Miss Monica McCall

c/o Curtis Brown, Ltd.,

18 East 48th. Street

New York, N. Y.

Dear Miss McCall: –

The letter with the contracts arrived to-day. I am sending you enclosed the signed agreement with Curtis Brown, retaining one copy for my files. I added a statement concerning amateur and semi-professional productions. As I told you in New York these are represented by the Dramatists Play Service in New York.

Concerning the contract with McClintic several corrections should be made:

1) Par. 7. concerning stock, amateur and semi-professional performances I have never signed a contract according to the terms of which the professional producer was entitled to 50% of stock, amateur and semi-professional performances. That would mean that the producer gets 50% and each author only 25%. The same distribution would result in the case of foreign language performances in the United States and condensed and tabloid versions.

As I informed you the rights of all amateur and semi-professional performances are represented by the Dramatists Play Service (Executive Director Barrett H. Clark).

2) Par. 9. rights in foreign countries.

“In the event that the said play is produced in foreign countries outside of Great Britain, the Manager, subject to the terms and conditions of Section 2 Article V of the Minimum Basic Agreement, shall receive 40% of the net proceeds.”

This paragraph seems to me to be somewhat untenable.

I should like to illustrate my doubts by citing an example.

Supposing “Blind Man’s Buff” were to be produced in Sweden; in that case the play would have to be translated into Swedish. Translators usually ask 50%. The Swedish agent will ask at least 10% so that a very small percentage of the royalties would remain for the author. If 40% goes to the producer, almost nothing remains for the author.

Second example: “Blind Man’s Buff” is to be played in its new version in the German part of Switzerland. In order to accomplish this the play would have to be re-translated from English into the German language; this entails considerable work.

As in the first example the producer would receive 40% of the proceeds, which again does not seem to me to be quite tenable.

Finally according to our agreement, Curtis Brown, New York, is my exclusive agent for the marketing of my plays in the United States of America and the Dominion of Canada.

The question whether Curtis Brown, London, will represent my plays in other countries besides Great Britain has not yet been discussed at all.

I therefore ask myself why the American producer should again receive 40% of the proceeds of a performance, which is negotiated for instance by a Dutch, Swedish or Swiss Agent.

I call to mind my contract with the Theatre Guild. According to the terms of this contract the Theatre Guild had the exclusive rights for the United States and Canada for professional performances, inclusive of film rights, but no other rights.

“Masses and Man” has been played in Germany and was sold by my German agent to all the other European countries, and the Theatre Guild made no demands on the proceeds in these other countries.

It must be remembered that Johnston and I are actually foreign writers. The concept “foreign rights” has an entirely different meaning in our case than in the case of an American writer.

I have some fourteen or fifteen plays produced, each of which was covered by a producer as for example Reinhardt and Piscator. Never have terms been stipulated which asked to participate in foreign rights. I am convinced that if Mr. McClintic reconsiders and realizes that under the proposed contract nothing will be left for the authors in cases of production in foreign countries, he will agree to cancel these stipulations.

In order to facilitate and expedite your answer I am enclosing one copy of the contract.

If my objections are in error and not justified, I should be obliged for your advice by return air-mail.

With kindest regards,

Sincerely,

Signed: Ernst Toller.