Sea Wolf.
As seen
here, London felt as though he was being
swindled out of money. In the end, London
declares that he holds all the rights to any
play or motion picture based on his novel.
“As by all the gods I agree with you. He, poor
Noel, is the saddest, abjectest creature who
shook down all his friends along every inch
of the pike, meanwhile, alas and alack; out
of friendship I made an ass of myself, a
many times repeated ass, because I gave
rope & rope & rope to one, Joseph J. Noel,
a voluibly self-asserted friend, who pulled,
and continued [to] pull my leg, through many
years, to the tune of many thousands of
dollars until he hanged himself by his own
sad neck [which] in the naked facts of the
case were evidently more esteemed by him
than by me -- else, how did he get them?
And how did I give them? […]
My God, Noel, you missed your vocation.
You should never have attempted to shake
down your sucker friends who invariably
moistened to acquiescence at contact with
your tears, you should have gone on the
boards. You, who can so deceive yourself,
could have deceived any audience to the
tune of a thousand dollars for every dollar
you tear-soaked and blood-sucked out of
your sucker friends.”
In the autograph document, London writes:
“I hereby assign to Joseph Noel for value
received all financial interest possessed by
me, in the stage play to be produced before
audiences directly by living actors entitled
The Sea Wolf
and based upon my book
The Sea Wolf
: It is distinctly understood
herewith that I do retain and have and hold
all moving pictures rights of whatsoever sort
in said play…”
In the note, London writes: “Note - type this
with one carbon”.
144