James Hill (film producer)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Hill (born August 1, 1916 in Jeffersonville , Indiana ; † January 11, 2001 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American screenwriter and film producer who founded the Hecht-Hill-Lancaster production company with Harold Hecht and Burt Lancaster .

Life

James Hill was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana , in 1916, the son of a lawyer . After attending the University of Washington , he began his professional career as an errand boy for NBC radio in New York , where he was soon working as a screenwriter. In 1947 he wrote and produced the Beulah radio series in which Hattie McDaniel played the leading role. He then went to Hollywood, where he was signed as a writer by MGM .

His collaboration with Burt Lancaster and former agent Harold Hecht began in 1954 when they were filming a screenplay by Hill entitled The White Ruler of Tonga ( His Majesty O'Keefe , 1954). After Hecht and Lancaster signed a deal with United Artists that gave them complete control over their film projects, they asked Hill if he would like to join them. Hill then appeared for the first time as a film producer for the Western Vera Cruz (1954). Lancaster and Gary Cooper played the lead roles, while Robert Aldrich directed. The reviews criticized the cynical, humorous portrayal of greed and immorality, but Vera Cruz was still a great success at the box office and is now considered a forerunner of the Spaghetti Western . Hill's next production, Carol Reed's circus drama Trapeze ( Trapeze , 1956), became an even bigger hit, with Lancaster again starring alongside Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida . In the meantime, Hill officially belonged to the newly established production company Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, which in 1957 was able to record its greatest artistic triumph with your fate in my hand ( Sweet Smell of Success ). The film received very good reviews but proved to be a flop at the box office.

As a next project, the producer trio decided with U 23 - Tödliche Tiefen ( Run Silent, Run Deep , 1958) for a commercially oriented submarine adventure, in which Lancaster, directed by Robert Wise , can be seen alongside Clark Gable . This was followed by a film adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play Separate Tables , which ran successfully in theaters in both London and New York. Lancaster secured the film rights and wanted Laurence Olivier as a director for the project under the title Separate Tables ( Separate Tables , 1958) undertake. Olivier and his wife Vivien Leigh would also play two of the main roles, but when Lancaster claimed another lead role, which Olivier wanted to cast with Spencer Tracy , it came to a break and both Olivier and Leigh left the project. James Hill then suggested Rita Hayworth for Leigh's role.

Hill and Hayworth had met at a New Year's Eve party held by a mutual friend, makeup man Robert Schiffer. Hill was known as a bachelor in Hollywood for years, while Hayworth divorced her fourth husband, singer Dick Haymes , in 1955 . Hill and Hayworth met regularly from then on and appeared in front of the altar on February 2, 1958. With the role of Ann Shankland in Separate From Table and Bed , Hill hoped to establish Hayworth as a serious actress. The film received numerous awards, including two Oscars for David Niven and Wendy Hiller . However, Hill and Hayworth's marriage was not a lucky star. Hayworth began showing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and, like Hill, had increasing drinking problems. The productions of Hecht-Hill-Lancaster were increasingly marked by failures. The co-produced Western To those Unforgiven ( The Unforgiven , 1960), in which Audrey Hepburn as Indian beside Lancaster generally considered miscast applies itself became his director John Huston disliked. The last collaboration between Hecht, Hill and Lancaster on John Frankenheimer's drama The Prisoner of Alcatraz ( Birdman of Alcatraz , 1962), whose story about ornithologist Robert Stroud is based on real events, was a final success.

In 1962, Hill and Hayworth founded Hillworth Productions, with which they jointly produced Hayworth's next film, the rogue comedy Rendezvous in Madrid ( The Happy Thieves , 1962). In addition to Hayworth, Rex Harrison took on the male lead. However, the film proved to be a failure with both critics and audiences. Shortly after filming ended, Hill and Hayworth divorced on September 7, 1961. In 1983 Hill dedicated a book to his ex-wife called Rita Hayworth: A Memoir . In it he remembers their time together and describes the reasons for their separation. According to him, he pushed Hayworth too hard to continue her career while she wanted to retire from show business to paint. Hayworth died in 1987 of complications from her Alzheimer's disease. Hill later developed Alzheimer's disease and died in Santa Monica in 2001 at the age of 84 .

Filmography (selection)

production

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Myrna Oliver: James Hill; Producer-Writer Married Rita Hayworth, Teamed With Burt Lancaster . In: Los Angeles Times , Jan. 16, 2001.
personal data
SURNAME Hill, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American screenwriter and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH August 1, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Jeffersonville (Indiana) , Indiana , United States
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 2001
Place of death Santa Monica , California , United States