Hall Bartlett
Encyclopedia
Hall Bartlett was an American film producer
, director
, and screen writer.
, he graduated from Yale University
Phi Beta Kappa, and was a Rhodes Scholar nominee. He served five years in Naval
intelligence, then began his filmmaking career with producing the documentary film Navajo
, the first contemporary picture to focus attention on the plight of the American Indian
. Bartlett was also the first filmmaker to do a picture about professional football: his Crazylegs
was the story of superstar Elroy Hirsch
.
, was filmed inside the California Institution for Men
at Chino, California
. Bartlett spent six months behind the walls living as an inmate while he wrote the screenplay. The film's musical theme, "Unchained Melody
," became an international classic. Bartlett acquired the rights to the first novel of Arthur Hailey
, Zero Hour!
, and made it into a suspense film. The plot of was later used for Airplane!
, the 1980 spoof
of disaster films. His Drango
, a study of the post American Civil War
era, was based on the true story about a Union officer who returned to the land his fellow soldiers had ravaged to try to rebuild the South as Abraham Lincoln
had encouraged before his assassination.
All the Young Men
, starring Sidney Poitier
was about a black man’s struggle to achieve first class citizenship.
The Caretakers
centered on the problems of mental health
and was (at the request of President John F. Kennedy
) the first film ever shown on the floor of the United States Senate. Two days after the screening, President Kennedy’s mental health bill was passed without a dissenting vote.
A Global Affair
, a true story about the first baby ever born in the United Nations building in New York City
, starred Bob Hope
and Lilo Pulver. Hall’s film, Sol Madrid
, was made from the Robert Wilder
novel, The Fruit of The Poppy.
Bartlett's Changes, a strongly personal examination of the younger generation, was filmed in college communities across the country to record honest insights into issues of the day. The New York Times
called the film "one of the most imaginative, haunting and artistic movies yet made. It is a remarkable film and — more than that — a remarkable experience." The Sandpit Generals
received international acclaim, with Bartlett receiving the VII Moscow International Film Festival Grand Prize Award for Best Film and Best Director of the festival.
Bartlett's film Jonathan Livingston Seagull
was filmed entirely without human actors on screen, only as voiceovers.
The Search of Zubin Mehta is a story of an extraordinary family, eminently making a high place of cultural achievement in the world.
Bartlett’s The Children of Sanchez was written for the screen by Cesare Zavattini
based on Oscar Lewis
’s book of the same title
, a classic study of a Mexican
family.
Comeback
is the true story of one of the most daring escapes in modern history. John Everingham
rescued his Laotian
fiancée under the watchful guns of the Pathet Lao Army, executing an unforgettable, exciting, dangerous, and life-risking plan. The plan demanded a year’s careful training and study, after Everingham, a top reporter was imprisoned in Laos, than expelled from the country with a high price for his murder if he ever returned. Bartlett filmed Comeback in Thailand
. He is the first person to get permission to shoot on the Mekong River, two miles away from the Army of Laos.
community, as a founder of the Music Center, a director of the James Doolittle Theatre, a patron of the Art Museum, a patron of the American Youth Symphony, a board member of KCET
, and was the organizer of the Los Angeles Rams Club and the Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Club.
At the time of his passing in 1993, Bartlett was finishing his second novel for Random House
, Face to Face. His first novel, The Rest of Our Lives, was a best seller in 1988. Bartlett had partnered with Michael J. Lasky and developed a dozen projects for the eleven years prior to his death. One of these film projects included Catch Me If You Can
. Bartlett and Lasky both wrote drafted many scripts for the project and Hall was positioned as the director, with Lasky producing. The rights were eventually sold and produced/directed by Steven Spielberg
, nineteen years after Lasky's first option. In his last days, they were working on a three-picture slate which included the re-mastering of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The production team grew to include Robert Watts
(of Spielberg and Lucas fame) as a production executive with an exemplary credit list of blockbuster motion pictures.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and screen writer.
Early life
Born in Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, he graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
Phi Beta Kappa, and was a Rhodes Scholar nominee. He served five years in Naval
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
intelligence, then began his filmmaking career with producing the documentary film Navajo
Navajo (film)
Navajo is a 1952 documentary film directed by Norman Foster. It was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography.-Cast:* Hall Bartlett - Indian School Counselor* John Mitchell - Grey Singer* Sammy Ogg - Narrator...
, the first contemporary picture to focus attention on the plight of the American Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Bartlett was also the first filmmaker to do a picture about professional football: his Crazylegs
Crazylegs (film)
Crazylegs is a 1953 film about Elroy Hirsch's football career. In college his unconventional dynamic running style allowed him to change directions in a multitude of ways. The media dubbed him "Crazylegs". The name stuck all through his professional career and life. The bulk of this film is...
was the story of superstar Elroy Hirsch
Elroy Hirsch
Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch was an American football running back and receiver for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Rockets, nicknamed for his unusual running style.-Early life:...
.
Film career
His next film, UnchainedUnchained (film)
Unchained is a 1955 prison film based on the non-fiction book Prisoners are People by Kenyon J. Scudder. The film is most remembered for its theme song, "Unchained Melody", which was a #1 R&B hit for both Al Hibbler & Roy Hamilton in 1955, with Hibbler's version also reaching #3 on the Billboard...
, was filmed inside the California Institution for Men
California Institution for Men
California Institution for Men is a male-only state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California. It is often colloquially referenced as "Chino." In turn, locals call the prison "Chino Men's" or just "Men's" to avoid confusion with the city itself...
at Chino, California
Chino, California
Chino is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located in the western end of the Riverside-San Bernardino Area and it is easily accessible via the Chino Valley and Pomona freeways....
. Bartlett spent six months behind the walls living as an inmate while he wrote the screenplay. The film's musical theme, "Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
," became an international classic. Bartlett acquired the rights to the first novel of Arthur Hailey
Arthur Hailey
Arthur Hailey was a British/Canadian novelist.- Biography :Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, Hailey served in the Royal Air Force from the start of World War II during 1939 until 1947, when he went to live in Canada. Hailey's last novel, Detective , is a mystery told from the perspective of a...
, Zero Hour!
Zero Hour!
Zero Hour! is a 1957 movie whose screenplay was written by Arthur Hailey, starring Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Sterling Hayden, and released by Paramount Pictures. Zero Hour! was an adaptation of Hailey's 1956 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation play Flight into Danger...
, and made it into a suspense film. The plot of was later used for Airplane!
Airplane!
Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical comedy film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and released by Paramount Pictures...
, the 1980 spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of disaster films. His Drango
Drango
Drango is a 1957 American motion picture produced by Jeff Chandler's own production company Earlmar Productions, written and directed by Hall Bartlett, and released by United Artists. Starring Chandler in the title role, the film also features Ronald Howard, Joanne Dru, Julie London and Donald Crisp...
, a study of the post American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
era, was based on the true story about a Union officer who returned to the land his fellow soldiers had ravaged to try to rebuild the South as Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
had encouraged before his assassination.
All the Young Men
All the Young Men
All the Young Men is a 1960 Korean War feature film starring Alan Ladd and Sidney Poitier dealing with desegregation in the United States Marine Corps.-Plot:...
, starring Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
was about a black man’s struggle to achieve first class citizenship.
The Caretakers
The Caretakers
The Caretakers is a 1963 United Artists film drama starring Joan Crawford, Robert Stack, Polly Bergen and Janis Paige in a story about a mental hospital....
centered on the problems of mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
and was (at the request of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
) the first film ever shown on the floor of the United States Senate. Two days after the screening, President Kennedy’s mental health bill was passed without a dissenting vote.
A Global Affair
A Global Affair
A Global Affair is a 1964 film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Bob Hope, Michele Mercier, and Yvonne DeCarlo....
, a true story about the first baby ever born in the United Nations building in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, starred Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Lilo Pulver. Hall’s film, Sol Madrid
Sol Madrid
-Cast:*David McCallum ... Sol Madrid*Stella Stevens ... Stacey Woodward*Telly Savalas ... Emil Dietrich*Ricardo Montalban ... Jalisco*Rip Torn ... Dano Villanova*Pat Hingle ... Harry Mitchell*Paul Lukas ... Capo Riccione...
, was made from the Robert Wilder
Robert Wilder
Robert Ingersoll Wilder was an American novelist, playwright and screenwriter. The son of a minister-turned-lawyer-turned-doctor-turned-dentist who was still going to college when his son was born, Wilder's childhood was spent at Daytona Beach, Florida. Following a stint in the U.S...
novel, The Fruit of The Poppy.
Bartlett's Changes, a strongly personal examination of the younger generation, was filmed in college communities across the country to record honest insights into issues of the day. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the film "one of the most imaginative, haunting and artistic movies yet made. It is a remarkable film and — more than that — a remarkable experience." The Sandpit Generals
The Sandpit Generals
The Sandpit Generals is a movie created in 1971 by Hall Bartlett. Its plot is based on the novel by Jorge Amado. Melodious soundtracks were written by Dorival Caymmi....
received international acclaim, with Bartlett receiving the VII Moscow International Film Festival Grand Prize Award for Best Film and Best Director of the festival.
Bartlett's film Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach, is a fable in novella form about a seagull learning about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection...
was filmed entirely without human actors on screen, only as voiceovers.
The Search of Zubin Mehta is a story of an extraordinary family, eminently making a high place of cultural achievement in the world.
Bartlett’s The Children of Sanchez was written for the screen by Cesare Zavattini
Cesare Zavattini
Cesare Zavattini was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema.-Brief biography:...
based on Oscar Lewis
Oscar Lewis
Oscar Lewis was an American anthropologist who is best known for his vivid depictions of the lives of slum dwellers and for postulating that there was a cross-generational culture of poverty among poor people that transcended national boundaries...
’s book of the same title
The Children of Sanchez
The Children of Sanchez is a 1961 book by American anthropologist Oscar Lewis about a Mexican family living in the Mexico City slum of Tepito, which he studied as part of his program to develop his concept of culture of poverty...
, a classic study of a Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
family.
Comeback
Comeback (film)
Comeback is a 1982 semi-autobiographical film starring Eric Burdon.- Cast :*Eric Burdon*Julie Carmen*Michael Cavanaugh*John Aprea*Louisiana RedIt was shot first in Los Angeles then in Berlin....
is the true story of one of the most daring escapes in modern history. John Everingham
John Everingham
John Everingham is an Australian journalist residing in Thailand.Born in Australia in 1949, Everingham was in high school in 1966 when the urge to travel overcame the desire to study. He dropped out of school and left home at 16 years old, and left Australia on the traditional journey to London,...
rescued his Laotian
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
fiancée under the watchful guns of the Pathet Lao Army, executing an unforgettable, exciting, dangerous, and life-risking plan. The plan demanded a year’s careful training and study, after Everingham, a top reporter was imprisoned in Laos, than expelled from the country with a high price for his murder if he ever returned. Bartlett filmed Comeback in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. He is the first person to get permission to shoot on the Mekong River, two miles away from the Army of Laos.
Personal life and death
Bartlett was heavily involved in the Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
community, as a founder of the Music Center, a director of the James Doolittle Theatre, a patron of the Art Museum, a patron of the American Youth Symphony, a board member of KCET
KCET
KCET, channel 28, is an independent, non-commercial public television station licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KCET's studio is located on West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is atop Mount Wilson. Al Jerome is the current CEO and President, serving since 1996.KCET was...
, and was the organizer of the Los Angeles Rams Club and the Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Club.
At the time of his passing in 1993, Bartlett was finishing his second novel for Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, Face to Face. His first novel, The Rest of Our Lives, was a best seller in 1988. Bartlett had partnered with Michael J. Lasky and developed a dozen projects for the eleven years prior to his death. One of these film projects included Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor...
. Bartlett and Lasky both wrote drafted many scripts for the project and Hall was positioned as the director, with Lasky producing. The rights were eventually sold and produced/directed by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, nineteen years after Lasky's first option. In his last days, they were working on a three-picture slate which included the re-mastering of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The production team grew to include Robert Watts
Robert Watts
Robert Watts is a British film producer who is best known for his involvement with the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series. His half brother is Jeremy Bulloch, who played Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Chichester University Visit:...
(of Spielberg and Lucas fame) as a production executive with an exemplary credit list of blockbuster motion pictures.