Irving Ravetch
Encyclopedia
Irving Ravetch was an American screenwriter
and film producer
who frequently collaborated with his wife Harriet Frank, Jr.
Born in Newark, New Jersey
, Ravetch was an aspiring playwright when he enrolled at University of California, Los Angeles
. Following graduation, he joined the young writer's training program at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, where he met Frank, whom he married in 1946. The following year he gained his first screen credit with Living in a Big Way
.
For the next decade, Ravetch worked mostly on Western films
such as Vengeance Valley
. In 1958, he and Frank approached producer Jerry Wald
and proposed they adapt the 1940 William Faulkner
novel The Hamlet
for the screen. The result was The Long, Hot Summer
, which primarily was an original story with one of Faulkner's characters at its center. When Wald greenlight
ed the film and asked Ravetch to choose a director, he suggested Martin Ritt
, whom he knew from the Group Theatre and the Actors Studio
in New York City
. The Long, Hot Summer proved to be the first of eight projects - including The Sound and the Fury
, Hud
, Norma Rae
, Murphy's Romance
, and Stanley & Iris - written by Ravetch and Frank and directed by Ritt. Additional screenwriting credits include Home from the Hill
, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
, The Reivers
, The Spikes Gang
, and The Cowboys
.
Ravetch and Frank were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and won both the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
for Hud. He is a recipient of the Bronze Wrangler
for The Cowboys and additional Oscar, WGA, and Golden Globe nominations. Ravetch died from pneumonia
on September 19, 2010.
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:...
and film producer
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...
who frequently collaborated with his wife Harriet Frank, Jr.
Harriet Frank, Jr.
Harriet Frank, Jr. 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...
Born in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, Ravetch was an aspiring playwright when he enrolled at University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. Following graduation, he joined the young writer's training program at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, where he met Frank, whom he married in 1946. The following year he gained his first screen credit with Living in a Big Way
Living in a Big Way
Living in a Big Way is an American musical comedy film starring Gene Kelly and Marie McDonald as a couple who marry during World War II after only knowing each other a short time.- Synopsis :...
.
For the next decade, Ravetch worked mostly on Western films
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
such as Vengeance Valley
Vengeance Valley
Vengeance Valley is a Western film starring Burt Lancaster, based on the novel by Luke Short. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer failed to renew the copyright on this film in 1978, so it is now in the public domain in the United States.-Plot:...
. In 1958, he and Frank approached producer Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald was an American producer and screenwriter for motion pictures and radio shows.Born Jerome Irving Wald in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were active in show business. Jerry began writing a radio column for the New York Evening Graphic while a student at New York...
and proposed they adapt the 1940 William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
novel The Hamlet
The Hamlet
The Hamlet is a novel by the American author William Faulkner, published in 1940, about the fictional Snopes family of Mississippi.-Plot introduction:...
for the screen. The result was The Long, Hot Summer
The Long, Hot Summer
The Long, Hot Summer is a 1958 film directed by Martin Ritt, starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury and Orson Welles...
, which primarily was an original story with one of Faulkner's characters at its center. When Wald greenlight
Greenlight
To green-light a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to green-light something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to...
ed the film and asked Ravetch to choose a director, he suggested Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt was an American director, actor, and playwright who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City.-Early career and influences:...
, whom he knew from the Group Theatre and the Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
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...
. The Long, Hot Summer proved to be the first of eight projects - including The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury is a novel written by the American author William Faulkner. It employs a number of narrative styles, including the technique known as stream of consciousness, pioneered by 20th century European novelists such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. Published in 1929, The Sound and...
, Hud
Hud (film)
Hud is a 1963 western film whose title character is an embittered and selfish modern-day cowboy. With screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr., based on Larry McMurtry's 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By, it was directed by Martin Ritt and stars Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and...
, Norma Rae
Norma Rae
Norma Rae is a 1979 American drama film that tells the story of a factory worker from a small town in North Carolina, who becomes involved in the labor union activities at the textile factory where she works...
, Murphy's Romance
Murphy's Romance
Murphy's Romance is a 1985 romantic comedy film adapted by Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch from a story by Max Schott and directed by Martin Ritt...
, and Stanley & Iris - written by Ravetch and Frank and directed by Ritt. Additional screenwriting credits include Home from the Hill
Home from the Hill (film)
Home from the Hill is a 1960 film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Robert Mitchum, Eleanor Parker, George Peppard, George Hamilton, Everett Sloane, and Luana Patten....
, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is a 1957 play by William Inge about family conflicts during the early 1920s in a small Oklahoma town. It won the Tony Award for Best Play and was made into a film in 1960.-Plot:...
, The Reivers
The Reivers (film)
The Reivers is a 1969 film directed by Mark Rydell based on the William Faulkner novel of the same name...
, The Spikes Gang
The Spikes Gang
The Spikes Gang is a 1974 Mirisch Company motion picture adaptation of the Giles Tippette novel The Bank Robber.-Overview:Starring Lee Marvin as an aging bank robber of the American Old West, the film follows his encounters with three coming of age farm boys played by Gary Grimes, Charles Martin...
, and The Cowboys
The Cowboys
The Cowboys is a 1972 Western motion picture starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Slim Pickens, A Martinez and Bruce Dern. Robert Carradine makes his film debut with fellow child actor Stephen R. Hudis. It was filmed at various locations in New Mexico, Colorado and at Warner Brothers Studio in...
.
Ravetch and Frank were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and won both the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay is one the annual film awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle.-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is one of the three screenwriting Writers Guild of America Awards, one that is specifically for film...
for Hud. He is a recipient of the Bronze Wrangler
Bronze Wrangler
The Bronze Wrangler is an award presented annually by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to honor the top works in Western music, film, television and literature.The awards were first presented in 1961...
for The Cowboys and additional Oscar, WGA, and Golden Globe nominations. Ravetch died from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on September 19, 2010.