Philip Dunne

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Philip Dunne (1961)

Philip Dunne (born February 11, 1908 in New York City , † June 2, 1992 in Malibu , California ) was an American screenwriter , film director and film producer .

Life

Philip Dunne was the son of American author Finley Peter Dunne and golfer Margaret Abbott . After attending a New York school and the Middlesex School in the US state of Massachusetts , he began studying at Harvard University in Cambridge in 1925 . He finished this in 1929, but without obtaining a degree.

His first experience in the film business was in the early 1930s. In 1932 he wrote his first screenplay for the film Me and My Gal , directed by Raoul Walsh , but he was not mentioned in the credits. Two years later he wrote the screenplay for the literary film adaptation of The Count of Monte Christo . More scripts followed, including for the film The Last of the Mohicans . Over the course of the decade, he co-founded the Screen Writers Guild and was Vice President of its successor organization, the Writers Guild of America, from 1938 to 1940 .

In 1939 he married actress Amanda Duff . The two met while working together at the 20th Century Fox film studio , where Dunne had been employed as a screenwriter since the beginning. The marriage, which lasted until his death in 1992, had three children.

Even in the 1940s, Dunne worked as a screenwriter without exception. In 1941 he wrote the book for the Oscar-winning film Schlagende Wetter . For this he was nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Screenplay in 1942 . Other films from this decade that Dunne worked on as a writer include A Free-Feet Ghost and Pinky, directed by Elia Kazan .

At the beginning of the 1940s was Dunne member of the Committee for the Defense of America by supporting the Allies ( "Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies - CDAAA"). This was an organization that, through targeted support from Great Britain , wanted to prevent the USA from directly participating in World War II . From 1942 to 1946, Dunne was an employee of the United States Office of War Information . Here he worked in the Overseas department in the role of Chief of Production for the Motion Picture Bureau.

In 1951 the film adaptation of the Bible David and Bathsheba was made under the direction of Henry King and Philip Dunne was nominated a second time for the Oscar in the category Best Screenplay , but could not win the award again. During this decade, Dunne wrote the scripts for various period films, including films such as The Pirate Queen and The Gladiators . In 1954, Dunne made his debut as a director and directed the literary film adaptation of King of Actors . The actor Richard Burton played a leading role here. In the same year he made another film adaptation of a literary model with Unfinished Love , for which he was also involved in the script. By 1965 he had made a total of ten films under his direction. His last film as a director and screenwriter was New York Express with Rock Hudson in the lead role.

In 1958 John Dunne was awarded the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival for his film A Man in His Prime, made that same year . The two actors Gary Cooper and Geraldine Fitzgerald took on the lead roles in this melodrama.

As a film producer, Dunne appeared in 1944 when he produced the short film The Town . In 1952 he produced King of the Gauchos , for whom he also wrote the screenplay. In 1955 he produced his two own films, which were made that year.

In 1952 and 1956, Dunne was a speechwriter for presidential candidate Adlai Ewing Stevenson . In 1960 this activity was repeated, this time for the campaign of later President of the United States John F. Kennedy .

Philip Dunne died on June 2, 1992 of complications from cancer. His autobiography Take Two: A Life in Movies and Politics was published as early as 1980 . A star on the Walk of Fame is a reminder of his work.

Filmography

As a screenwriter

As a director

  • 1954: King of the actor ( Prince of Players )
  • 1955: Unfinished Love ( The View from Pompey's Head )
  • 1956: The men around Hilda Crane ( Hilda Crane )
  • 1956: The Invisible Front ( Three Brave Men )
  • 1958: A Man in His Prime ( Ten North Frederick )
  • 1958: Hell, where's your horror ( In Love and War )
  • 1959: The Misunderstood ( Blue Denim )
  • 1961: Song of the Rebel ( Wild in the Country )
  • 1962: The Inspector ( Lisa )
  • 1965: New York Express ( Blindfold )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Dunne, Philip
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American screenwriter, film director and producer
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , USA
DATE OF DEATH 2nd June 1992
Place of death Malibu (California)