Johanna Harwood facts for kids

Johanna Harwood (born 1930) is an Irish screenwriter who is now retired. She is famous for helping to write the screenplays for the first three James Bond films. These movies are Dr. No (1962), From Russia With Love (1963), and Goldfinger (1964). She was not officially credited for her work on Goldfinger. Johanna Harwood was married to the well-known director René Clément.

Early Career in Film

Johanna Harwood started working in the film industry in 1949. She was very good at speaking French. She went to a special film school in Paris, France, called I.D.H.E.C.

She also studied filmmaking in England. After that, she went back to Dublin, Ireland, to work in the Irish film industry. In the 1950s, she became a continuity supervisor. This job means she made sure that everything in a movie scene matched up perfectly from shot to shot.

She worked on films like Return to Glennascaul, which starred Orson Welles. She also helped with continuity on movies produced by Albert R. Broccoli, who later became famous for the James Bond films.

Moving to London and Writing

Johanna Harwood found that there wasn't much film work in Ireland. So, she moved to London. There, she worked for a company that managed actors and writers. This job gave her time to write her own stories. She even wrote for a famous magazine called Punch.

Later, the company she worked for was taken over by Harry Saltzman. He was a very important film producer. Johanna stayed on as his secretary and then became a "reader." This meant she read scripts and books to decide if they would make good movies.

She convinced Saltzman to let her try writing a film script. One night, he called her with an idea for a Bob Hope movie. She wrote a funny short story in 1959 that made fun of James Bond, called Some Are Born Great.

Working on James Bond Films

Harry Saltzman later asked Johanna Harwood to work on the first two James Bond films. These were Dr. No and From Russia with Love. She also worked on another film Saltzman produced, Call Me Bwana.

For Dr. No, another writer named Richard Maibaum was already working on the script. Johanna Harwood and a thriller writer named Berkely Mather then helped improve Maibaum's script. The film's director, Terence Young, said that Johanna helped make the characters feel more British.

Richard Maibaum was a bit surprised that Johanna got credit for adapting From Russia with Love. He said she made some good suggestions while working with the director. However, he felt her credit was due to "studio politics."

Johanna Harwood said in an interview that she followed Ian Fleming's original James Bond novels very closely for both Dr. No and From Russia with Love. She also helped with the script for Saltzman's film The Ipcress File (1965), but she wasn't officially credited for it.

Other Projects and Later Life

In 1966, Johanna Harwood shared that she really wanted to direct a film. She said it was what she wanted "more than anything."

She co-wrote a French film called Ne jouez pas avec les Martiens (1967). She also translated three novels by a French author named Nicole Vidal into English. For 20 years, Johanna worked for Reader's Digest in Paris. Her job was to shorten French novels for the magazine.

Johanna Harwood was married to the French film director René Clément. They met while working on the film Knave of Hearts. After her husband passed away in 1996, Johanna created the Fondation René Clément in 2007. This foundation helps to remember and honor her husband's work.

Filmography

As Writer Only

• Dr. No (1962)
• Call Me Bwana (1963)
• From Russia with Love (1963)
• Ne jouez pas avec les Martiens (1967)

As Herself

• Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote (2000)