Beulah Marie Dix facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beulah Marie Dix
prior to 1906
Born	(1876-12-25)December 25, 1876 Kingston, Massachusetts, United States
Died	September 25, 1970(1970-09-25) (aged 94) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States
Other names	Beulah Marie Flebbe
Occupation	Screenwriter
Years active	1917–1942

Beulah Marie Dix (born December 25, 1876 – died September 25, 1970) was an American writer. She wrote many movie scripts for both silent movies and movies with sound. She also wrote plays and books, including some for children. Beulah wrote for over 55 films between 1917 and 1942.

Early Life and Education

Beulah Marie Dix was born in Kingston, Massachusetts. Her parents were Henry and Maria Dix. Soon after she was born, her family moved to Plymouth, Massachusetts. This town later became a common setting in her plays and books.

When Beulah was 16, her family moved to Chelsea, Massachusetts. She finished high school there as the top student in her class. After high school, Beulah went to Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She studied History and English and graduated with top honors. These two subjects were very important in her writing. She wrote plays and essays about topics like the Thirty Years' War and the Boston Tea Party. Beulah was also the first woman to win the Sohier Literary Prize. This award is given to a Harvard or Radcliffe student for the best research paper.

Becoming a Writer

Even though Beulah Dix often wrote about historical military events, she was actually a pacifist. This means she believed in peace and was against war. As her career grew, she started writing anti-war novels. She wanted to show how terrible war could be. Before World War I started, she published two anti-war plays: Across the Border and Moloch. In these plays, her characters had to decide if they would try to stop the war.

Beulah Dix described herself as a "tomboy" when she was growing up. She said she didn't feel the need for many female friends. She also admitted that most of her main characters were little boys. She thought they were "more exciting than little girls."

However, she did thank two important women in her life. One was Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland, a well-known woman in Boston society. They worked together on plays like The Breed of the Treshams and The Road to Yesterday. They sometimes used a male pen name, John Rutherford, for these plays. This was to make them more popular with audiences at the time.

The other important woman was Beulah's agent, Beatrice de Mille. Beatrice was the mother of famous movie directors, William de Mille and Cecil B. de Mille. This connection helped Beulah find her way to Hollywood. In 1916, Beulah visited Beatrice in California and decided to stay. She thought it was safer on the West Coast because of a polio outbreak and the start of World War I. Beulah's experience writing plays helped her easily become a screenwriter. She started writing for movies with director William de Mille.

Success in Hollywood

In 1916, Beulah Dix began writing for the new movie industry part-time. Her scripts became very popular. She soon became a respected and busy writer during the silent movie era. Her success led to a full-time job at Famous Players-Lasky, which later became Paramount Pictures.

Beulah's career took off! Between 1917 and 1926, she was credited for writing over fifty movie scripts. Her success came from her work habits. She often worked alone or with a small group of close friends. She usually only shared her work with William de Mille and her writing partner, Bertram Millhauser. Beulah liked to keep her work private, which also affected her daily life.

When movies started having sound, Beulah found it hard to adapt. This led to her leaving Paramount Pictures in 1924. But in 1925, she found a new home at the DeMille Studios.

Beulah Dix quickly became one of the most wanted screenwriters in Hollywood. Even during the Great Depression, she was able to support her family because of her amazing writing skills. Directors loved her ability to create strong, historically accurate characters. They also liked that she enjoyed writing exciting scripts.

Later Career and Legacy

Beulah Dix continued to try different writing styles. In 1927, she published a children's book called The Turned About Girls. She kept writing movie scripts but preferred to do it without her name attached. This choice to write anonymously eventually marked the end of her public career. Beulah Marie Dix's passion and hard work as a screenwriter were truly special during her time. She left a big mark on the silent film era.

Novels

Selected Filmography

Awards

Beulah Dix won the 1897 George B. Sohier Prize. She won it for her paper titled "Published Collections of English and Scottish Ballads, 1765–1802."

Images for kids

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  Merrylips, Novel (1906)