1950. A note passed to actress Barbara Bel Geddes by Ben Hecht and his writing partner Charles Macarthur, handed to the actress at a diner in 1950. The note reads: "Excuse - but we are casting aplay - are you an actress / Hecht / Macarthur." A seminal year for Ms. Bel Geddes, in which she had her first top billing in the film noir, "Panic in the Streets," alongside Richard Widmark. Hecht and Macarthur met in 1922 when both men were reporters, and after moving to New York City together to become playwrights, produced their first collaboration, "The Front Page," in 1928. They went on to become one of the most successful screenwriting teams in the history of motion pictures, with works that included "Gone with the Wind," "Gunga Din," and the landmark screwball comedy, "Twentieth Century." In 1957, Hecht wrote Macarthur's biography, "Charlie: The Life and Improbable Times of Charles Macarthur." Accompanying the note is a silver gelatin photograph of Ms. Bel Geddes in a scene with Richard Widmark from "Panic in the Streets," which hung on the actresses' wall for many years. The autograph note is on brown paper stock, 5 x 8 inches, uninspected out of its frame, Near Fine condition. Photograph is 8 x 10 inches, with some faint wrinkling from exposure to moisture, else Near Fine, uninspected out of its frame.From the estate of Ms. Bel Geddes. Full provenance available. [Book #117701]