Abe Burrows Director (12 results)

Original souvenir play program for the 1953 musical "Can-Can" composed by Cole Porter. This program likely from the mid-1950s touring company production of the play, starring Rita Dimitri, John Tyers, and Ronnie Cunningham. A self righteous judge threatens to shut down a Can-Can dance hall, but finds more trouble than he expected when he falls in love with the proprietor. Winner of two Tony awards. Basis for the 1960 film directed by Walter Lang and starring Shirley MacLaine, Frank Sinatra, and Maurice Chevalier. Twenty pages, saddle stapled, 9 x 11.75 inches. Very Good plus. Hirschhorn, p. 370.…

Draft script for the 1965 production of the play, a revival run at New York City Center April 28 to May 9, 1965 for a total of 15 performances. Props and costume plot bound in. Based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure," two short stories by Damon Runyon. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine. Won five Tony Awards in 1951, including Best Musical. 1965 production starred Alan King as Nathan Detroit, Sheila MacRae as Adelaide, Jerry Orbach as Sky and Anita Gillette as Sarah. Set in Broadway, Save-a-Soul Mission, Havana, Cuba, and The Hot Box Club. Black titled wrappers. Title page present, with credits for story writer Damon Runyon, music and lyricist Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. 141 leaves, with last page of text numbered 2-7-50. Mimeograph duplication. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound with two gold brads.…

Vintage script for the 1965 musical production. Single copied manuscript annotation on the title page, noting copy No. 27. Based on the 1950 Broadway play about a gambler who wins a bet that he can get a Christian missionary to travel with him to Havana, where the pair begin to fall for each other. The play ran from April 28 to May 9, 1965, at New York City Center. Set in New York and Havana. Blue titled Studio Duplicating Service wrappers. Title page present, undated, with credits for playwrights Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling, and Abe Burrows. 92 leaves, with last page of text numbered 2-7-36. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound with two gold brads. …

Vintage oversize satin finish borderless photograph of actor Marlon Brando on the set of the 1955 film. Stamp of Dell Publishing on the verso, with annotations in manuscript pencil crediting photographer Peter Basch. Based on the 1950 Broadway musical, in turn based on Damon Runyon's short stories "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure." A gambler wins a bet that he can get a Christian missionary to travel with him to Havana, where the pair begin to fall for each other. Nominated for four Academy Awards. Set in New York and Havana. From the archive of the PIX Agency, an American photo house that acted as an intermediary between emigre photographers (as well as those still living in Europe) and the American magazine and newspaper market between 1935-1969. 11 x 14 inches, with wide top and bottom margins, archivally matted in a 16 x 20 inch 8-ply white mat. Very Good plus, with a small splash on the bottom edge.…

Vintage double weight, borderless photograph of Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, and Maurice Chevalier from the 1960 musical film, based on the 1953 Broadway musical by Abe Burrows with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Shot, struck, and mounted by the film's still photographer, Bob Willoughby, with his ASMP rubber stamp and manuscript annotations on the verso. Full provenance available. After studying with Saul Bass at the Kann Institute of Art in Los Angeles, photographer Robert Willoughby began working for magazines such as "Life," "Look," and "Harper's Bazaar" in the late 1940s. He spent the next 20-plus years as a set photographer for every major studio and magazine, with his images seen in print literally every week of his career. Willoughby's photographs are in the permanent collections of ten museums, including The National Portrait Galleries in Washington, DC and London, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, The Museum of Modern Art, and The Tate Modern. 9.5 x 6.5 inches. Near Fine. Hirschhorn, p. 370.…

Vintage oversize, double weight, borderless film still from the 1960 musical film depicting Shirley MacLaine involved in a hand of cards with assistant director Joseph E. Rickards while Frank Sinatra and director Walter Lang look on. Based on the 1953 Broadway musical by Abe Burrows with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Shot, struck, and mounted by the film's still photographer, Bob Willoughby, with his ASMP rubber stamp and manuscript annotations on the verso. Full provenance available. After studying with Saul Bass at the Kann Institute of Art in Los Angeles, photographer Robert Willoughby began working for magazines such as "Life," "Look," and "Harper's Bazaar" in the late 1940s. He spent the next 20-plus years as a set photographer for every major studio and magazine, with his images seen in print literally every week of his career. Willoughby's photographs are in the permanent collections of ten museums, including The National Portrait Galleries in Washington, DC and London, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, The Museum of Modern Art, and The Tate Modern. 13.5 x 8.5. Near Fine. Hirschhorn, p. 370.…

Vintage studio still photograph from the 1957 film, showing Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire mid-dance. German mimeo snipe and layout annotations on the verso. A musical remake of "Ninotchka," adapted for the stage by George S. Kaufman, Leueen McGrath, and Abe Burrows, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The play and the subsequent film version kept most of the Cold War humor of the 1939 Lubitsch original intact. And Peter Lorre dances! 10 x 8 inches. Very Good plus. Hirschhorn, p. 358.…

Two vintage medium format color negatives from the 1957 film, both showing dance sequences. From the archive of film historian and author Joel Finler. A musical remake of "Ninotchka," adapted for the stage by George S. Kaufman, Leueen McGrath, and Abe Burrows, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The play and the subsequent film version kept most of the Cold War humor of the 1939 Lubitsch original intact. And Peter Lorre dances! 5 x 4 inches, housed in plastic sleeves. Near Fine. Hirschhorn, p. 358. …

Vintage reference photograph taken on the set of the 1955 film, showing director Joseph L. Mankiewicz handing a cup of coffee to actress Jean Simmons. Provenance label on the verso, along with manuscript ink annotations. Based on the 1950 Broadway musical, which was in turn based on Damon Runyon's short stories "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure." A gambler wins a bet that he can get a Christian missionary to travel with him to Havana, where the pair begin to fall for each other. Nominated for four Academy Awards. Set in New York and Havana. 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine.…

Six vintage reference photographs from the 1957 film. Three with provenance stamps on the versos, and one with the stamp of Parisian photo agency Snark International on the same. A musical remake of "Ninotchka," adapted for the stage by George S. Kaufman, Leueen McGrath, and Abe Burrows, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The play and the subsequent film version kept most of the Cold War humor of the 1939 Lubitsch original intact. And Peter Lorre dances! 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine to Very Good plus. Hirschhorn, p. 358.…

Two vintage reference photographs taken on the set of the 1955 film, one showing director Joseph L. Mankiewicz with actors Jean Simmons and Stubby Kaye and wardrobe designer Irene Sharaff, and the other showing Sharaff, Mankiewicz, and choreographer Michael Kidd. Mimeo snipes on the versos. Based on the 1950 Broadway musical, in turn based on Damon Runyon's short stories "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure." A gambler wins a bet that he can get a Christian missionary to travel with him to Havana, where the pair begin to fall for each other. Nominated for four Academy Awards. Set in New York and Havana. 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine, one with three hole punches on the left edge.…

Four vintage candid reference photographs from the 1955 film, showing variously, actors Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, composer Frank Loesser, and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz on the set. The first photo, double weight, shows Marlon Brando, as Skye Masterson, surreally socking one of his gangster companions in the nose. The second photo shows Brando rehearsing "Luck Be a Lady," with sheet music in hand, and with the song's composer Frank Loesser at the piano. The third photo shows Sinatra and Brando in a candid moment. The fourth photo, single weight, shows director Joseph L. Mankiewicz and dancer Carey Leverette relaxing contemplatively, Mankiewicz sitting and smoking his pipe, Leverette inside a large industrial exhaust pipe. Based on the 1950 Broadway musical, which was in turn based on Damon Runyon's short stories "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure." A serial gambler wins a bet that he can get a Christian missionary to travel with him to Havana, where the pair begin to fall for each other. Nominated for four Academy Awards. Set in New York and Havana. All photos: 8 x 10 inches. Very Good to Near Fine overall, variously with a few pinholes and very shallow creasing.…