Songwriter, 1978-1985, undated

This series is also divided into Produced and Unproduced work.

The Produced sub-series is arranged by production date. It contains similar materials: drafts, correspondence, contracts, promotional materials and press clippings. The three projects Shrake was most closely involved with — Kid Blue, Songwriter and Pair of Aces — contain the most materials. The Beverly Hills Cop II folders contain documents related to the unsuccessful arbitration Shrake and Dan Jenkins initiated in order to get writing credits on the movie.

The Unproduced sub-series is the most voluminous, reflecting Shrake’s prolific work as a screenwriter from the early 1970s to the early 1990s. Except for the three film treatments at the beginning, the files are arranged alphabetically. Contents are typically drafts and treatments, with some correspondence and research. Those works that contain more materials than others often reflect that they were closer to being produced, such as with “The Big Mamoo,” the various Pancho Villa projects,and “Slim and None.” Shrake collaborated with Dan Jenkins in the 1970s and 80s on many of the unproduced screenplay efforts. Two of Shrake’s attempts to turn his novels into films are also contained here: Strange Peachesand Limo, the latter written with Jenkins.