THE ICEMAN COMETH.

New York: The Ely Landau Organization, Inc., 1972. [1],A-I,208 leaves. Quarto. Mechanically duplicated typescript, printed on rectos only of pale green stock. Bradbound in production company binder. Light soiling to fore-edge, otherwise very good to fine. A "revised" draft of this adaptation for film of O'Neill's masterpiece, undertaken as the first production of the innovative, but short- lived, American Film Theatre. The script is accompanied by a two page "Production Requirements" list, dated 12 January 1973, and a "Staff and Crew List" dated 3 days earlier. John Frankenheimer directed the November 1973 release, starring Lee Marvin, Frederic March, Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges, Bradford Dillman, et al. The 239 minute film does, in the minds of many critics, great honor to the sourcework, and stands among the finest moments of the two seasons of the American Film Theatre. A substantially truncated version saw some distribution on television in later years, but only recently has the original full-length version (which required two intermissions) been made available on DVD. Robert Ryan was the posthumous recipient of several awards for his role as Larry Slade, and contrary to expectations, Lee Marvin excelled in the role of Hickey, a role virtually defined by Jason Robards. Legitimate examples of the scripts for the American Film Theatre productions are uncommon. (Inventory #: WRCLIT70666)