GENE AUTRY, Appellant, v. REPUBLIC PRODUCTIONS, INC. (a Corporation), Respondent, 30 Cal. 2d 144

Summary

An actor and a movie studio entered into an agreement where the actor would perform in movies and the studio would pay him. The contract had four options which could be exercised by the studio which would extend the contract for one year each. One month after the first option was exercised the actor was called to active duty in the military. One month later, the parties entered into another agreement which added another option year to the original contract and noted that should the actor serve in the military, the parties would agree upon their mutual obligations. Almost two years later, the studio indicated that it was exercising its option for the fourth year. The actor sought to terminate the agreement and filed a declaratory action in the trial court. The trial court ruled in favor of the studio and determined the contract was merely suspended while the actor was in the military. The court determined that the second agreement entered into did not extend the original contract and ...