(1940) Tags: Fox
Harris v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
The complaint alleges that prior to February 27, 1939, plaintiff conceived the idea of a motion picture based upon the story of the Mormons and submitted a synopsis of such story to the defendant, a producer of motion pictures. On or about February 27, 1939, plaintiff gave an option to defendant to purchase that story for the sum of $1,000, exercisable within one year; that at or about the same time defendant hired the plaintiff as a writer under the terms of a contract hereinafter set forth and subsequently plaintiff entered upon such services and was employed “in creating and writing material based upon the said original story” of the plaintiff; on or about May 17, 1939, defendant hired Louis Bromfield “to collaborate with plaintiff in the adapting of the said story for use in the making of a motion picture and in the writing of said motion picture”; thereafter Louis Bromfield and the plaintiff collaborated in such work.
Defendant exercised its option agreement to purchase plaintiff’s rights in said story; thereafter defendant made a motion picture entitled “Brigham Young—Frontiersman” based upon the result of the joint work of plaintiff and Bromfield as well as upon the original story of the plaintiff. Upon the completion of the picture, which was given a nation-wide release, exclusive screen credit for said story was given to Bromfield.
Plaintiff complains that defendant did not state that the aforesaid story upon which the story was based was either written by her or that she collaborated with Bromfield in composing said story.