Olivia de Havilland Literary Archive Acquired by Harry Ransom Center
Olivia de Havilland’s shooting script for A Midsummer Night’s Dream with her handwritten annotations, ca. 1935
The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin has acquired the archive of film star Olivia de Havilland.
“Olivia de Havilland captivated audiences with her authentic performances,” said Stephen Enniss, the Betty Brumbalow Director of the Ransom Center. “Her archive documents her fight for agency and autonomy in an era dominated by the studio system and also informs our understanding of stardom and celebrity in the Golden Age of Hollywood."
The archive, donated by her daughter Gisèle Galante Chulack, comprises extensive professional papers including contracts, correspondence, scripts, and photographs related to her films including The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Gone With the Wind (1939), The Snake Pit (1948), and her Academy Award–winning roles in To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949).
It also features personal and fan correspondence, family documents, scrapbooks, and autobiographical writings, as well as materials documenting her contributions to military entertainment services during World War II and her engagement with organizations such as the Screen Actors Guild.
An important element of the collection is documentation of de Havilland’s groundbreaking 1943 legal battle with Warner Bros. The California judicial ruling that followed, now known as the 'De Havilland Decision', curtailed the restrictive studio contract system and transformed labor rights for performers.
The Ransom Center’s film collections include the papers of Robert De Niro, Gloria Swanson, David O. Selznick, and Ernest Lehman. The archive will be available to researchers once cataloging is complete.
