Fritz Kortner "Ein Traum, kein Leben" annotated script
Scope and Contents
A heavily annotated script for a work by Fritz Kortner (1892-1970), one of Austria's best-known character actors and the nation's foremost performer of Expressionist work. Kortner titled this early working draft Ein Traum, kein Leben, but he later renamed the work Donauwellen and turned it into a play that was first performed in Munich in 1949. Kortner wrote the draft titled Ein Traum, kein Leben in Los Angeles while in exile. He carried the manuscript with him back to Germany in December 1947. Donauwellen was Kortner's first release in Europe following his exile. The play was a success with the public and it was performed 30 times. Following Donauwellen's initial popularity, the United States military banned subsequent productions of the play in post-war Germany.
Dates
- Creation: 1946 September
Creator
- Kortner, Fritz (18920512-1970) (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Biographical / Historical
Fritz Kortner (1892-1970) was one of Austria's best-known character actors and the nation's foremost performer of Expressionist work. In 1933, Kortner went on a performance tour of Scandinavia--and, being Jewish--decided not to return. After the tour, Kortner fled to the United States by way of London. By 1941, Kortner was living in Hollywood and writing scripts.
Donauwellen is a character study of a hairdresser in Vienna, following how the character adapts through multiple personalities to the changing political structures of the times. Although highly critical of the Nazis, the play is also critical of the Allied denazification process after the War.
Extent
0.06 Linear Feet (1 pamphlet binder)
Language of Materials
German
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Mark Funke, Bookseller, July 17, 2023.
Physical Description
300 by 210mm (11.75 by 8.25 inches). Generic continuous wrapper with title and author handwritten and internal prong binding. Title page present dated Sept. 1946 (handwritten date of 14.I.49). 87 leaves, with last page numbered 87. Three scenes. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. In German. Pages Good but brittle and browned throughout; wrapper Fair showing significant wear (4 by 3 inch of back wrapper missing); rust at binding.
Pagination: [title], [characters], 1–50, [alternate 50], [unnumbered page, 1 (with notation that text continues with page 54)], 54–58, [unnumbered pages, 2], 60–87.
Revisions: (carbon typescript) alternate 50, all unnumbered pages & 87
Heavily annotated in pencil (by Kortner? His editor?): [title], 2, 4–6, 8–10, 11 (recto & verso), 12–26, 28–31, 33, 35–39, 42–46, 47 (verso), 48, 50, [alternate 50], [unnumbered page, 1], 54–56, 58 (recto & verso), [unnumbered pages, 2], 60, 61 (recto & verso), 62–66, 69–70, 72–75, 76 (verso), 77–82, 83 (verso), 84–86.
Subject
Genre / Form
Topical
- Austrians -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
- Exiles -- Austria -- 20th century -- Archival resources
- Exiles' writings, Austrian -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
- Jews, Austrian -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
- Reconstruction (1939-1951) -- Austria -- Archival resources
- Reconstruction (1939-1951) -- Germany -- Archival resources
- Theater -- Germany -- 20th century -- Archival resources
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Austria -- Archival resources
- Title
- Finding aid for the Fritz Kortner "Ein Traum, kein Leben" annotated script
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Bo Doub -- with collection-level notes adapted from the seller, Mark Funke, Bookseller
- Date
- 2023 August
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the USC Libraries Special Collections Repository
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0189 United States
specol@usc.edu