F. Hugh Herbert
- For the film comedian, see Hugh Herbert.
F. Hugh Herbert | |
---|---|
Born |
Frederick Hugh Herbert May 29, 1897 Vienna, Austria |
Died |
May 17, 1958 60) Beverly Hills, California | (aged
Occupation |
Novelist Playwright Scenarist |
Frederick Hugh Herbert (May 29, 1897 - May 17, 1958) was a playwright, screenwriter, novelist, short story writer, and infrequent film director. Born in Vienna, Austria, Herbert was educated at the University of London.[1] He began his film career in 1926 with two projects starring Conrad Nagel, The Waning Sex and There You Are!, the latter adapted from his play of the same title. His screenwriting credits included Vanity Fair, Fashions of 1934; Smarty in 1934, adapted from his own play; Sitting Pretty; Dark Command; Our Very Own; The Little Hut; Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! and The Girls of Pleasure Island, the last two of which he also directed. He co-wrote a few films in which the similarly named, but unrelated actor Hugh Herbert appeared: Fashions of 1934 (1934), We're in the Money (1935) and Colleen (1936).
One of Herbert's most enduring creations was the character of American teenager Corliss Archer, who was introduced in his 1943 play Kiss and Tell[2] and played on screen by Shirley Temple in the 1945 film adaptation. The character went on to appear in a series of magazine articles, another Temple film, and a radio and television series called Meet Corliss Archer.
Herbert's play The Moon Is Blue had a run of 924 performances on Broadway,[3] which was adapted for the screen version produced and directed by Otto Preminger, who had been responsible for the stage production. The film adaptation, released in 1953, was controversial at the time owing to its frank language and sexual themes. When the Breen office refused to give it a Motion Picture Production Code seal of approval, United Artists opted to release the film without one, and the success of the film was instrumental in weakening the long-standing influence of the Code.[4]
Herbert won the Writers Guild of America Award for Sitting Pretty and was nominated for The Moon is Blue. The uncle of actress Kathleen Hughes, he died in Beverly Hills.
Partial filmography
- As screenwriter unless otherwise indicated.
- The Waning Sex (1926)
- There You Are! (1926; also based on his play)
- The Demi-Bride (1927)
- On Ze Boulevard (1927; story)
- Adam and Evil (1927)
- Tea for Three (1927)
- Baby Mine (1828; scenario)
- The Baby Cyclone (1928)
- Kiss and Tell (1928; dialogue)
- Beau Broadway (1928)
- The Baby Cyclone (1928)
- The Cardboard Lover (1928)
- Lights of New York (1928)
- A Single Man (1929)
- Murder on the Roof (1930)
- Road to Yesterday (1930)
- Road to Paradise (1930)
- Vanity Fair (1932)
- The Stoker (1932)
- The Penal Code (1932)
- The Constant Woman (1933; adaptation and dialogue)
- One Year Later (1933; also story)
- The Women in His Life (1933)
- By Candlelight (1933)
- Smarty (1934; also based on his play)
- Fashion Follies of 1934 (1934)
- The Journal of a Crime (1934)
- The Dragon Murder Case (1934)
- The Secret Bride (1934)
- The Traveling Saleslady (1935)
- Personal Maid's Secret (1935)
- We're in the Money (1935)
- If You Could Only Cook (1935; story)
- Colleen (1936)
- Snowed Under (1936)
- The Case of the Black Cat (1936)
- As Good as Married (1937)
- Road to Reno (1938)
- That Certain Age (1938; story)
- Dark Command (1940)
- Hit Parade of 1941 (1940)
- Women in War (1940; also story)
- Three Faces West (1940)
- Melody Ranch (1940)
- West Point Widow (1941)
- My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1942)
- Fly-by-Night (1942)
- Together Again (1944)
- Kiss and Tell (1945; also based on his play)
- A Guy Could Change (1946; story)
- Home Sweet Homicide (1946)
- Margie (1947)
- Sitting Pretty (1948)
- Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948; also directed)
- Our Very Own (1950)
- Let's Make It Legal (1951)
- The Girls of Pleasure Island (1953; also directed)
- The Moon Is Blue (1953; also based on his play)
- Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach (1953; based on a translation of his play)
- The Little Hut (1957; also produced)
- This Happy Feeling (1958); also adapted from his play)
References
- ↑ F. Hugh Herbert at AllMovie.com
- ↑ Kiss and Tell at the Internet Broadway Database
- ↑ The Moon is Blue at the Internet Broadway Database
- ↑ Fujiwara, Chris, The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger. New York: Macmillan Publishers 2009. ISBN 0-86547-995-X, pp. 140-147