Re: RARA-AVIS: Hammett and... Henry James

From: Richard Moore ( moorich@aol.com)
Date: 22 Nov 2007


--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Brian Thornton" <tieresias@...> wrote:
>
> Patrick King wrote:
>
> >To a large extent, Faulkner WAS a hardboiled boy. He
> >wrote the script for Hawk's THE BIG SLEEP and several
> >others.
>
> He collaborated on the script for THE BIG SLEEP, he didn't write
it. Among those with whom he worked on it was Leigh Brackett, a good writer in her own right (who won an Oscar for her work on the script for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and also worked on the script for Altman's LONG GOODBYE, if memory serves correctly).
>
> Brian

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK screenplay was not nominated for an Oscar. The movie won for best sound and there were other nominations.

The cowriter on THE BIG SLEEP who is often forgotten was Jules Furthman, who had worked with Hawks before, such as on the very good film ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, and on some very good MGM pictures such as CHINA SEAS, one of my favorite adventure films. Of interest to this list was his screenplay for Tyrone Power's NIGHTMARE ALLEY.

Faulkner had also worked with Hawks before and would again. This was Brackett's maiden voyage with Hawks but she became one of his regulars. She and Furthman collaborated in 1959 on RIO BRAVO, one of my top ten favorite westerns.

One Brackett teleplay I would like to see was an episode of the short-lived series ARCHER, based on the Ross Macdonald character and starring Brian Keith. I have grown to appreciate Keith more in recent years and do not recall seeing any of the Archer shows. The one by Brackett was titled "The Body Beautiful" which is apparently unrelated to Bill Ballinger's hardboiled novel by that title.

Richard Moore



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