Caroline Francke Scripts collection
Collection
0042-MMC-LAB
Caroline Francke (1899-1960) studied playwriting at Columbia University before finding success on Broadway and in Hollywood. Her first play was successfully produced in 1928, and an unproduced play of hers became the basis for the Jean Harlow movie Bombshell in 1933). During the 1940s, she worked as a scriptwriter for the popular "Henry Aldrich" radio series. This collection includes scripts for The Aldrich Family radio program written by Caroline Francke in 1945 and supporting documents for writing the scripts, including one sample script from 1941. Nearly all of the scripts exist in several drafts, though very few final drafts are part of the collection.
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1.00 Linear Feet (2 letter-size Hollinger boxes)
This collection includes scripts for The Aldrich Family radio program written by Caroline Francke in 1945 and supporting documents for writing the scripts, including one sample script from 1941. Nearly all of the scripts exist in several drafts, though very few of the final drafts are part of the collection. This collection demonstrates the revision process that writers for network radio went through - a process relevant to scenario writing in general.
Caroline Francke was born in the New York City borough of Queens on July 19, 1899. She and her sister Katherine were raised by their mother Caroline. Francke attended the Connecticut College for Women and Columbia University where she studied playwriting. Highlights from her career include the Broadway produced "Exceeding Small" (1928) and the unproduced play on which Bombshell (1938) starring Jean Harlow is based. Caroline Francke wrote for The Aldrich Family radio program in the 1940s. Her final play, "The 49th Cousin" debuted on Broadway three months after her death. Caroline Francke and her husband, Kenneth Downer, had one adopted daughter. Francke died from a cerebral hemorrhage May 22, 1960.
Organized as two series.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives