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Caricature by John Huston on St. Regis stationery card, circa 1943-1945

Caricature by John Huston on St. Regis stationery card, circa 1943-1945

Caricature by John Huston on a hotel stationery card from the St. Regis in New York depicts an incident told by Dimitri Tiomkin in his autobiography of his belt breaking while conducting a recording session for The Battle of Russia, a 1943 war documentary. "To Deeeemy [Dimi, diminutive for Dimitri] / Jules / From John / that was Frank [Capra] but it was no good" [refers to the crossed out image at far right]. "Jules" probably refers to Huston's cameraman, Jules Buck. For John Huston to have witnessed the event (and for Buck, Huston, and Capra to have all been present), it's more likely the incident took place at a recording session for the 1945 war documentary San Pietro, directed by Huston, filmed by Buck, and supervised by Capra. Image number: DT95 (7-inch x 5-inch photograph of drawing).

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