THE BOSS (1959) Organized Crime Syndicate Members Meeting Dalton Trumbo Script

Description

Vintage original 11x14 in. US lobby card
from the 1960's organized crime/corruption-themed gangsters drama,
THE BOSS
, released in 1956 by United Artists and
directed by Byron Haskin
. Political corruption is vividly depicted as a ruthless WWI veteran (John Payne) takes almost complete control of a state with the help of a crooked lawyer. The film is enhanced by John Payne's persuasive performance as "The Boss." The cast includes William Bishop, Gloria McGehee, Don Avedon, Roy Roberts, Rhys Williams, and Gil Lamb.
The Boss
featured a screenplay by the renowned screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, whose career was temporarily halted during the infamous Hollywood Blacklist of the 1950's
(the screen credit was to "Ben Perry," a front for Trumbo). As indicated in the center of the bottom border, this is lobby card #3 from the set of 8 cards. The image depicts a meeting of mobsters from an organized crime syndicate including Tom Brady (
Roy Roberts
, center). It is unrestored in fine+ condition with two pinholes on Roberts' left pant leg; a small
arms
of light stains
in the
center of the top border; a 0.75 in. diagonal crease on the bottom left corner with a smudge to the right of it; and some very small creases simply from handling over time. There are no tears, writing, or other flaws and the rich color tints are fresh and vibrant without any signs of fading.
James Dalton Trumbo
(December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter and novelist who scripted many award-winning films, including
Roman Holiday
(1953),
Exodus, Spartacus
(both 1960), and
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
(1944). One of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry.
Trumbo, the other members of the Hollywood Ten, and hundreds of other professionals in the industry were blacklisted by Hollywood. He was, however, able to continue working clandestinely on major films, writing under pseudonyms or other authors' names. His uncredited work won two Academy Awards for Best Story: for
Roman Holiday
(1953), which was presented to a front writer, and for
The Brave One
(1956), which was awarded to a pseudonym used by Trumbo. When he was given public screen credit for both
Exodus
and
Spartacus
in 1960, it marked the beginning of the end of the Hollywood Blacklist for Trumbo and other affected screenwriters. He finally was given full credit by the Writers' Guild for
Roman Holiday
in 2011, nearly 60 years after the fact.