Victor McLaglen
[Los Angeles, CA], ca. October 7, 1938 - November 23, 1938
Victor McLaglen Signed RKO Film Contract For "Gunga Din" & "Pacific Liner" With Bonus Signed Publicity Picture!
TDS

A great pairing for Classic Movie buffs! The lot includes a retained clerical copy of a legal contract between Victor McLaglen (1886-1959), the beloved Oscar-winning British-American character actor, and RKO Radio Pictures, signed by McLaglen; and a vintage publicity photograph also signed by McLaglen. The contract is dated ca. October 7, 1938 - November 23, 1938. [Los Angeles, California.] Expected wear which will be elaborated below, else very good to near fine. The largest item measures 8.5" x 12".

McLaglen translated his imposing physicality - he was a former wrestler and boxer - into a slate of headlining film roles for his home studio, 20th Century Fox, by the late 1920s. This contract is an example of McLaglen's being loaned out periodically to other studios. McLaglen was high in demand and well-compensated, especially after securing the Academy Award for Best Actor three years earlier, in 1935.

The lot is comprised of:

1. A retained clerical copy of a legal contract between Victor McLaglen ("the Artist") and RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. ("the Corporation.") McLaglen has signed as "Victor McLaglen" above his typed signature as"(Victor McLaglen)" at the bottom of p. 36. Co-signed by the RKO Assistant Secretary above McLaglen's signature. October 7, 1938, with addenda dated November 23, 1938. [Los Angeles, California.] The pages of the contract are on onion-skin. A few isolated pen underlines throughout the text, and scattered ghost impressions of paperclips and pencil annotations in the margins. Partly bound by a single remaining metal brad between pages 6-31; the remaining pages are included but loose. Housed in a soft wrapper entitled "Agreement between RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. and Victor McLaglen," with even toning, closed tears, and edge chips. Both the document and the wrappers are double hole punched. Else very good to near fine. 42pp legal document (36 pages, with six inserts: 6A, 16A, 16B, 21A, 27A, and 27B). 8.5" x 12".

The contract, which consists of 31 articles, outlines the terms of McLaglen's employment with RKO Radio Pictures for a one-year period between October 7, 1938 and October 7, 1939. It stipulated the time commitment and salary of two RKO movies which McLaglen was already involved in or soon to become involved in: "Gunga Din" and "Pacific Liner." Under the terms of this contract, McLaglen was legally obligated to complete five weeks of filming for "Pacific Liner," at a salary of $9,000 a week; and he also reserved himself for additional filming related to "Gunga Din" for a period of no more than eight weeks at a pay rate of $6,250 a week.

By the time of the contract's signing, the production of "Gunga Din" was nearly completed; principal photography wrapped up on October 19, 1938. This contract clause thus represented an extension of an existing contract for McLaglen dating from May 1939. In contrast, "Pacific Liner" had not yet begun filming - its filming would start about one week later, in mid-October 1938. The RKO Pictures contract with McLaglen for these two movies represented a back-to-back double-hitter: "Pacific Liner" would appear at the box office in January 1939, and "Gunga Din" would be released in February 1939.

In "Gunga Din," McLaglen played "Mac" MacChesney, one of a trio of British Indian Army sergeants posted to a frontier outpost in the 1880s. McLaglen starred opposite Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as his brothers-in-arms, and McLaglen's character in particular had a special relationship with the title character, Gunga Din, the patriotic Indian water-carrier. "Pacific Liner" was less an adventure and more of a drama set aboard a passenger liner destined for San Francisco with a cholera epidemic on board. McLaglen portrayed Crusher McKay, a pugnacious engine stoker.

2. A vintage gelatin silver publicity photograph of McLaglen, signed and inscribed by him as: "To Tom Arthur / Sincerely / Victor McLaglen" at lower right. N.d., n.p. The black and white semi-matte photograph exhibits negligible silvering around the "To." Even toning, and isolated edge darkening and wrinkles, else near fine. 7.625" x 9.625".

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: largest item: 8.5" x 12"
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