Correspondence of Will Price

Will Price, a film producer originally from Mississippi, worked with Graves in 1952 to write the film script for 'The World's Delight', based on the story of the Arabian nights. His correspondence reflects the many vicissitudes in the unsuccessful attempt to realise the film, including the contractual and financial problems arising from the relationship with the producer Forrest Judd. Price was also involved in the 1957 attempt to film 'I, Claudius'. His correspondence also discusses his other work activities, including retraining as a television cameraman, and his personal life. Price had been married to Maureen O'Hara, by whom he had a daughter, Bronwyn, and their divorce is mentioned in the correspondence. Much of the correspondence is addressed jointly to Robert and Beryl Graves. The series also includes two copy letters from Graves to Price.

Arranged in approximate chronological order.

Canelluñ Collection number: CC0447

This refers to the arrangement of the papers in Robert Graves’ study before they were transferred to the College.

This series arrived bundled into a ring binder with a number of other papers. These papers shared a loose relationship in that in whole or part they were concerned with various aspects of the attempt to film 'The World's Delight'. It is not clear when they were assembled in this way. The binder as constituted presented as a hybrid entity, composed of Will Price's correspondence - far from exclusively about 'The World's Delight' - and whole or partial series of correspondence from other individuals and entities. Given that the material in the binder did not exclusively represent a transaction or series of transactions about the production of 'The World's Delight' it has not been treated here as a 'subject' correspondence file. Instead material which does not form part of Will Price's correspondence has been placed in the relevant correspondent series for A.P. Watt, Michael Balcon, Karl Gay, Edward Gruskin, Alec Guinness, Selwyn Jepson, Forrest Judd, Peter Moore, Donald Murchison, Joshua Podro, Kenneth Price, David Selznick, Ricardo Sicré, William Spivak, Jerry Stagg, the William Morris Agency, and Willis Wing. The original order of the ring binder was noted by William Graves and is here attached.