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| Sidney Howard. Picture found here. |
Sidney Howard was born in Oakland, California, the son of Helen Louise (née Coe) and John Lawrence Howard. He graduated from theUniversity of California, Berkeley in 1915 and went on to Harvard University to study the art of playwriting under George Pierce Baker in his "47 workshop." Along with other students of Harvard professor A. Piatt Andrew, Sidney Howard volunteered with Andrew's American Field Service, serving in France and the Balkans during World War I. After the War, Howard, competent at foreign languages, translated a number of literary works from French, Spanish, Hungarian and German.
In 1921, Howard had his first Broadway production, with a neo-romantic verse drama, Swords, which failed to win approval from either audiences or critics. It was with his realistic romance, They Knew What They Wanted in 1924 that Howard found recognition. The story of a middle-aged Italian vineyard owner who woos a young woman by mail with a false snapshot of himself, married her, and then forgives her when she becomes pregnant by one of his farm hands, it was praised for its non-judgmental and unmelodramatic view of adultery, and its warm-hearted, tolerant view of all its characters. The play won the 1925 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was thrice adapted into film (1928, 1930, and 1940) and later became the Broadway musical, The Most Happy Fella. Lucky Sam McCarver, a coolly observed, unsentimental account of the marriage of a New York speakeasy owner on his way up in the world with a self-destructive socialite on her way down, failed to attract audiences but won the admiration of some reviewers. The Silver Cord, a drama about a mother who is pathologically close to her sons and works to undermine their romances, was one of the most successful plays of the 1926-27 Broadway season.
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| Picture found here. |
A particular admirer of the understated realism of French playwright Charles Vildrac, Howard adapted two of his plays into English, under the titles, S. S. Tenacity (1929) and Michael Auclair (1932). One of his greatest successes on Broadway was an adaptation of a French comedy by Rene Fauchois, The Late Christopher Bean. Yellow Jack, an historical drama about the war against yellow fever, was praised for its high purpose and innovative staging when it premiered in 1934.
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| Picture found here. |
Hired by Samuel Goldwyn, Howard worked in Hollywood, writing several successful screenplays. In 1932, Howard was nominated for an Academy Award for his adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel Arrowsmith, and again in 1936 for Dodsworth, which he had adapted for the stage in 1934.
Howard wrote the stage adaption of Humphrey Cobb's novel Paths of Glory which played on Broadway in 1935. The play was a flop because of its harsh anti-war scenes that alienated the audience, as a World War I veteran Howard wanted to show the horrors of war. Convinced that the novel should be filmed, Howard wrote, “It seems to me that our motion picture industry must feel something of a sacred obligation to make the picture.” The film version of the novel directed by Stanley Kubrick did not appear until 1957. Howard's screenplay for Gone with the Wind echoed, perhaps, Paths of Glory, with an unflinching look at the horrors of war.
Posthumously, he won the 1939 Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for Gone with the Wind (he was the only one honored, despite the fact that his script was revised by several other writers). This was the first time a posthumous nominee for any Oscar won the award.
A lover of the quiet rural life, Sidney Howard died in Tyringham, Massachusetts while working on his 700-acre (2.8 km2) hobby farm. Howard was crushed to death in a garage by his two and one half ton tractor. He had turned the ignition switch on and was cranking the engine to start it when it lurched forward, pinning him against the wall of the garage. Apparently an employee had left the transmission in high gear.
He is buried in the Tyringham Cemetery.
Howard left behind a number of unproduced works. Lute Song, an adaptation of an old Chinese play co-written with Will Irwin, premiered on Broadway in 1946. A lighthearted reworking of the Faust legend, Madam, Will You Walk?, closed out of town when produced by the Playwrights Company in 1939, but was more warmly received as the first production of the Phoenix Theatre in 1953.
His Best Known & Awarded Movies:
- "A Lady to Love" (1930) - Based upon Howard's play, They Knew What They Wanted, "A Lady to Love" is about a "middle-aged Napa Valley grape-grower Tony (Edward G. Robinson) posts a marriage proposal to San Francisco waitress Lena (Vilma Banky) enclosing a photo of his handsome younger brother Buck (Robert Ames). When she gets there she overlooks his duplicity and marries him. Then she falls in love with Buck." Written by Ed Stephan (Source here.)
- "Arrowsmith" (1931) - Starring Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes, and "based on a Sinclair Lewis novel Martin Arrowsmith. A medical researcher is sent to a plague outbreak, where he has to decide priorities for the use of a vaccine." Written by Anonymous (Source here.)
- "The Silver Cord" (1933) - Based on Howard's play of the same name, "The Silver Cord" is about "a domineering matriarch (Irene Dunne) is less than happy when her son (Joel McCrea) brings home his new bride (Laura Hope Crews). She immediately sets to work at sabotaging their marriage as well as the engagement of her younger and weaker son (Eric Linden)." Written by Daniel Bubbeo (Source here.)
- "Dodsworth" (1936) - Based on a Sinclair Lewis novel, it's about "[the] bittersweet tale of the increasing estrangement of a retired automobile tycoon (Walter Huston) and his wife (Ruth Chatterton). Increasingly obsessed with maintaining an appearance of youth, she falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites during their 'second honeymoon' European vacation. He, in turn, meets a woman (Mary Astor) who is everything she is not; self-assured, self-confident, and able to take care of herself." Written by Sonya Roberts (Source here.)
- "Raffles" (1939) - "Man about town and First Class cricketer A.J. Raffles (David Niven) keeps himself solvent with daring robberies. Meeting Gwen (Olivia de Havilland) from his schooldays and falling in love all over again, he spends the weekend with her parents, Lord and Lady Melrose. A necklace presents an irresistible temptation, but also in attendance is Scotland Yard's finest, finally on the trail." Written by Jeremy Perkins (Source here.)
- "Gone With the Wind" (1939) - "This tale of the Old South from the start of the Civil War through to the period of reconstruction focuses on the beautiful Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh). Before the start of the war life at the O'Hara plantation, Tara, could only be described as genteel. As for the young Scarlett, she is without doubt the most beautiful girl in the area and is always the belle of the ball. She is very much looking forward to a barbecue at the nearby Wilkes plantation as she will get to see the man she loves, Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard). She is more than a little dismayed when she hears that he is to marry his cousin Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland) and in a fit of anger, she decides to marry Melanie's brother. War is soon declared and as always seems to be the case, men march off to battle thinking that it will only last a few weeks. Now living in Atlanta, Scarlett sees the ravages that war brings. She also becomes re-acquainted with Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), whom she had first met at the Wilkes barbecue. Now a widow, she still pines for the married Ashley and dreams of his return. With the war lost however, she returns to Tara and faces the hardship of keeping her family together and Tara from being sold at auction to collect the taxes. She has becomes hardened and bitter and will do anything, including marrying her sister's beau, to ensure she will never again be poor and hungry. After becoming a widow for the second time, she finally marries the dashing Rhett but they soon find themselves working at cross-purposes, their relationship seemingly doomed from the outset." Written by garykmcd (Source here.) Also stars Hattie McDaniel who was the first African American to be nominated for an Oscar in 1940 for "Best Actress in a Supporting Role" and the first to win for her role as Mammy.
- "They Knew What They Wanted" (1940) - Screenplay written by Robert Ardrey and based upon Howard's Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name. "Tony (Charles Laughton), a successful but illiterate middle-aged grape farmer, sends the photograph of his handsome young foreman, Joe (William Gargan), instead of his own, hoping to woo and marry Amy (Carole Lombard), a waitress in a San Francisco restaurant. Through a series of letters, the two become close and Tony invites his 'future wife' to visit. When the beautiful, young Amy arrives at Tony's Napa, California ranch she falls for the wrong man thinking that Joe (William Gargan) is the wealthy Tony. When Tony tries to win her over in broken English, she is at first furious and then charmed. But Tony breaks his legs while showing off to impress Amy, and -- left alone to care for a cripple -- she reluctantly succumbs to Joe's charms and becomes pregnant. Although Tony discovers that he has been cuckolded and that Joe has run off, his anger turns to genuine love and he offers to take Amy back unconditionally for the sake of the child and his own true feelings for Amy." Written by E. Summer (Source here.)
Sources:
- #1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Howard
Howard wrote the stage adaption of Humphrey Cobb's novel Paths of Glory which played on Broadway in 1935. The play was a flop because of its harsh anti-war scenes that alienated the audience, as a World War I veteran Howard wanted to show the horrors of war. Convinced that the novel should be filmed, Howard wrote, “It seems to me that our motion picture industry must feel something of a sacred obligation to make the picture.” The film version of the novel directed by Stanley Kubrick did not appear until 1957. Howard's screenplay for Gone with the Wind echoed, perhaps, Paths of Glory, with an unflinching look at the horrors of war.
Posthumously, he won the 1939 Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for Gone with the Wind (he was the only one honored, despite the fact that his script was revised by several other writers). This was the first time a posthumous nominee for any Oscar won the award.
 |
| Picture found here. |
He is buried in the Tyringham Cemetery.
Howard left behind a number of unproduced works. Lute Song, an adaptation of an old Chinese play co-written with Will Irwin, premiered on Broadway in 1946. A lighthearted reworking of the Faust legend, Madam, Will You Walk?, closed out of town when produced by the Playwrights Company in 1939, but was more warmly received as the first production of the Phoenix Theatre in 1953.
His Best Known & Awarded Movies:
 |
| "A Lady to Love" movie poster. Picture found here. |
 |
| "Arrowsmith" movie poster. Picture found here. |
- Nominated for a 1932 Oscar for
"Best Writing, Adaptation"
 |
| "The Silver Cord" movie poster. Picture found here. |
 |
| "Dodsworth" movie poster. Picture found here. |
- Nominated for an Oscar in 1937 for
"Best Writing, Screenplay"
 |
| "Raffles" movie poster. Picture found here. |
 |
| "Gone with the Wind" movie poster. Picture found here. |
- Won the 1940 Oscar for "Best Writing, Screenplay".
Though four others had helped write the screenplay
(Oliver H.P. Garrett, Ben Hecht, Jo Swerling,
and John Van Druten), Howard was the only one to receive it.
He's also the first person to be posthumously
nominated and awarded for an Oscar.
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| "They Knew What They Wanted" movie poster. Picture found here. |
Sources:
- #1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Howard
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