Philip Dunne (writer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Philip Dunne
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Philip Dunne (1961)
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Philip Ives Dunne
February 11, 1908 New York City, U.S.
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| Died | June 2, 1992 (aged 84) Malibu, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | Screenwriter, film director and producer |
Philip Ives Dunne (born February 11, 1908 – died June 2, 1992) was a talented American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He worked on many movies from 1932 until 1965. Most of his career was spent at 20th Century Fox, a major film studio.
Philip Dunne was known for creating popular romantic and historical dramas. Many of these movies were adapted from books or plays. He was also a key leader in the Screen Writers Guild, a group that supported writers. He was very active in politics during a difficult time in Hollywood, known as the "Hollywood Blacklist" in the 1940s and 1950s.
Some of his most famous films include How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), The Robe (1953), and The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965).
Dunne was nominated for two Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars) for his screenwriting. These nominations were for How Green Was My Valley (1941) and David and Bathsheba (1951). He also received a Golden Globe nomination for his 1965 film The Agony and the Ecstasy. He won several awards from the Writers Guild of America (WGA), including the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement.
Many famous directors worked with Philip Dunne's screenplays. These included John Ford, Elia Kazan, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Education
Philip Dunne was born in New York City. His father, Finley Peter Dunne, was a well-known newspaper writer and humorist from Chicago. His mother, Margaret Ives Abbott, was the first American woman to win an Olympic medal. Her mother, Mary Ives Abbott, was also a writer.
Even though he was Catholic, Philip Dunne went to Middlesex School from 1920 to 1925. He then attended Harvard University from 1925 to 1929. After graduating, he moved to Hollywood to find work and improve his health.
Starting a Career in Film
Philip Dunne wasn't planning to work in movies at first. But it was the first place he found a job. A friend of his brother helped him get a job at Fox studio as a "reader." A reader's job was to read stories and scripts and decide if they would make good movies. He earned $35 a week.
Dunne later remembered that he often saw ways to make the stories better. He would write summaries and try to improve them. This helped him learn how to build a good story. At the same time, he was writing short stories in his free time.
In 1931, Dunne lost his job at Fox because the studio was cutting costs. He then worked briefly for MGM, another film studio, writing a comedy. He wasn't happy with his work there and left. This script was later made into the movie Student Tour (1934). He also worked without credit on the film Me and My Gal (1932).
Becoming a Successful Screenwriter
Philip Dunne's first important screenplay was The Count of Monte Cristo (1934). He helped turn the story into scenes and wrote the dialogue. He said the director, Rowland V. Lee, was an important teacher for him.
He continued to work on other films like The Melody Lingers On (1935) and Helldorado (1935). He also did some uncredited work on Under Pressure (1935) and Magnificent Obsession (1935).
Dunne received a lot of praise for his adaptation of The Last of the Mohicans (1936). He wrote this with John L. Balderstone. His script, not the original book, was even used as the basis for the 1992 film version of The Last of the Mohicans.
For Universal Pictures, he wrote Breezing Home (1937). He later said this was one of only four original screenplays he wrote in his career.
Working at 20th Century Fox
In 1937, Philip Dunne started working at 20th Century Fox. He stayed there for 25 years, except for four years during World War II. He wrote 36 films and directed 10 movies for the studio. He also produced some of his later films.
His first movie at Fox was Lancer Spy (1937). He then worked on three films with Julien Josephson that made him one of the top writers at the studio: Suez (1938), Stanley and Livingstone (1939), and The Rains Came (1939).
He also wrote Swanee River (1939) and Johnny Apollo (1940). One of his most famous works, How Green Was My Valley (1941), was directed by John Ford. He also wrote Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942).
During World War II
From 1942 to 1945, Philip Dunne worked for the U.S. Office of War Information. He was in charge of film production for the overseas branch. He wrote films like Salute to France (1943). He also produced a short documentary called The Town (1944).
After the War
After the war, Dunne returned to Fox. He quickly became a leading writer again. His films from this time include The Late George Apley (1947) and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947).
He also wrote Forever Amber (1947) with Ring Lardner Jr. Other films he wrote were Escape (1948) and The Luck of the Irish (1948). He helped rewrite the script for Pinky (1949).
Dunne then worked on big historical films like David and Bathsheba (1951), which was a huge success. He also wrote Anne of the Indies (1951) and Lydia Bailey (1952).
Becoming a Producer
Philip Dunne started producing films with Way of a Gaucho (1952), which he also wrote. A producer helps manage the making of a film, from start to finish. He then worked only as a writer on The Robe (1953). This was the first movie made in CinemaScope, a wide-screen film format, and it was a massive hit.
He wrote the sequel to The Robe, called Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), which was also very popular. However, another big film he wrote, The Egyptian (1954), did not do as well at the box office.
Directing Films
Dunne was asked to produce Prince of Players (1955). When he couldn't find a director he liked, the studio head, Darryl F. Zanuck, suggested Dunne direct it himself.
Dunne later said he started directing too late, as the old studio system in Hollywood was changing. He wrote, produced, and directed The View from Pompey's Head (1955). He also wrote and directed Hilda Crane (1956) and Three Brave Men (1957).
He directed In Love and War (1958), a war drama. Dunne also wrote and directed Ten North Frederick (1958) and Blue Denim (1959).
Later Career
In 1961, he directed Wild in the Country, which starred Elvis Presley. In 1962, he directed Lisa, which was nominated for a Golden Globe.
Dunne worked as a writer only on The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). His last feature film was Blindfold (1966), which he wrote and directed.
Interestingly, the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans was based on Philip Dunne's 1936 screenplay of the novel.
Other Writing Projects
Besides screenwriting, Philip Dunne wrote articles for newspapers and magazines like The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly. He also wrote speeches for politicians, including Adlai Stevenson.
He wrote two stage plays: Mr. Dooley's America (1976) and Politics (1980). His books include Mr Dooley Remembers (1963) and Take Two: A Life in Movies and Politics (1980). His essays appeared in Time magazine and the Los Angeles Times.
Awards and Recognition
Philip Dunne won the Laurel Award in 1962 and the Valentine Davies Award in 1974. The week before he passed away, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Writers Guild.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is a special sidewalk with stars honoring famous people in entertainment.
Politics and Activism
Philip Dunne was a co-founder of the Screen Writers Guild. He served as vice-president of the Writers Guild of America from 1938 to 1940. He also served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) from 1946 to 1948.
Before World War II, he was part of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies. This group believed that helping Britain with military supplies was the best way to keep the United States out of the war.
Philip Dunne and the Hollywood Blacklist
Philip Dunne played an important role during the Hollywood Blacklist period in the 1940s and 1950s. This was a time when some people in Hollywood were unfairly accused of being Communists and were prevented from working.
In 1947, Dunne helped start the Committee for the First Amendment with John Huston and William Wyler. This group was formed because of hearings held by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). HUAC was a government committee that investigated people they suspected of being disloyal to the United States.
Dunne, along with famous actors like Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Gene Kelly, went to Washington, D.C. They protested HUAC's actions and methods, believing they were unfair and went against people's rights to free speech.
Philip Dunne himself was never officially accused or blacklisted. He continued to work in Hollywood. However, he often worked with people who were blacklisted, like Ring Lardner Jr. and Clifford Odets. He even spoke up for Dalton Trumbo, another writer, during his trial.
In 1997, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) gave proper credit to blacklisted writers whose names were removed from films they worked on. For example, the original credits for The Robe (1953) only listed Dunne as the screenwriter. But Albert Maltz, a blacklisted writer, had also made important contributions. Philip Dunne's widow confirmed that he would have been happy to share credit with Maltz.
Philip Dunne was a liberal thinker who believed in fairness and change. He was also against Communism. His involvement in the Committee for the First Amendment showed his strong belief in the right to free speech, even when it meant standing up to the government. He believed that HUAC was trying to take away these important rights.
Personal Life
Philip Dunne married Amanda Duff (1914–2006) on July 13, 1939. They had three children together.
Quotes
- "Never in all my years in this chancy and unstable profession did I ever realize that I was sleepwalking along a precipice. I ignored the fact that the rate of professional mortality among screen writers is extremely high...It wasn't courage or arrogance or insensitivity; I suspect it was the irascible Horatio Alger in my blood. If I had it to do all over again I would perish of sheer fright."
- "Had I known it was the Golden Age of Hollywood, I would have enjoyed it more."
Selected Filmography
- The Count of Monte Cristo (1934, screenplay)
- Student Tour (1934, screenplay)
- Helldorado (1935, screenplay)
- The Melody Lingers On (1936, screenplay)
- The Last of the Mohicans (1936, screenplay)
- Breezing Home (1937, screenplay)
- Lancer Spy (1937, screenplay)
- Suez (1938, screenplay)
- Stanley and Livingstone (1939, screenplay)
- The Rains Came (1939, screenplay)
- Swanee River (1939, screenplay)
- Johnny Apollo (1940, screenplay)
- How Green Was My Valley (1941, screenplay)
- Son of Fury (1942, screenplay)
- The Late George Apley (1947, screenplay)
- The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947, screenplay)
- Forever Amber (1947, screenplay)
- Escape (1948, screenplay)
- The Luck of the Irish (1948, screenplay)
- Pinky (1949, screenplay)
- Anne of the Indies (1951, screenplay)
- David and Bathsheba (1951, screenplay)
- Lydia Bailey (1952, screenplay)
- Way of a Gaucho (1952, screenplay, producer)
- The Robe (1953, screenplay)
- Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954, screenplay)
- The Egyptian (1954, screenplay)
- Prince of Players (1955, director, producer)
- The View from Pompey's Head (1955, screenplay, director, producer)
- Hilda Crane (1956, screenplay, director)
- Three Brave Men (1956, screenplay and director)
- Ten North Frederick (1958, screenplay and director)
- In Love and War (1958, director)
- Blue Denim (1959, screenplay, director)
- Wild in the Country (1961, director)
- Lisa (1962, director)
- The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965, screenplay)
- Blindfold (1966, screenplay and director)
