By the summer of 1934 Faulkner suffered from writers block in the writing of his opus, Absalom, Absalom and needed a new project. After discussing his problem with filmmaker Howard Hawks, he decided to write a story based upon events he witnessed at a 1934 barnstorming air show in New Orleans. Told through the eyes of an ineffectual reporter the story, which would become the book Pylon (1935), chronicled the death of a risk-loving aviator. Tragically, Faulkner's youngest brother Dean died in a place crash over Thaxton, Mississippi almost eight months after the book's release. Devastated, Faulkner blamed himself for introducing his brother to flying and selling Dean the aircraft involved in the crash.

Film studios expressed interest in the work soon after publication but it was not until the mid-1950s that Universal Pictures bought the rights for the reported sum of $50,000. Producer Albert Zugsmith convinced Universal to use the same team involved in the popular 1956 movie Written on the Wind-director Douglas Sirk and actors Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, and screenwriter George Zukerman. Sirk's first task was toning down the sexual overtones in order to pass the censors. Released in 1957 under the name of The Tarnished Angels, the film received mixed reviews, although Faulkner reportedly liked the result.

Special Collections owns a virtually complete handwritten manuscript of Pylon written entirely in green ink. On display is one of the early pages of the manuscript entitled, "Dedication of an Airport." An image from the 1936 Ole Miss yearbook features a photograph of Faulkner with the caption, "William Faulkner, novelist and aviator." A copy of the original three-sheet poster is also featured.    [go to page 4 >>]