Ian McLellan Hunter
Encyclopedia
Ian McLellan Hunter was an English screenwriter
, most noted for fronting for the blacklisted
Dalton Trumbo
as the credited writer of Roman Holiday in 1953. Hunter was himself later blacklisted.
and William Wyler
were very keen to make. When it was released to great acclaim and financial success, it was Hunter’s name on the credits and it was he who picked up the Academy Award for Best Story
; the Academy had no idea they were honouring a blacklistee. Hunter had paid Trumbo some of the salary he had earned for the film.
In the 1990s, the Academy sought to rectify some of the mistakes they had made during the Cold War
and the Second Red Scare, reinstating Dalton Trumbo being one of them. Trumbo had died in 1976 but his widow was presented with an Oscar in 1993 for Roman Holiday. This was actually the second Oscar made for this category win as Hunter’s son, Tim Hunter
, a director
in his own right, refused to hand over his father’s Oscar.
Philip Rush. With Lardner, he co-wrote the book for the short-lived 1964 Broadway
musical
Foxy
.
Hunter's work was not confined to fronting for others. He wrote the screenplays for over twenty films, including Footlight Fever (1941), The Amazing Mr. X
(1948) and Mastermind (1976), as well as episodes of the popular television series The Defenders and the teleplay for the 1982 miniseries The Blue and the Gray
.
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, most noted for fronting for the blacklisted
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo
James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry...
as the credited writer of Roman Holiday in 1953. Hunter was himself later blacklisted.
Roman Holiday
Hunter agreed to front for Trumbo's screenplay for a film which ParamountParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
were very keen to make. When it was released to great acclaim and financial success, it was Hunter’s name on the credits and it was he who picked up the Academy Award for Best Story
Academy Award for Best Story
The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1957, when it was eliminated in favor of the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, which had been introduced in 1940.-1920s:...
; the Academy had no idea they were honouring a blacklistee. Hunter had paid Trumbo some of the salary he had earned for the film.
In the 1990s, the Academy sought to rectify some of the mistakes they had made during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and the Second Red Scare, reinstating Dalton Trumbo being one of them. Trumbo had died in 1976 but his widow was presented with an Oscar in 1993 for Roman Holiday. This was actually the second Oscar made for this category win as Hunter’s son, Tim Hunter
Tim Hunter (director)
Tim Hunter is an American television and film director. Since the late 1980s he has mostly worked on television, directing episodes for dozens of televisions series includingBreaking Bad,Carnivàle,...
, a 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:...
in his own right, refused to hand over his father’s Oscar.
Other work
Hunter also fronted for Ring Lardner, Jr., collaborating with him under the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Philip Rush. With Lardner, he co-wrote the book for the short-lived 1964 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Foxy
Foxy (musical)
Foxy is a musical with a book by Ian McLellan Hunter and Ring Lardner, Jr., lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and music by Robert Emmett Dolan.Based on Ben Jonson's Volpone, it transports the original play's setting of early-17th century Renaissance Venice to the Yukon during the gold rush of 1898...
.
Hunter's work was not confined to fronting for others. He wrote the screenplays for over twenty films, including Footlight Fever (1941), The Amazing Mr. X
The Amazing Mr. X
The Amazing Mr. X, also known as The Spiritualist is a film noir directed by Bernard Vorhaus with cinematography by John Alton. Like Nightmare Alley , this film tells the story of a phony spiritualist racket...
(1948) and Mastermind (1976), as well as episodes of the popular television series The Defenders and the teleplay for the 1982 miniseries The Blue and the Gray
The Blue and the Gray
The Blue and the Gray is a television miniseries that first aired on CBS in three installments on November 14, November 16, and November 17, 1982. Set during the American Civil War, the series starred John Hammond, Stacy Keach, Lloyd Bridges, and Gregory Peck as President Abraham Lincoln...
.