Dating: In June of 1945, Pan-American Films first contacted Steinbeck about writing a screenplay based on Emiliano Zapata. In the fall of 1948, following a trip to Mexico with Kazan, he wrote this long introduction "as a way of sinking into the material."--Cf. Parini, p. 293 and p. 329.
Lacking p. 42. Apparently lacking p. 164, but this is simply a foliation error; not text is missing.
Part of a collection of introductory and background material related to the film Viva Zapata!, which was produced by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1952.
This introduction and screenplay was first edited and published from the original held by the University of California at Los Angeles by Robert E. Morsberger in 1975.
Outlining Mexican history through the revolution to 1919 and describing in detail the people and customs of the state of Morelos; describing the screenplay he would like to write on the life of Emiliano Zapata, and discussing in great detail matters related to treatment, direction, production, filming (p. 1-90). Followed by (p. 91-194) a preliminary draft of a screenplay on the life of Emiliano Zapata.