Page "Sergei Eisenstein" Paragraph 9

Eisenstein proposed a biography of munitions tycoon Sir Basil Zaharoff and a film version of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw, and more fully developed plans for a film of Sutter's Gold by Jack London, but on all accounts failed to impress the studio's producers.

Paramount then proposed a movie version of Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy.

This excited Eisenstein, who had read and liked the work, and had met Dreiser at one time in Moscow.

Eisenstein completed a script by the start of October 1930, but Paramount disliked it completely and, additionally, found themselves intimidated by Major Frank Pease, president of the Hollywood Technical Director's Institute.

Pease, an anti-communist, mounted a public campaign against Eisenstein.

On October 23, 1930, by " mutual consent ," Paramount and Eisenstein declared their contract null and void, and the Eisenstein party were treated to return tickets to Moscow at Paramount's expense.