The Paper Dragon (2 page)

"I am."

"And you have testified that in 1952 you were hired to write and direct four motion pictures for API, other wise known as Kessler, Inc.?"

"I was. I did so testify."

Genitori rose suddenly and said, "Your Honor, may the record show that the title of the defendant, Kessler, Inc., was changed by court order to Artists-Producers-International in January of this year?"

"Let the record show it."

Brackman seemed annoyed by the interruption. He looked at Arthur sympathetically, cleared his throat, and asked, "
Did
you, in fact, write and direct those four films for API?"

"I worked on one of them which was later produced and directed by someone else," Arthur said.

"What was the title of that film?"

"Area Seven."

"And you say it was produced?"

"Yes, sir."

"When was it shown?"

"Released, do you mean?"

"Yes, released."

"In May of 1953. It was nominated for an Academy Award that year."

"Did it receive the Academy Award?"

"No, sir.
From Here to Eternity
did."

"Your Honor," Willow said, "I must repeat my objection to the plaintiff's going*into what happened after the writing of
Catchpole
."

"If your Honor please," Brackman answered, "I think this is relevant in two respects: one, principally, is to indicate that Mr. Constantine was actively employed by API from March of 1952 until April of—"

"Your Honor, witness has not yet testified as to the length of his employment."

"Nevertheless, Mr. Willow," McIntyre said, "the witness's employment by API would certainly seem to be relevant."

"And also, your Honor," Brackman said, "defendants might wish to create the impression that
Catchpole
, which was admittedly a failure, was Mr. Constantine's one and only creative endeavor. I want to indicate that Mr. Constantine is a man of recognized talents. I will certainly afford Mr. Willow the same opportunity to enumerate James Driscoll's writing credits when—"

"Objection overruled, Mr. Willow."

Brackman smiled thinly. "Mr. Constantine," he said, "can you tell me when your employment at API terminated?"

"I was there for more than two years. I left in April of 1954."

"After having worked on the screenplay for
Area Seven
which—"

"Yes, that's right."

"— was later nominated for an Academy Award."

"Correct."

"Why did you leave API?"

"There was a difference of opinion about the movies I was being asked to write and direct."

"To make this brief then, Mr. Constantine, would it be accurate to say that from 1946 to 1954 your sole employment was as a writer and/or director?"

"That is entirely accurate."

"And without going into laborious detail, would it be equally accurate to state that since you left API in April of 1954, you have continued to work as a writer and/or director of screenplays and television plays, sometimes under contract and sometimes on a freelance basis?"

"That is equally true, yes."

"Are you actively engaged on a project now, Mr. Constantine?"

"Yes, I am."

"Could you tell us—"

"Your Honor, haven't we already indicated that Mr. Constantine is a man of recognized talents?" Willow asked.

"Let's try to make this brief, Mr. Brackman," McIntyre said.

Brackman nodded. To Arthur he said, "Can you tell us what that project is?"

"We are currently casting my new play for Broadway production," Arthur answered.

"Who is producing the play?"

"Stuart Selig and Oscar Stern."

"And are you the sole author of the play?"

"I am."

"Mr. Constantine, I would now like to take you back to your other play, the play called
Catchpole
, which you testified you wrote in 1946."

"That's correct," Arthur said.

"Was this play
Catchpole
ever produced?"

"Yes, sir, it was."

"Where was is produced?"

"It opened at the Fulton Theatre here in New York and it ran for twelve days."

"When was that?"

"In October of 1947. October 14th, I believe the date was. And it ran until the 25th, through the 25th."

"Had it been seen anywhere else prior to its Broadway opening?"

"Yes, sir. There were a series of previews held while we were still rehearsing the play in a loft on Second Avenue."

"Previews? For whom?"

"For college students."

"Of which colleges?"

"C.C.N.Y., Hunter, Brooklyn College, L.I.U., Pratt Institute, and several others."

"Was there a charge for these performances?"

"No, sir. We were still in rehearsal and we wanted the reaction of college students, since this was a play about young men in a time of intense personal strife."

Brackman paused, moved away from the witness stand, glanced at Willow, and then slowly walked back to confront Arthur again. His voice lowering to a solemn pitch, he asked, "Have you read the novel
The Paper Dragon
?"

"Yes, sir."

"Have you seen the movie
The Paper Dragon
?"

"Yes, sir."

"Can you tell us when you read the book?"

"I saw the movie in September of 1964, and I read the book shortly after that. A week or so afterwards."

"What course of action did you pursue after seing the movie?"

"Well, I had been out of town working on a television pilot for MCA, Music Corporation of America. The pilot dealt with a team of construction workers who move around from one part of the country to the other—"

"Your Honor," Willow said, "the answer is not responsive."

"Please answer the question," McIntyre said.

"What was the question?"

The clerk consulted his notes. "What course of action did you pursue after seeing the movie?" he repeated.

Arthur nodded. "I was trying to explain that I had been out of town for several months because we were visiting the site of a dam in construction…"

"Yes, what did you do when you came back?" Brackman prodded.

"… which is why I missed the opening of the movie, and all the hullabaloo around New York at that time. In any case, when I got back to the city, I went out with a young lady one night, and she said, 'Have you seen
The Paper Dragon
?' I didn't know what
The Paper Dragon
was, and I said so. She then told me that it was a direct steal from my play, and that I had better make sure I saw it."

"And did you then go to see it?"

"Yes, I did."

"And after seeing it, did you take the matter to an attorney?"

"Yes, I did."

Brackman nodded, walked back to the plaintiff's table, and returned with his hands full. "I would like to offer in evidence," he said, "this book which is the hard-cover edition of
The Paper Dragon
, as written by James Driscoll and published by Mitchell-Campbell Books, Inc."

"Any objection?"

"No."

"Mr. Genitori, any objection?"

"None."

"I also offer in evidence the reprint edition of
The Paper Dragon
, published by Camelot Books, Inc., New York, a subsidiary of Mitchell-Campbell, Inc."

"No objection."

"No objection."

"I offer in evidence the shooting script of the film
The Paper Dragon
, as written by Ralph Knowles, and produced by Kessler, Inc."

"Is this being offered as against the defendant API only?" Willow asked. "Or is it offered as against the defendant Mitchell-Campbell?"

"It is being offered against API."

"No objection."

"No objection."

"Your Honor, the defendants have previously conceded publication of
The Paper Dragon
" Brackman said, "and also of the motion picture."

"Conceded."

"Conceded."

Brackman returned to the witness stand. "Mr. Constantine," he said, "you have stated that between March of 1952 and April of 1954 you were employed by API as a writer-director, and that you worked on one film while you were so employed, a motion picture titled
Area Seven
, which was later nominated for an Academy Award."

"Yes, sir."

"Did you at any time during your period of employment at API have opportunity to submit. I'll rephrase that, your Honor. Did you ever submit the manuscript of
Catchpole
to anyone at API while you were employed there?"

"I did."

"To whom did you submit the manuscript? Can you remember the names?"

"I can."

"Would you tell us, please?"

"I first showed the manuscript to a man named Matthew Jackson, with whom I was working on
Area Seven
."

"What were Mr. Jackson's duties?"

"He was under contract as a writer at API, and was sort of overseeing the
Area Seven
project, since I was a new writer there and had never directed anything before. He was working very closely with me on the screenplay. We got to know each other rather well, and I thought I would show him a copy of
Catchpole
in the hope he could see movie possibilities in it."

"Did he indeed see movie possibilities in it?"

"No."

"Did you not, in fact, later have a conversation with Mr. Jackson wherein he definitely stated that Kessler's did not wish…"

"That's right."

"… to buy the motion picture rights to
Catchpole
?"

"We had a conversation about it, yes."

"Your Honor, that was a leading question," Willow said.

"I am refreshing his memory on a point that is already in the record," Brackman replied.

"You were leading the witness, Mr. Brackman," McIntyre said, and Brackman shrugged in resignation.

"Did you have a conversation with Mr. Jackson?" he asked.

"I did," Arthur answered.

"Would you repeat the content of that conversation?"

"Jackson said, 'This is tremendous, but you know as well as I that this company is still back in the thirties with its musicals and silly romances. I think they'd be leery of an Army theme that tries to show the stupidity and foolish waste of war, especially since we've had this Korean thing since World War II. But I'd like to hold onto it, because I really like it immensely and if I can do anything for it, I will.' "

"Did Mr. Jackson ever return the manuscript to you?"

"No."

"To whom else at API did you show the manuscript?"

"Well, there was Joe Edelson, who was at that time head of API's story department. And Rudy Herdt, who was a producer, and Iris Blake, who was also in the story department."

"Were there any others?"

"Yes, I also showed it to Betty Alweiss, who was Mr. Kessler's personal secretary."

"What were the reactions of these various people to whom you showed the manuscript?"

"Their reactions — their collective reaction, I should say — was basically the same. They all liked the play, they thought it had some important things to say about a situation that needed comment. But they felt API wasn't ready to do anything as strong as this was, not right then, anyway. The collective reaction, I would say, was that the play was too outspoken, that the United States wasn't ready to take criticism of its armed forces, not when we had just come through a major conflict and also a minor one in Korea, which happens to be the setting of
The Paper Dragon
. To my mind, there was no question that everyone who read the script thought—"

"Your Honor, I regret having to interrupt the witness again," Willow said, "but he has just now made a statement as to the operation of his mind, and I think you'll agree that is clearly inadmissible."

"Sustained."

"Mr. Constantine," Brackman said, with a sigh directed at Willow, "would you please tell us what was said about the script, and not what you surmised or thought?"

"That's all that was said about it. They all liked the script, but they felt it was too strong for API to do."

"Were any of these scripts ever returned to you?"

"No."

"As I understand it then, Mr. Constantine — and please correct me if I'm wrong — during the period of time between March 1952 and April 1954, you showed a copy of your previously produced play
Catchpole
to five people at API?"

"Five people, that's correct."

"Were these five people all executives?"

"Not all of them. But they all had the power to recommend a story for purchase."

"And your story was not recommended."

"My play."

"Your play."

"No, it was not recommended for purchase."

"Nor were any of the copies returned."

"No, they were not returned."

"Mr. Constantine, have you examined your work
Catchpole
and also the book and movie versions of
The Paper Dragon
?"

"I have."

"What did your examination reveal?"

"That there are close similarities between
Catchpole
and
The Paper Dragon
."

"Similarities to both the book
and
the film?"

"Both the book and the film, yes."

The courtroom was silent. Brackman took a deep breath. "What similarities did your examination reveal?" he asked.

"Your Honor, if I may…"

"Yes, Mr. Willow?"

"I think we might be able to save a little time here, if the plaintiff is willing."

"How might we do that, Mr. Willow?"

"The plaintiff and his attorneys were good enough to prepare — for the pretrial examinations — several charts containing the alleged similarities between the works in question. These are rather detailed as to specific language, plot structure, and character. I would have no objection to the offer of these charts at this point."

Brackman shook his head. "I wish the witness to testify to the similarities in his own words."

"His own words are already on the record," Willow said.

"Your Honor," Genitori said, rising, "we have reams and reams of charts prepared by the witness and his attorneys. The entire matter is before us ad infinitum."