Johanna Harwood facts for kids

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

Early Life and Film Career

Johanna Harwood started working in the film industry in 1949. She was very good at speaking French. She studied filmmaking in Paris, France, at a special school called Institut des hautes études cinématographiques.

After her studies, she returned to Dublin, Ireland. She worked in the Irish film industry. In the early to mid-1950s, she became a continuity supervisor on movie sets. A continuity supervisor makes sure that everything in a film scene matches up. This means details like costumes, props, and actor positions stay the same from one shot to the next.

Working on Film Sets

Johanna worked on several films as a continuity supervisor. Some of these films were Everybody's Business and Return to Glennascaul. Return to Glennascaul was filmed in Ireland and starred the famous actor Orson Welles. She also worked on The Flying Eye and Knave of Hearts. She helped with continuity on other big productions too, like The Red Beret and Hell Below Zero.

Moving to London

Because there wasn't much film work in Ireland, Johanna moved to London. There, she worked for a company that helped actors find jobs. This job gave her time to write. She wrote for different publications, including 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. A reader helps decide which stories or scripts might make good movies. She eventually convinced Harry Saltzman to let her write a film script.

Writing for James Bond

Harry Saltzman asked Johanna to develop an idea for a movie. She wrote a short story in 1959 that made fun of James Bond. It was called Some Are Born Great.

First Bond Films

Harry Saltzman later asked Johanna to work on the first two James Bond films. These were Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963). She also worked on a non-Bond film called Call Me Bwana.

For Dr. No, another writer named Richard Maibaum had already started the script. Johanna Harwood and another writer, Berkely Mather, then helped improve Maibaum's script. The film's director, Terence Young, said that Johanna helped make the story feel more British.

Johanna stated that her scripts for Dr. No and From Russia with Love followed the original books very closely. She also helped with the script for another spy film, The Ipcress File (1965), but she was not credited for this work.

Other Creative Work

In 1966, Johanna Harwood shared that she hoped to direct a film. She said it was what she wanted to do most.

She co-wrote a French film called Ne jouez pas avec les Martiens (1967). Johanna also translated three novels by a French author named Nicole Vidal into English. These books were The Goddess Queen, Nefertiti, and Ring of Jade. For 20 years, Johanna worked for Reader's Digest in Paris. She helped shorten French novels for the magazine.

Personal Life

Johanna Harwood married the French film director René Clément. They met while working on the movie Knave of Hearts. René Clément passed away in 1996. In 2007, Johanna created the Fondation René Clement. This foundation helps to remember her husband and his 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)