Paul Jarrico papers, 1914-2014

Creator:

Abstract:

Paul Jarrico (1929-1996) was a Hollywood screenwriter working in the studio system in the 1930s and 1940s. A lifelong communist, he was subpoenaed before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1951. His refusal to comply with the Committee's questions saw him lose his job at RKO and placed on the so-called Hollywood "Blacklist." His films were marked by their marriage of art and politics, often commenting on the pressing issues of their time. Notably, his 1954 film Salt of the Earth, a collaboration between blacklisted filmmakers and the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, was regarded as a subversive critique of mid-century American capitalism.

Extent:

79 linear feet 170 manuscript boxes, 7 record carton, 1 audiocassette box, and 1 flat box

Language:

The bulk of these materials are in English. In the wake of his blacklisting, Jarrico moved to Paris and married a French national, Yvette le Floc'h. In Europe, he worked on several European films, and was often hired to adapt European films for an anglophone audience. Thus, various documents (including correspondence, production materials, screenplays, and newspaper clippings) are in French, Italian, German, and Czech. Jarrico often communicated with his parents in Yiddish. Jarrico was involved in the international distribution of Salt of the Earth , and a variety of languages are present in these materials (albeit to a limited extent).

Scope and content:

This collection largely comprises material relating to Paul Jarrico's film career. However, it also contains documentation of adjacent activities, such as his political activism, labor organizing, and testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

Jarrico's writing career is documented through his unpublished screenplays, extant in various formats—including handwritten manuscripts, annotated drafts, shooting scripts, and unmarked "file copies." This collection also contains a number of production files, generally comprising administrative and personnel documents, correspondence, handwritten notes, and story outlines.

Almost his entire cinematic œuvre is represented, including his early Hollywood productions, his television scripts, his European work, and his unproduced projects. Also represented are several scripts which Jarrico was asked to revise, including material by his second wife, Yvette le Floc'h. Notably absent are scripts and production files relating to Jarrico's 1954 Salt of the Earth, which is only minimally represented in the collection.

Jarrico's appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and his subsequent legal action against RKO are documented across a range of media, including legal briefs, clippings, notes, and publicity material. This collection also documents the political activities that led to (and resulted from) this legal struggle. Ephemera (brochures, newsletters, memoranda), correspondence, and clippings chart Jarrico's involvement in several leftist causes, including his activism around the "Blacklist" and his membership in various socialist and anti-fascist organizations. Jarrico's union activities are also largely documented through ephemera; however, these records also contain some administrative documents relating to Jarrico's writing credits and pension plan.

Although most of Jarrico's professional files were grouped together by film, this collection also contains a significant number of professional documents that do not relate to a singular production: his financial records, teaching materials, correspondence with agents and collaborators, notes, and legal records. Finally, the collection contains some memorabilia and juvenilia, including assorted clippings and publications, personal correspondence, school and university records, and Jarrico's early political writings.

This collection contains some materials relating to Jarrico's legacy, collected by his widow, Lia Benedetti.

Documents in this collection include visual and written material some may find offensive or disturbing. Jarrico's film projects often addressed political subjects, and, in researching these scripts, Jarrico often collated clippings and writings on global politics. These materials often document violent events, such as state repression in the Soviet Bloc, colonial conflicts, and the War on Drugs. Some files contain references to drugs and suicide that may be distressing to readers. Box 30, folders 5 and 6 contain graphic images of the 1978 Jonestown deaths that some viewers may find distressing, along with written descriptions of the massacre.

Jarrico's screenplays contain denigrating, harmful, and stereotypical depictions of people of color, including African-American, Indigenous American, Arab, Latino/Latina/Latinx, and Asian individuals. These racist tropes are further reflected in the ephemera relating to these projects, including (but not limited to) correspondence, notes, story outlines, and clippings. This collection also contains documents that discuss the political situation in Israel and Palestine, which may include material that is offensive to some readers.

Biographical / historical:

Paul Jarrico (1915-1997) was an American screenwriter and activist who was blacklisted from Hollywood in the 1950s after refusing to comply with the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

Jarrico was born in Los Angeles to a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Aaron Shapiro and Jennie Shapiro. A life-long communist, he became politically active during his undergraduate studies at UCLA. He dropped his birth name, Israel Pavssah Shapiro, when he began his career in screenwriting in the mid 1930s. Jarrico developed screenplays for several major Hollywood studios, including Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and RKO, and earned an Academy Award nomination for his work on the 1941 musical comedy Tom, Dick, and Harry. After a tour of duty in World War II, Jarrico returned to Hollywood, working on several films promoting the Allied cause—namely, the 1943 Song of Russia, designed to foment support for the new Soviet alliance.

For most of the 1940s and 1950s, Jarrico was an active labor organizer and a prominent member of the Screen Writers Guild. During this period, Jarrico was involved in several left-wing organizations, including the National Council of the Arts, Sciences and Professions, Progressive Citizens of America, and the American Communist Party. Jarrico's political activities brought him to the attention of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Jarrico refused to testify when he was subpoenaed by the Committee in 1951, invoking his Fifth-Amendment right against self-incrimination. This act of defiance saw him fired from RKO, who removed his writing credit from its upcoming picture, The Las Vegas Story. Jarrico tried, unsuccessfully, to sue RKO; however, the court sided with RKO head, Howard Hughes, who claimed that Jarrico had violated the morals cause of his contract. Blacklisted from Hollywood, Jarrico teamed up with fellow blacklistees Michael Wilson and Herbert J. Biberman in 1954 to produce Salt of the Earth, a dramatization of the 1951 Empire Zinc Strike starring real members of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers.

Jarrico's career never fully recovered from the McCarthy era. In 1958, he moved to Europe, where he married the French author Yvette le Floc'h and worked mainly in independent cinema, European cinema, and television. His 1962 feature All Night Long, written under the pseudonym "Peter Achilles," notably featured prominent jazz musicians in its depiction of the 1960s London nightlife. Jarrico returned to the United States in the late 1970s, where he supplemented his screenwriting with university teaching. He died in a car crash in 1997. He was married three times: to Sylvia Gussin from 1936 to 1966, to Yvette le Floc'h from 1966 to 1992 (separated in 1977), and to Lia Benedetti from 1992 until his passing.

Acquisition information:

Purchased from the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2010 and Glenn Horowitz in 2012.

Custodial history:

Jarrico's papers were gifted to the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by Jarrico's wife, Lia Benedetti. 36 boxes were transferred from the Herrick Library to Columbia University via purchase agreement in 2010. These materials have not yet been processed and are not accounted for in the finding aid.

A further 25 boxes, formerly held at the Herrick Library, were returned to Benedetti, who then sold them to Glenn Horowitz. Columbia University purchased these materials in 2012. These materials have been processed and are accounted for in the finding aid.

Boxes 84-89 were stored separately by Horowitz under the label "Jarrico - Key Files."

Processing information:

Boxes 1-83 were processed in February 2024 and Boxes 88-102 were processed in March 2024, by Callum Blackmore (GSAS). Finding aid written by Callum Blackmore in February 2024.

Where practical, this collection retains Jarrico's original ordering. In some cases, the order of files has been minimally changed to aid storage and retrieval. Some folders that contained two clearly delineated sets of materials (i.e., correspondence from two different individuals, bound separately within a folder) have been split into two separate files.

Jarrico's original folder titles have been retained in full, with only minimal alterations. Abbreviations have been tacitly expanded, while portions of overly long folder titles were moved to folder descriptions. In the case that Jarrico's original folder contained annotations or date information not present in the materials themselves, the old folders have been retained. Jarrico's folders often provided dates that were not evidenced in the material they contained: in this case, Jarrico's dates have been transferred over to the new folders. There were several empty folders and loose box labels found among Jarrico's materials: these materials have been foldered together in Box 82, Folder 3.

Jarrico generally bound his screenplays and notes with paper clips or metal fasteners, many of which had begun to rust. These fixings were removed to enhance the preservation of materials; however, the original grouping of materials has been maintained.

Items from Box 41, Folder 4 and Box 80, Folder 3 were removed for mold treatment. Some sensitive materials were removed to preserve the privacy of Jarrico's students.

Series I may contain duplicate material, including duplicate screenplays. These potential duplicates have not been weeded or deaccessioned on the chance that they contain alterations or additions not found in other copies.

27 additional boxes of material are processed as Box 103-178 in Spring 2025 by Yingwen Huang. Materials are physically grouped together as much as possible, and intellectually interfiled into the existing series.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in seven series and two subseries, which largely maintain Jarrico's original ordering of documents—as preserved in the collection accession. Generally, Jarrico's papers were organized at the folder level by activity and/or production, then by format, and then (for files containing multiple documents) chronologically. The archivist has preserved this ordering unless otherwise stated.

Series I contains screenplays and production files relating to specific film projects, with some scripts filed separately to related creative materials. Files in this series were generally preserved in loose chronological groupings, with files from similar time periods found in proximity to one another. The ordering of files in this series generally reflects this method of organization, except in cases where groupings hindered storage and preservation.

Series II contains material relating to Jarrico's non-compliance with the House Committee on Un-American Activities and the resulting legal action against RKO. This series is arranged by format, with individual folders arranged chronologically.

Series III comprises material relating to Jarrico's involvement in political causes, including his organizational memberships and activism. This series is arranged either by format, activity, or political issue. Some folders contain material relating to several organizations or activities; in these cases, the documents are generally arranged chronologically, rather than by function.

Subseries IV.1 comprises documents relating to two unions: the Screen Writers Guild and the Writers Guild of America. These materials are arranged by union, then by function. Subseries IV.2 contains professional files that did not relate to specific film productions, or contained material relating to multiple features. They are generally arranged either by activity or by format, with folders containing multiple documents arranged chronologically.

Series V contains juvenilia (including Jarrico's high school and university records), along with other memorabilia unrelated to Jarrico's professional activities (such as personal correspondence and clippings). They are arranged either by activity or format. Folders containing correspondence from multiple people are organized by correspondent and then chronologically.

Series VI contains correspondence that was seperated from other materials in the collection (other correspondence can be found throughout the collection).

Series VII contains material relating to the film Salt of the Earth.

Accruals:

Additions to this collection are expected.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related material:

Materials relating to Jarrico's dismissal from RKO can be found in the Howard Hughes Film Production Records at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (MS-01036).

A 1988 interview with Jarrico can be found at the Center for Oral History Research, UCLA.

Material relating to Jarrico's film collaborations can be found in the Michael Wilson Papers at UCLA (PASC 52).

Material relating to Jarrico's work on Salt of the Earth can be found in the Clinton Jencks Papers at the University of Colorado, Boulder (COU-869) and the Herbert Biberman and Gale Sondergaard Papers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (U.S. Mss 58AN).

Two items (from Box 41, Folder 4 and Box 80, Folder 3) have been removed for mold treatment. Audiovisual material has been removed for digitization.

There are 26 boxes of unprocessed materials that are still to be accessioned into this collection. Some of these boxes are in treatment for mold. Please email rbml@library.columbia.edu for more information.

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is located on-site.

All original copies of audio / moving image media are closed until reformatting. Email rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Terms of access:

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred citation:: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Paul Jarrico Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Location of this collection:: Rare Book & Manuscript Library

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Collection