# Renoir, Jean.

comprising 23 typed and 2 autograph letters signed by Renoir, 9 letters signed by both Renoir and Dido Freire, and 17 by Freire, two with autograph postscripts by Renoir, discussing his ongoing film projects, Nichols's scripts, the theatre, cinema, art, and politics, and describing India, Italy, and Paris, 70 pages, chiefly 4to, some envelopes, Hollywood, New York, Paris, Calcutta, and Rome, 13 September 1941 to 1 November 1959

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate. If you require additional information we would recommend viewing the item during the exhibition or contacting one of the specialists for this sale.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

a fine and informative correspondence by one of the greatest directors of French cinema. The recipient of these letters, Dudley Nichols (1895-1960), was a distinguished screenwriter who won an Oscar for John Ford's The Informer in 1935, and worked on such films as Bringing Up Baby, Stagecoach, and The Fugitive. He collaborated on Renoir's first Hollywood film, Swamp Water.

Renoir's own work is the recurring subject right from the first letter, in which he discusses final changes to Swamp Water. Later in 1941 he writes that Cary Grant is pushing for an American remake of Renoir's La Chienne and provides a two-page summary of the film ("...And suddenly he understands she does not love him, has never loved him. He tells her so, and it makes her laugh. She cannot stop. And this laugh is so exasperating that he kills her with the paper-knife..."). Nichols went on to write the American screenplay and the result was Scarlet Street, one of the great films noir (directed by Fritz Lang and starring Edward G. Robinson).

In later letters, Renoir (now free of the "Hollywood jungle") writes about such films as The Golden Coach, Le Testament du Dr. Cordelier, Le Dejuner sur l'Herbe, the re-release in 1958 of his anti-war Le Grande Illusion, and writes evocatively from India during the filming of The River. One fascinating letter describes the Hindu feast of Saraswati presided over by a "rather commercial" Brahmin ("...He is a clerk in everyday life, but being born a Brahmin performs all religious ceremonies..."). The young Satyajit Ray worked as assistant director on The River, and this Brahmin could have stepped out of Ray's own masterpiece, the Apu trilogy.

Other news and gossip from the film world - from the character of David Selznick to Ingrid Bergman's pregnancy by Roberto Rossellini - enter these letters. Renoir also discusses theatre (especially the work of Eugene O'Neill), art, and Hollywood politics from the "astonished" attitude to the stand of the Red Army against the Nazis to the era of McCarthy and the political situation in France and Italy  ("...Fascism exists not only in Hollywood but everywhere in the world...")