Noel Langley

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Noel Langley (born December 25, 1911 in Durban , † November 4, 1980 in Desert Hot Springs , California ) was a South African-born American writer , screenwriter , director and film producer . He was best known for his work for classic films such as The Wizard of Oz , Ivanhoe - The Black Knight , Mr. Pickwick or The Knights of the Round Table .

life and work

Born in 1911 in Durban, South Africa, Noel Langley began his professional career as a playwright on Broadway in New York after training at the University of Natal . In the mid-1930s he went to Hollywood as a writer , where he mainly worked as a screenwriter. His first major success was the adaptation of L. Frank Baum's novel based on the classic film The Wizard of Oz in 1939. After the Second World War , Langley wrote the screenplay for Alberto Cavalcanti's crime drama Convict 3312 , in which he also served as an associate producer . In 1949 he moved his field of work mainly to England, where he worked for films such as Adam and Evelyne , So ist das Leben , Charles Dickens - A Christmas Story or Tom Brown's school days . At the beginning of the 1950s he wrote the scripts for the director Richard Thorpe for Hollywood , for his successful adventure films Ivanhoe - The Black Knight , In the Shadow of the Crown and The Knights of the Round Table . In 1952 he directed the critically acclaimed drama Mr. Pickwick, starring James Hayter , in England, based on the novel by Charles Dickens . In addition to directing and adapting the script, Langley also produced the film. In 1954 he directed the romantic British drama Svengali with Hildegard Knef , Donald Wolfit and Terence Morgan . In 1956 he wrote the screenplay for Michael Curtiz's musical King of the Vagabonds .

In the years 1955 to 1974 Noel Langley also wrote numerous scripts for episodes of well-known American television series such as The United States Steel Hour (1955), Ford Star Jubilee (1956), Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958), The Best of the Post (1961 ), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963), Theater 625 (1967) or Jackanory (1968–1969). His last collaboration as a screenwriter was in 1974 for the French TV series Au théâtre ce soir .

In 1961, Langley officially became a US citizen.

Noel Langley was the grandfather of actress Wendy Kilbourne . He was married to Naomi Mary Legate from 1937 to 1954. In 1959 he married Pamela Deeming. Langley died on November 4, 1980 in Desert Hot Springs, California, at the age of 68.

Awards

  • 1948: Donaldson Award for Edward, My Son
  • 1962: Writers Guild of America Award nomination in the Best Written American Musical category for Snow White and the Three Stooges

Publications

  • 1948: Edward, My Son

Filmography (selection)

Screenwriter (selection)

  • 1937: Maienzeit (Maytime)
  • 1939: The Wizard of Oz (The Wizard of Oz)
  • 1940: Florian
  • 1947: Convict 3312 (They Made Me a Fugitive)
  • 1948: The Vicious Circle
  • 1949: Edward, My Son (Edward, My Son)
  • 1949: Great days (Cardboard Cavalier)
  • 1949: Adam and Evelyne (Adam and Evelyne)
  • 1950: That's Life (Trio)
  • 1950: Her Favorite Husband
  • 1950: Due mogli sono troppe
  • 1951: A Christmas Story (Scrooge)
  • 1951: Tom Brown's Schooldays
  • 1952: Ivanhoe - The Black Knight (Ivanhoe)
  • 1952 Father's Doing Fine
  • 1952: In the shadow of the crown (The Prisoner of Zenda)
  • 1952: Mr. Pickwick (The Pickwick Papers)
  • 1953: Our Girl Friday
  • 1953: The Knights of the Round Table (Knights of the Round Table)
  • 1954: Svengali
  • 1956: The Vagabond King
  • 1956: The Search for Bridey Murphy
  • 1961: Snow White & The Three Stooges

Film director

  • 1952: Mr. Pickwick (The Pickwick Papers)
  • 1953: Our Girl Friday
  • 1954: Svengali
  • 1956: The Search for Bridey Murphy

film producer

  • 1947: Convict 3312 (They Made Me a Fugitive)
  • 1952: Mr. Pickwick (The Pickwick Papers)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Portrait of Noel Langley in: The New York Times
  2. ^ Noel Langley in: Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature - Volume 2 , by Robert Reginald , Douglas Menville , Mary A. Burgess, 2010, p. 968
personal data
SURNAME Langley, Noel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer, screenwriter, director, and producer
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Durban , South Africa
DATE OF DEATH November 4th 1980
Place of death Desert Hot Springs , California , USA