The Arthur and Leonora Hornblow papers span the years circa 1911-2002 (bulk 1930 to 1976) and encompass approximately 15 linear feet. The collection contains production files, correspondence, subject files, oversize material, and scrapbooks.

The production files consist primarily of assorted material related to the career of producer Arthur Hornblow Jr., though only a handful of his films are represented. There is correspondence and a small amount of production material for such titles as CASS TIMBERLANE (1947), SOUTH PACIFIC (1958), THE WAR LOVER (1962), and WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957). Of particular interest are the typed diaries he kept during the pre-production and production of OKLAHOMA! (1955). There are contracts and correspondence for SOLOMON AND SHEBA (1959), a film Hornblow left prior to production. Also included is premiere information for DODGE CITY (1939) and VIRGINIA CITY (1940), both connected to Leonora Hornblow’s first husband, actor Wayne Morris. There are also clippings and a telegram related to Leonora’s only film credit, THUNDER IN THE EAST (1953).

The correspondence series is extensive and contains material encompassing Arthur and Leonora Hornblow’s personal and professional relationships. Much of the material is Leonora’s and spans her life from before her marriage to Hornblow to well after his death. There are also marriage documents for her union with Hornblow as well as her marriage to and divorce from Wayne Morris. Notable correspondents include Richard Avedon, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Charles Brackett, Truman Capote, Bennett Cerf, George Cukor, Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower, Clark Gable, Leonard Gershe, William and Edie Goetz, Samuel and Frances Goldwyn, Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Dorothy and Oscar Hammerstein II, Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle, Leland Hayward, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston , Jennifer Jones, Slim Keith, Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester, Irving “Swifty” Lazar, Alfred Newman, John O’Hara, David O. Selznick, William S. and Barbara (Babe) Paley, Harold Prince, Jerome Robbins, Dorothy and Richard Rodgers, Adela Rogers St. Johns, Michael Todd, Diana Vreeland, Billy Wilder, and Fred Zinnemann, among many others.

The subject files include biographical information on Arthur and Leonora, clippings, contracts for Arthur’s work as a producer, datebooks, financial and medical documents, memorial books, and periodicals. There is material covering the publication of Leonora’s books “Cleopatra of Egypt,” “The Love Seekers,” and “Memory and Desire,” as well as correspondence and marketing material concerning the series of children’s books she co-authored with Arthur. There are documents regarding Arthur’s marriage to and divorce from Myrna Loy, as well as material related to Wayne Morris and Morris and Leonora’s son, Michael. Of particular interest is correspondence regarding Arthur Hornblow Productions as well as contracts and annual reports for Magna Pictures Corp. A playscript of Edouard Bourdet’s “The Captive,” inscribed by Bourdet to Hornblow, is one of the only items alluding to Hornblow’s early career writing for the stage.

The oversize material includes certificates related to Arthur Hornblow’s military service during World War I and a tear sheet advertisement for “Memory and Desire.”

The scrapbook series consists of seven scrapbooks covering Arthur and Leonora’s marriage as well as their lives before they met. There are scrapbooks on Arthur’s military service and the home he shared with Myrna Loy during their marriage, as well as two scrapbooks containing photographs of Leonora’s life with Wayne Morris. Many of the scrapbooks contain candid photographs of the couple with their friends.

Arthur Hornblow Jr. (1893-1976) was born in New York City. His father was a playwright, novelist, and the editor of the monthly magazine “The Theatre.” He earned his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a law degree from New York University. He briefly practiced law before serving as a first lieutenant in the counterespionage section of the intelligence corps during World War I, for which he was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by France. Following the war, Hornblow abandoned his law career and focused on playwrighting, often translating and adapting French works for the stage. One of his final stage credits, an adaptation of Edouard Bordet’s “The Captive,” garnered considerable controversy due to its subject of homosexuality. Soon after, Samuel Goldwyn hired Hornblow as a production supervisor for Samuel Goldwyn Productions.

Hornblow developed several successful properties for Goldwyn, including the BULLDOG DRUMMOND series and STREET SCENE (1931). Despite his friendly working relationship with his employer, Hornblow was frustrated at not receiving a single onscreen credit for his work on Goldwyn’s films. In 1933, he left Samuel Goldwyn Productions to produce at Paramount Pictures, where his credits include RUGGLES OF RED GAP (1935), EASY LIVING (1937), and THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1939). His first marriage to Juliette Crosby, whom he had married in 1924, ended in divorce in 1936. He married Myrna Loy that same year, though the marriage also ended in divorce in 1942. His time at Paramount was also the beginning of his long association with Billy Wilder, who co-wrote the Hornblow-produced pictures MIDNIGHT (1939), HOLD BACK THE DAWN (1941), and THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (1942), the latter also serving as Wilder’s directorial debut.

THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR was Hornblow’s last film for Paramount. He moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and produced such films as GASLIGHT (1944), THE HUCKSTERS (1947), CASS TIMBERLANE (1947), and MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID (1952). In 1945 he married Leonora Schinasi (1920-2005). Born Leonora Salmon in New York City, she took the surname Schinasi after her mother’s second marriage to tobacco magnate Leon Schinasi, and in her early life went by the nickname “Bubbles.” Her brief marriage to actor Wayne Morris brought her to Hollywood in 1939. The two had a son, Michael, who was later adopted by Hornblow. Following her marriage to Hornblow, Leonora covered fashion for “Liberty” magazine and wrote book reviews for “Los Angeles Daily News.” Her first novel, “Memory and Desire,” drew on her observations of the film community. It was published in 1950, the same year her husband produced ASPHALT JUNGLE.

Hornblow left MGM in 1953 and his output slowed. However, as an independent producer he had two of the greatest successes of his career. He produced OKLAHOMA! in 1955 and reunited with Billy Wilder for WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION in 1957. Leonora published her second novel, “The Love Seekers,” that same year. WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, garnering Hornblow his first and only Academy Award nomination. In 1961, Leonora published her first children’s book, “Cleopatra of Egypt.” Following the production of THE WAR LOVER (1962), Hornblow retired from film and joined his wife in writing for children. The two collaborated on several books, beginning with “Animals Do the Strangest Things” in 1964, until Hornblow’s death in 1976. Following her husband’s death, Leonora returned to New York, then spent her final years near her son in North Carolina. She died in 2005.