
This auction has ended. View lot details
You may also be interested in
Lot 866
A group of Tod Browning's working treatments of The Revolt of the Dead
30 November 2016, 12:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$1,875 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Popular Culture specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot


Client Services (Los Angeles)

Client Services (San Francisco)

Client Services (New York)
A group of Tod Browning's working treatments of The Revolt of the Dead
Comprising a typed manuscript, The Revolt of the Dead / The Revolt of the Savage, 97 pp, including alternate versions of various pages, annotated in pencil and blue pencil; a version of pp 16-19, annotated, with cover sheet on legal paper reading, "These pages have been / copied and inserted / into the script- / Numbers of pages changed / from page 16 on-" in pencil and "10/2/32" in red pencil; 11 pp of autograph notes on legal paper in pencil, with cover page reading "Revolt of the / Dead / Notes" in pencil; a clipped 1932 American Weekly article, titled "Surprising Performances of the Tibetan 'Mystics'"; with a manila envelope labeled "Revolt of the Dead" in red pencil, and "Mr. T. Browning / 1st rough draft" and "10/26/32" in pencil. The Revolt of the Dead, also referred to as The Revolt of the Savage, is an unfilmed treatment by Tod Browning featuring many elements from his earlier works, especially his then-recent hit Dracula (1931). This heavily annotated treatment's first act has an African setting akin to the exotic locales of previous Browning films like West of Zanzibar (1928). Its morbid, gory storyline deals with an evil witch doctor who can possess and command the dead. The story structure strongly echoes Dracula; in both projects, an evil supernatural force travels from a foreign country to London to spread its power; the heroes' love interests in both are possessed by the villains; and both feature a climactic staking (in the case of The Revolt of the Dead, a gruesome crucifixion). Also, a central character in this treatment, Boris Odeschalchi (or Boris Zwsbisko), is a student of the occult and described throughout as Hungarian, perhaps indicating that the role was tailored for Browning's Count Dracula, Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi; notably, this character dies and returns from the dead. Another character is nearly identical to Dracula's Dr. Van Helsing and named "Dr. Von Hecklemetz." A very rare example of a working copy of a Browning horror treatment.


















