Harriet Frank Jr.

Harriet Frank Jr.

Harriet Frank Jr. with her late husband Irving Ravetch in 1993
Born (1917-03-02) March 2, 1917
Portland, Oregon
Other names James P. Bonner
Harriet Frank
Occupation Screenwriter, producer
Years active 1947–1990
Spouse(s) Irving Ravetch (1946–2010) his death

Harriet Frank Jr. (born March 2, 1917) is an American film writer and producer. Working alongside her husband, Irving Ravetch, Frank received numerous awards during her lengthy career, including the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and the Writers Guild of America Award, and several nominations. Frank and Ravetch are considered one of the all-time great screenwriting couples, and many of their works are recognised classics of their genres.

Frank began her writing career after World War II, under Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's young writer's training program, where she first met her future husband. She married Ravetch in 1946 but worked independently for ten years, finally collaborating with him in 1957, a relationship that continued for the remainder of her career. During 33 years of collaboration, they created the screenplays for a variety of films, mainly adaptations of the works of American authors.

Frank and Ravetch maintained a close working relationship with director Martin Ritt throughout their career, collaborating with him on eight occasions; after initially being suggested by Ravetch to direct The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Ritt would eventually draw the couple out of inactivity on three occasions, hiring them to write the screenplays for Norma Rae (1979), Murphy's Romance (1985) and Stanley & Iris (1990). The latter was both the last film directed by Ritt (who died later that year) and the last for which Frank and Ravetch wrote the screenplay.

Life and career

Early life

Frank as depicted in Amazing Stories in 1953
An old man, dressed smartly in a suit and tie, rests his left arm on the arm of a chair. Close behind him is a simple brick wall.
Frank and Ravetch adapted many of the novels by William Faulkner (pictured) for film. Photograph by Carl Van Vechten

Harriet Frank Jr. was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.[1] While her mother worked as a Hollywood story editor, Frank attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), at the same time as her future husband, Irving Ravetch.[1] Having graduated at different times from UCLA, the two met in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer young writer's training program after World War II.[2][3]

The couple soon married in 1946, but worked independently for over ten years, with Frank writing for projects such as A Really Important Person (1947), Whiplash (1948) and Run for Cover (1955).[2][3] The couple first collaborated on the script of an adaptation of William Faulkner's novel The Hamlet in 1957 (released as The Long, Hot Summer), although Frank later said, "...in the end, we created mostly new material, so it wasn't really a true adaptation".[3]

Collaborations and awards

Martin Ritt, having directed The Long, Hot Summer on suggestion by Ravetch, then directed the couple's next collaboration, The Sound and the Fury (1959), once again an adaptation of a William Faulkner novel.[3] In 1960, Frank and Ravetch collaborated on two films, Home from the Hill, an adaptation of the novel of the same name, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, an adaptation of a Tony award-winning play.[2]

In 1963, Frank and Ravetch reunited with Martin Ritt to write the screenplay for Hud,[2] adapted from the novel Horseman, Pass By.[4][5] The film garnered critical acclaim, with the couple sharing a New York Film Critics Circle Award for "Best Screenplay" and a Writers Guild of America Award (WGA Award) for "Best Written American Drama". They were also nominated for an Academy Award in the category of "Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium".[6]

In 1967, Frank worked alongside her husband and Ritt on Hombre, a Revisionist Western film based on the novel of the same name.[7] The next year, Frank and Ravetch wrote the screenplay for House of Cards, a mystery film directed by John Guillermin. For House of Cards, Frank was credited, together with her husband, under the pen name of "James P. Bonner".[8] In 1969, Frank and Revitch returned to the works of William Faulkner, writing the screenplay for a film adaptation of his last novel The Reivers.[2]

1972 saw Frank and Ravetch write the screenplay for The Cowboys, based on the novel of the same name, and The Carey Treatment, based on the novel A Case of Need by Michael Crichton.[9] For the latter, the couple were credited under "James P. Bonner", the last time they would adopt the pen name. Two years later, the couple reunited once again with Martin Ritt to write the screenplay for Conrack, based on the autobiographical book The Water Is Wide, with Frank also working as producer. The film was commercially and critically well-received, winning a BAFTA award.[10] In the same year the couple wrote for an adaptation of the novel The Bank Robber, released as The Spikes Gang. Around this time, Frank also wrote two novels, Single: a novel (1977),[11] and Special Effects (1979).[12]

Return to screenwriting

Frank published one piece of science fiction, the novella "The Man from Saturn", in Amazing Stories in 1953

In 1979, following five years of inactivity, Frank and Ravetch returned to screen writing for Norma Rae, with Martin Ritt directing. The film tells the story of a factory worker from the Southern United States who becomes involved in labour union activities.[13] Unusually, for the couple, the film was based on a true story, that of Crystal Lee Jordan.[13] It was arguably their best received film,[14][15] winning numerous awards,[16][17] including two Academy Awards.[18][19]

Six years passed before the couple returned to screen writing, this time for the romantic comedy Murphy's Romance, based on a novel by Max Schott. Once again they worked with director Martin Ritt, their seventh project together, and Sally Field, who had played the titular lead role in Norma Rae. Despite Murphy's Romance being well-received (it was nominated for two Academy Awards) it would be another five years before Frank and Ravetch wrote another screenplay; hired by Martin Ritt, the couple wrote the screenplay for Stanley & Iris, loosely based on the novel Union Street.[20][21]

Legacy

Ten months after the release of Stanley & Iris, on December 8, 1990, Martin Ritt died. Together, the trio of Frank, Ravetch and Ritt had collaborated on eight films and achieved considerable successes.[20][22] As well as being the last film Ritt worked on, Stanley & Iris also marked the end of Frank and Ravetch's writing careers.

In a career spanning 43 years and 21 film productions (despite lengthy periods of absence), Harriet Frank Jr. won 4 awards and received many more nominations, sharing them all with her husband. As well as with her husband and Martin Ritt, Frank collaborated extensively with other well-known actors, such as Paul Newman, writing for three of his film appearances (The Long, Hot Summer, Hud and Hombre).

Many of their films not only received critical acclaim upon release, in the form of awards (Norma Rae and Stanley & Iris), but those such as Hud (1963) are considered classics of their genres. The legacy of Harriet Frank Jr. is today considered inseparable with that of her husband, Ravetch, and together they are considered one of the all-time great screenwriting teams.[1][23]

Filmography

Film
Year Film Notes
1947 A Really Important Person Alternative title: Passing Parade No. 59: A Really Important Person
1948 Silver River
Whiplash
1955 Ten Wanted Men
Run for Cover Alternative title: Colorado
1958 The Long, Hot Summer
1959 The Sound and the Fury
1960 Home from the Hill
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
1963 Hud
Baby Makes Three Television movie
Credited as Harriet Frank
1967 Hombre
1968 House of Cards Credited as James P. Bonner
1969 The Reivers Alternative title: The Yellow Winton Flyer
1972 The Cowboys
The Carey Treatment Credited as James P. Bonner
Alternative titles: Emergency Ward and A Case of Murder
1974 Conrack Producer
The Spikes Gang
1979 Norma Rae
1985 Murphy's Romance
1990 Stanley & Iris
Television
Year Title Notes
1965 The Long Hot Summer 1 episode

Awards and nominations

Year Award Result Category Film
1964 Academy Award Nominated Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Hud (Shared with Irving Ravetch)
1980 Norma Rae (Shared with Irving Ravetch)
1973 Edgar Award Nominated Best Motion Picture The Carey Treatment
1980 Golden Globe Award Nominated Best Screenplay – Motion Picture Norma Rae (Shared with Irving Ravetch)
1963 New York Film Critics Circle Awards Won Best Screenplay Hud (Shared with Irving Ravetch)
1972 Western Heritage Awards Won Theatrical Motion Picture The Cowboys (Shared with cast and crew)
1959 Writers Guild of America Award Nominated Best Written American Drama The Long Hot Summer (Shared with Irving Ravetch)
1964 Won Best Written American Drama Hud (Shared with Irving Ravetch)
1970 Nominated Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium The Reivers (Shared with Irving Ravetch)
1975 Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium Conrack (Shared with Irving Ravetch)
1980 Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium Norma Rae (Shared with Irving Ravetch)
1988 Won Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement
-

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Baer, p. 95.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Harriet Frank Jr". hollywood.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Baer, p. 96.
  4. "Hud Review". Channel 4. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  5. AFI, p. 507
  6. "Academy Awards Database, Harriet Frank Jr.". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  7. AFI, p. 482
  8. AFI, p. 498
  9. "Michael Chricton Biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved November 27, 2009. A Case of Need was adapted as the film The Carey Treatment
  10. "BAFTA Awards Past Winners 1975". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  11. "Single: a novel". Library of Congress. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  12. "Special effects". Library of Congress. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  13. 1 2 Niemi, p. 331.
  14. "Norma Rae (1979)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  15. Canby, Vincent (March 2, 1979). "'Norma Rae,' Mill-Town Story: Unionism in the South". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  16. "New York Film Critics Circle 1979 Awards". New York Film Critics Circle. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  17. "Golden Globes "Norma Rae"". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  18. "Academy Awards "Norma Rae"". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  19. Niemi, p. 332.
  20. 1 2 Canby, Vincent (February 9, 1990). "Review/Film; Middle-Aged and Not Quite Middle Class". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  21. Taitz, B Sonia (February 4, 1990). "'Stanley and Iris' Carries a Message of H-O-P-E". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  22. Baer, p. 99
  23. Arnold, William (July 29, 2007). "Filmmaker tells the story behind the wildlife epic 'Arctic Tale'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved August 5, 2009. The 46-year-old California native is the nephew of Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. – one of the all-time great screenwriting teams

References

External links

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