Joseph Moncure March
Encyclopedia
Joseph Moncure March was an American poet and essayist, best known for his long narrative poems The Wild Party
and The Set-Up.
and graduating from Amherst College
(where he was a protégé of Robert Frost
), March worked as managing editor for The New Yorker
in 1925, and helped create the magazine's "Talk of the Town" front section. After leaving the magazine, March wrote the first of his two important long Jazz Age
narrative poems, The Wild Party
. Due to its risqué content, this violent story of a vaudeville dancer who throws a booze and sex-filled party could not find a publisher until 1928. Once published, however, the poem was a great success despite being banned in Boston
. Later in 1928, March followed up The Wild Party's success with The Set-Up, a poem of a skilled black boxer who had just been released from prison.
In 1929, March moved to Hollywood to provide additional dialogue for the film Journey's End
and, more famously, to turn the silent version of Howard Hughes
' classic Hell's Angels into a talkie — a rewrite that brought the phrase "Excuse me while I put on something more comfortable" into the American lexicon. March stayed with Hughes' Caddo Pictures studio for several years, temporarily running the office, overseeing the release of Hell's Angels, and getting into legal trouble after an attempt to steal the script for rival Warner Bros.
' own flying picture Dawn Patrol
.
March worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood until 1940, under contract to MGM and Paramount and later as a freelancer for Republic Pictures
and other studios; he wrote at least 19 produced scripts in his Hollywood career. His most prominent late script is probably the left-leaning John Wayne
curio Three Faces West
, a knockoff of The Grapes of Wrath
that ends with a faceoff between Okies and Nazis.
With his third wife, Peggy Prior (a Pathé
screenwriter) and her two children, March returned to the East Coast in 1940. During World War II
, he worked at a shipbuilding plant in Groton, Connecticut
, and wrote features (mostly acid assessments of the movie business) for the New York Times Magazine. In later years, he wrote documentaries for the State Department and industrial films
for Ford Motor Company
, General Motors
, Monsanto Company, American Airlines
, and others. Several films starring industrial films icon Thelma "Tad" Tadlock, including Design for Dreaming
(1956) and A Touch of Magic
(1961) were made from March's rhyming scripts. March died in 1977.
Both of March's long poems were made into films. Robert Wise
's 1949 film version of The Set-Up
loses the poem's racial dimension by casting the white actor Robert Ryan
in the lead, while the Merchant Ivory Productions
1975 version of The Wild Party
changes March's plot to conflate the poem with the Fatty Arbuckle
scandal.
The Wild Party continues to attract new readers and adaptations. In 2000, two separate musical versions played in New York, one on Broadway
, composed by Michael John LaChiusa
, and the other off-Broadway
, composed by Andrew Lippa
, with mixed critical and popular success. The Archives & Special Collections at Amherst College holds a substantial collection of March's personal papers, including unpublished poems, scripts, and a memoir entitled Hollywood Idyll. See: Joseph Moncure March (AC 1920) Papers, 1896-1999 (Bulk: 1917-1977)
March's uncle, General Peyton Conway March, was once Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army
in World War I
. His grandfather was the philologist Francis Andrew March, and his adopted daughter is the retired actress Lori March Williams.
Bloom, James D. 'Hollywood Intellect'. Lanham, MD. Lexington Books/Rowman Littlefield, 2009.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Hollywood-Intellect/424406680088?ref=ts
The Wild Party (poem)
The Wild Party is a narrative poem. Written in the classical epic style, it is Joseph Moncure March's first published work.Upon its 1928 publication, the poem was widely banned, first in Boston, for having content viewed as wild as the titular party...
and The Set-Up.
Life
After serving in World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and graduating from Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
(where he was a protégé of Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
), March worked as managing editor for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
in 1925, and helped create the magazine's "Talk of the Town" front section. After leaving the magazine, March wrote the first of his two important long Jazz Age
Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was a movement that took place during the 1920s or the Roaring Twenties from which jazz music and dance emerged. The movement came about with the introduction of mainstream radio and the end of the war. This era ended in the 1930s with the beginning of The Great Depression but has...
narrative poems, The Wild Party
The Wild Party (poem)
The Wild Party is a narrative poem. Written in the classical epic style, it is Joseph Moncure March's first published work.Upon its 1928 publication, the poem was widely banned, first in Boston, for having content viewed as wild as the titular party...
. Due to its risqué content, this violent story of a vaudeville dancer who throws a booze and sex-filled party could not find a publisher until 1928. Once published, however, the poem was a great success despite being banned in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Later in 1928, March followed up The Wild Party's success with The Set-Up, a poem of a skilled black boxer who had just been released from prison.
In 1929, March moved to Hollywood to provide additional dialogue for the film Journey's End
Journey's End
Journey's End is a 1928 drama, the seventh of English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 9 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run...
and, more famously, to turn the silent version of Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
' classic Hell's Angels into a talkie — a rewrite that brought the phrase "Excuse me while I put on something more comfortable" into the American lexicon. March stayed with Hughes' Caddo Pictures studio for several years, temporarily running the office, overseeing the release of Hell's Angels, and getting into legal trouble after an attempt to steal the script for rival Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
' own flying picture Dawn Patrol
Dawn Patrol
Dawn Patrol is the debut album by Night Ranger released in 1982. The band was named Ranger during the recording of the album. The first issues of the album were printed and ready to be shipped when it was discovered that there was a country band from California with the same name...
.
March worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood until 1940, under contract to MGM and Paramount and later as a freelancer for Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
and other studios; he wrote at least 19 produced scripts in his Hollywood career. His most prominent late script is probably the left-leaning John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
curio Three Faces West
Three Faces West
Three Faces West is a 1940 film starring John Wayne, Sigrid Gurie and Charles Coburn. An unusual film, with a political agenda that seems to be part pro New Deal, it is part anti-fascist and part pro good old American community values...
, a knockoff of The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath (film)
The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F...
that ends with a faceoff between Okies and Nazis.
With his third wife, Peggy Prior (a Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
screenwriter) and her two children, March returned to the East Coast in 1940. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he worked at a shipbuilding plant in Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
, and wrote features (mostly acid assessments of the movie business) for the New York Times Magazine. In later years, he wrote documentaries for the State Department and industrial films
Sponsored film
Sponsored film, or ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is film made by a particular sponsor for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited time...
for Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, Monsanto Company, American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, and others. Several films starring industrial films icon Thelma "Tad" Tadlock, including Design for Dreaming
Design for Dreaming
Design for Dreaming is a musical sponsored film about a woman who dreams about a masked man taking her to the 1956 General Motors Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Frigidaire's "Kitchen of the Future." The entirety of the dialogue is sung, though the actors...
(1956) and A Touch of Magic
A Touch of Magic
A Touch of Magic is a musical sponsored film.The film begins with a designer at the drawing board, daydreaming about a 1920s couple who travel to the Middle Ages; the Man saves the Woman from a wizard and a dragon, only to abruptly discover that they are all performing for an audience in the 1960s...
(1961) were made from March's rhyming scripts. March died in 1977.
Works and legacy
March revised both The Set-Up and The Wild Party in 1968, removing some anti-Semitic caricatures from both works. Most critics deplored these changes, and Art Spiegelman returned to the original text when he published his illustrated version of The Wild Party in 1994. (The Set-Up has not been reprinted since 1968.)Both of March's long poems were made into films. Robert Wise
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...
's 1949 film version of The Set-Up
The Set-Up (1949 film)
For 2011 Set Up see hereThe Set-Up is an American film noir boxing drama directed by Robert Wise and featuring Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter. The screenplay was adapted by Art Cohn from a 1928 poem written by Joseph Moncure March. The film is about the boxing underworld.-Plot:Stoker Thompson ...
loses the poem's racial dimension by casting the white actor Robert Ryan
Robert Ryan
Robert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
in the lead, while the Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Their films were for the most part produced by the former, directed by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, with the noted exception of a few films. The films were often...
1975 version of The Wild Party
The Wild Party (1975 film)
The Wild Party is a 1975 Merchant Ivory Productions film directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant, and starring James Coco and Raquel Welch....
changes March's plot to conflate the poem with the Fatty Arbuckle
Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
scandal.
The Wild Party continues to attract new readers and adaptations. In 2000, two separate musical versions played in New York, one on 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...
, composed by Michael John LaChiusa
Michael John LaChiusa
Michael John LaChiusa is an American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for complex, musically challenging shows such as Hello Again, Marie Christine, The Wild Party, and See What I Wanna See...
, and the other off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
, composed by Andrew Lippa
Andrew Lippa
Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City.-Biography:...
, with mixed critical and popular success. The Archives & Special Collections at Amherst College holds a substantial collection of March's personal papers, including unpublished poems, scripts, and a memoir entitled Hollywood Idyll. See: Joseph Moncure March (AC 1920) Papers, 1896-1999 (Bulk: 1917-1977)
March's uncle, General Peyton Conway March, was once Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. His grandfather was the philologist Francis Andrew March, and his adopted daughter is the retired actress Lori March Williams.
Articles
BookBloom, James D. 'Hollywood Intellect'. Lanham, MD. Lexington Books/Rowman Littlefield, 2009.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Hollywood-Intellect/424406680088?ref=ts
External links
- Biography and critical history of March's fiction, poetry, screenplays and memoirs, by Tim CavanaughTim CavanaughTim Cavanaugh is a columnist for Reason Magazine. Prior to that, he was Web editor of the Los Angeles Times opinion page. Prior to that, he was Web editor of Reason from 2002 to 2006 and the editor in chief of Suck.com from 1998 to 2001...
- Joseph Moncure March (AC 1920) Papers at Amherst College