MacKinlay Kantor
Encyclopedia
MacKinlay Kantor born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 novels, several based on the American Civil War
, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
in 1956 for his 1955 novel Andersonville
, about the Confederate
prisoner of war
camp. (The novel is often erroneously believed to have been the basis for the stage play and TV movie The Andersonville Trial (1970), as well as for the TV mini-series Andersonville (1995), but neither have any actual connection to Kantor's work.)
, the second child and only son in his family. He had a sister Virginia. His mother was Effie McKinlay Kantor, who worked as the editor of the Webster City Daily News during part of his childhood. His father, John Martin Kantor, was a Jewish, native-born Swede
descended from "a long line of rabbis, who posed as a Protestant clergyman." He had trouble keeping jobs and abandoned the family before Benjamin was born. (Later MacKinlay Kantor wrote an unpublished novel called Half Jew.) His mother returned to live with her children at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Adam McKinlay, in the same city.
As a child, the boy started using his middle name McKinlay as his given name. He changed its spelling, adding an "a" because he thought it sounded more Scottish
, and chose to be called "Mack" or MacKinlay. He attended the local schools and made full use of the Kendall Young Library, which he described as his "university". Mack Kantor won a writing contest with his first story "Purple".
magazines, to earn a living and support his family, including crime stories and mysteries. He sold his first pulp stories, “Delivery Not Received” and “A Bad Night for Benny,” to Edwin Baird, editor of Real Detective Tales and Mystery Stories. He also wrote for Detective Fiction Weekly. In 1928, Kantor published his first novel, Diversey, set in Chicago
.
In 1932, Kantor moved with his family from the Midwest to New Jersey. He was an early resident of Free Acres, a social experimental community developed by Bolton Hall
in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
. In two years he sold 16 short stories and a serialized novel to Howard Bloomfield, editor of Detective Fiction Weekly. He also acquired a professional agent, Sydney Sanders. Achieving some success by 1934, he began to submit short stories to the "slick
" magazines. His "Rogue's Gallery", published in Collier
on August 24, 1935, became his most frequently reprinted story.
It was during this decade that Kantor first wrote about the American Civil War
, beginning with his novel Long Remember (1934), set at the Battle of Gettysburg
. As a boy and teenager in Iowa, Kantor had spent hours listening to the stories of Civil War veterans, and he was an avid collector of first-hand narratives.
During World War II
, Kantor reported from London
as a war correspondent
for a Los Angeles newspaper. After flying with some bombing missions, he asked for and received training to operate the bomber's turret machine guns (this was illegal, as he was not in service). Kantor interviewed numerous wounded troops, whose thoughts and ideas inspired a later novel.
When Kantor interviewed US troops, many told him the only goal was to get home alive. He was reminded of the Protestant hymn
: "When all my labors and trials are o're / And I am safe on that beautiful shore [Heaven], O that will be / Glory for me!" Kantor returned from the European theater of war on military air transport (MAT). After the war, the producer Samuel Goldwyn
commissioned him to write a screenplay
about veterans' returning home. Kantor wrote a novel in blank verse, which was published as Glory for Me (1945). After selling the movie rights to his novel, Kantor was disappointed that the film was released under the name The Best Years of Our Lives
(1946), and details of the story were changed by the screenwriter Robert Sherwood
. Kantor was said to have lost his temper with Goldwyn and walked off the Hollywood lot. The first 15 seconds of the movie note that it is "based upon a novel by MacKinlay Kantor" but the novel's name was not told. His basic story had power, as the film was a commercial and critical success, winning seven Academy Awards
.
Beginning in 1948, Kantor arranged an intensive period of research with the New York City Police Department
(NYCPD). He was the only civilian other than reporters allowed to ride with police on their beat. He often rode on night shifts, working with the 23rd Precinct, whose territory ranged from upper Park Avenue to East Harlem, with a wide range of residents and incomes. These experiences informed most of his short crime novels, as well as his major work Signal Thirty-Two, published in 1950 with jacket art by his wife Irene Layne Kantor. Kantor was noted for his limited use of punctuation within his literary compositions.
During his assignment with the US troops in WWII, Kantor entered the concentration camp of Buchenwald as they liberated it on April 14, 1945. During the next decade, his experience would inform his research for and writing of Andersonville
, his novel about the Confederate
prisoner of war
camp. One of the issues he struggled with in Germany and afterward was how to think of the civilians who lived near Buchenwald. As he struggled to understand, he developed ideas used in his novel, where he portrayed some civilian Southerners sympathetically, in contrast to officers at the camp.
In writing more than 30 novels, Kantor often returned to the theme of the American Civil War. He won the Pulitzer Prize
in 1956 for his novel Andersonville (1955), about the Confederate prison camp. The novel had a long life and influence in other genres, as it was adapted for the TV movie The Andersonville Trial (1970), as well as for the TV mini-series Andersonville (1995). Kantor wrote two works for young readers set in the Civil War years: Lee and Grant at Appomattox (1950) and Gettysburg (1952), both for young readers.
In addition to journalism and novels, Kantor wrote the screenplay
for Gun Crazy
(aka Deadly Is the Female) (1950), a noted film noir
. It was based on his short story by the same name, published February 3, 1940 in a "slick
" magazine, The Saturday Evening Post
. In 1992, it was revealed that he had allowed his name to be used on a screenplay written by Dalton Trumbo
, one of the Hollywood Ten, who had been blacklisted as a result of his refusal to testify before the House Un-American Committee (HUAC) hearings. Kantor passed his payment on to Trumbo to help him survive. Kantor acted in the 1958 film Wind Across the Everglades
.
Several of his novels were adapted for films. He established his own publishing house, and published several of his works in the 1930s and 1940s.
In the November 22, 1960, issue of Look magazine, Kantor published a fictional account set as a history text, entitled If the South Had Won the Civil War. This generated such a response that it was published in 1961 as a book. It is one of many alternate histories of that war.
Kantor's last novel was Valley Forge (1975).
Kantor died of a heart attack in 1977, at the age of 73, at his home in Sarasota, Florida
.
Television
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...
, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...
in 1956 for his 1955 novel Andersonville
Andersonville (novel)
Andersonville is a novel by MacKinlay Kantor concerning the Confederate prisoner of war camp, Andersonville prison, during the American Civil War . The novel was originally published in 1955, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the following year.-Plot summary:The novel interweaves the stories...
, about the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp. (The novel is often erroneously believed to have been the basis for the stage play and TV movie The Andersonville Trial (1970), as well as for the TV mini-series Andersonville (1995), but neither have any actual connection to Kantor's work.)
Early life and education
Benjamin McKinlay Kantor was born and grew up in Webster City, IowaWebster City, Iowa
Webster City is a city in Hamilton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,070 at the United States 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Hamilton County. Webster City is known as 'Boone River Country' with the Boone River meandering along the east side of the city from north to south...
, the second child and only son in his family. He had a sister Virginia. His mother was Effie McKinlay Kantor, who worked as the editor of the Webster City Daily News during part of his childhood. His father, John Martin Kantor, was a Jewish, native-born Swede
Swede
Swede may refer to:* A resident or citizen of Sweden* A member of the Swedish ethnic group* Swedes , an ancient North Germanic tribe inhabiting parts of modern day Sweden...
descended from "a long line of rabbis, who posed as a Protestant clergyman." He had trouble keeping jobs and abandoned the family before Benjamin was born. (Later MacKinlay Kantor wrote an unpublished novel called Half Jew.) His mother returned to live with her children at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Adam McKinlay, in the same city.
As a child, the boy started using his middle name McKinlay as his given name. He changed its spelling, adding an "a" because he thought it sounded more Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and chose to be called "Mack" or MacKinlay. He attended the local schools and made full use of the Kendall Young Library, which he described as his "university". Mack Kantor won a writing contest with his first story "Purple".
Marriage and family
Kantor married Florence Irene Layne, and they had two children together. Their son Tim Kantor wrote a biography/memoir of his father.Career
From 1928 to 1934, Kantor wrote numerous stories for pulp fictionPulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
magazines, to earn a living and support his family, including crime stories and mysteries. He sold his first pulp stories, “Delivery Not Received” and “A Bad Night for Benny,” to Edwin Baird, editor of Real Detective Tales and Mystery Stories. He also wrote for Detective Fiction Weekly. In 1928, Kantor published his first novel, Diversey, set in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
In 1932, Kantor moved with his family from the Midwest to New Jersey. He was an early resident of Free Acres, a social experimental community developed by Bolton Hall
Bolton Hall
Bolton Hall is a historic American Craftsman era stone building in Tujunga, Los Angeles County, California. Built in 1913, Bolton Hall was originally used as a community center for the Utopian community of Los Terrenitos. From 1920 until 1957, it was used as an American Legion hall, the San...
in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
Berkeley Heights is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 13,183....
. In two years he sold 16 short stories and a serialized novel to Howard Bloomfield, editor of Detective Fiction Weekly. He also acquired a professional agent, Sydney Sanders. Achieving some success by 1934, he began to submit short stories to the "slick
Slick
Slick may refer to:* A puddle, especially of oil, as in an oil spill* Slick tire, used in motor racing* Slick , a large woodworking chisel...
" magazines. His "Rogue's Gallery", published in Collier
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
on August 24, 1935, became his most frequently reprinted story.
It was during this decade that Kantor first wrote about the 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...
, beginning with his novel Long Remember (1934), set at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
. As a boy and teenager in Iowa, Kantor had spent hours listening to the stories of Civil War veterans, and he was an avid collector of first-hand narratives.
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...
, Kantor reported from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
for a Los Angeles newspaper. After flying with some bombing missions, he asked for and received training to operate the bomber's turret machine guns (this was illegal, as he was not in service). Kantor interviewed numerous wounded troops, whose thoughts and ideas inspired a later novel.
When Kantor interviewed US troops, many told him the only goal was to get home alive. He was reminded of the Protestant hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
: "When all my labors and trials are o're / And I am safe on that beautiful shore [Heaven], O that will be / Glory for me!" Kantor returned from the European theater of war on military air transport (MAT). After the war, the producer Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
commissioned him to write a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
about veterans' returning home. Kantor wrote a novel in blank verse, which was published as Glory for Me (1945). After selling the movie rights to his novel, Kantor was disappointed that the film was released under the name The Best Years of Our Lives
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Best Years of Our Lives is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell, a United States paratrooper who lost both hands in a military training accident. The film is about three United States...
(1946), and details of the story were changed by the screenwriter Robert Sherwood
Robert Sherwood
Robert Sherwood may refer to:*Robert Emmet Sherwood , American playwright, editor, and screenwriter*Robert Edmund Sherwood , American clown and author*Bobby Sherwood , American bandleader...
. Kantor was said to have lost his temper with Goldwyn and walked off the Hollywood lot. The first 15 seconds of the movie note that it is "based upon a novel by MacKinlay Kantor" but the novel's name was not told. His basic story had power, as the film was a commercial and critical success, winning seven Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
.
Beginning in 1948, Kantor arranged an intensive period of research with the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
(NYCPD). He was the only civilian other than reporters allowed to ride with police on their beat. He often rode on night shifts, working with the 23rd Precinct, whose territory ranged from upper Park Avenue to East Harlem, with a wide range of residents and incomes. These experiences informed most of his short crime novels, as well as his major work Signal Thirty-Two, published in 1950 with jacket art by his wife Irene Layne Kantor. Kantor was noted for his limited use of punctuation within his literary compositions.
During his assignment with the US troops in WWII, Kantor entered the concentration camp of Buchenwald as they liberated it on April 14, 1945. During the next decade, his experience would inform his research for and writing of Andersonville
Andersonville
-United States:* Andersonville, Georgia, a city in Sumter County, Georgia, USA and the site of American Civil War POW camp** Andersonville National Historic Site, Confederate POW prison camp in Georgia holding Union POWs...
, his novel about the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp. One of the issues he struggled with in Germany and afterward was how to think of the civilians who lived near Buchenwald. As he struggled to understand, he developed ideas used in his novel, where he portrayed some civilian Southerners sympathetically, in contrast to officers at the camp.
In writing more than 30 novels, Kantor often returned to the theme of the American Civil War. He won the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in 1956 for his novel Andersonville (1955), about the Confederate prison camp. The novel had a long life and influence in other genres, as it was adapted for the TV movie The Andersonville Trial (1970), as well as for the TV mini-series Andersonville (1995). Kantor wrote two works for young readers set in the Civil War years: Lee and Grant at Appomattox (1950) and Gettysburg (1952), both for young readers.
In addition to journalism and novels, Kantor wrote the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
for Gun Crazy
Gun Crazy
Gun Crazy is a 1950 film noir feature film starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. The film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produced by Frank King and Maurice King...
(aka Deadly Is the Female) (1950), a noted film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
. It was based on his short story by the same name, published February 3, 1940 in a "slick
Slick
Slick may refer to:* A puddle, especially of oil, as in an oil spill* Slick tire, used in motor racing* Slick , a large woodworking chisel...
" magazine, The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
. In 1992, it was revealed that he had allowed his name to be used on a screenplay written by 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...
, one of the Hollywood Ten, who had been blacklisted as a result of his refusal to testify before the House Un-American Committee (HUAC) hearings. Kantor passed his payment on to Trumbo to help him survive. Kantor acted in the 1958 film Wind Across the Everglades
Wind Across the Everglades
Wind Across the Everglades is a 1958 film directed by Nicholas Ray. Ray was fired from the film before production was finished, and several scenes were completed by screenwriter Budd Schulberg, who also supervised the editing....
.
Several of his novels were adapted for films. He established his own publishing house, and published several of his works in the 1930s and 1940s.
In the November 22, 1960, issue of Look magazine, Kantor published a fictional account set as a history text, entitled If the South Had Won the Civil War. This generated such a response that it was published in 1961 as a book. It is one of many alternate histories of that war.
Kantor's last novel was Valley Forge (1975).
Kantor died of a heart attack in 1977, at the age of 73, at his home in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
.
Novels
- Diversey (1928)
- El Goes South (1930)
- The Jaybird (1932)
- Long Remember (1934)
- The Voice of Bugle Ann (1935)
- Arouse and Beware (1936)
- The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1937)
- The Noise of Their Wings (1938)
- Here Lies Holly Springs (1938)
- Valedictory (Illustrated by Amos Sewell) (1939)
- Cuba Libre (1940)
- Gentle Annie (1942)
- Happy Land (1943)
- Glory for Me (1945)
- Midnight Lace (1948)
- The Good Family (1949)
- Wicked Water (1949)
- One Wild Oat (1950)
- Signal Thirty-Two (1950)
- Don't Touch Me (1951)
- Warwhoop: Two Short Novels of the Frontier (1952)
- The Daughter of Bugle Ann (1953)
- God and My Country (1954)
- AndersonvilleAndersonville (novel)Andersonville is a novel by MacKinlay Kantor concerning the Confederate prisoner of war camp, Andersonville prison, during the American Civil War . The novel was originally published in 1955, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the following year.-Plot summary:The novel interweaves the stories...
(1955) - Frontier: Tales of the American Adventure (1959)
- The Unseen Witness (1959)
- Spirit Lake (1961)
- If the South Had Won the Civil War (1961) (Originally published in Look magazine, November 22, 1960)
- Beauty Beast (1968)
- I Love You, Irene (1973)
- The Children Sing (1974)
- Valley Forge (1975)
Collections
- Turkey in the Straw: A Book of American Ballads and Primitive Verse (1935)
- Author's Choice (stories) (1944)
- Silent Grow the Guns, and Other Tales of the American Civil War (stories) (1958)
- It's About Crime (stories) (1960)
- The Gun-Toter, and Other Stories of the Missouri Hills (stories) (1963)
- Story Teller (stories and essays) (1967)
Children's and young-adult books
- Angleworms on Toast (Illustrated by Kurt WieseKurt WieseKurt Wiese was an award-winning German-born book illustrator. Wiese wrote and illustrated 20 children's books and illustrated another 300 for other authors.- Biography :Wiese was born in Minden, Germany...
) (1942) - Lee and Grant at Appomattox (Illustrated by Donald McKay) (1950)
- Gettysburg (Illustrated by Donald McKay) (1952)
- The Work of Saint Francis (Illustrated by Johannes Troyer) (1958)
Nonfiction
- But Look, the Morn: The Story of a Childhood (memoir) (1951)
- Lobo (1958)
- Mission with LeMay: My Story, by Curtis LeMayCurtis LeMayCurtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
with MacKinlay Kantor (1965) - The Day I Met a Lion (memoir/essays) (1968)
- Missouri Bittersweet (1969)
- Hamilton County (1970)
Filmography
Films- The Voice of Bugle AnnThe Voice of Bugle AnnThe Voice of Bugle Ann is a 1936 film directed by Richard Thorpe, based on a novel of the same title by MacKinlay Kantor.- Brief Synopsis :A Missouri farmer's love for his hunting dog triggers a feud that divides the county...
(novel) (1936) - Mountain Music (story) (1937)
- The Man from DakotaThe Man from DakotaThe Man from Dakota is a 1940 film directed by Leslie Fenton and starring Wallace Beery. The movie was adapted by Laurence Stallings from the novel by MacKinlay Kantor.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as Bar Barstow*John Howard as Oliver Clark...
(novel, Arouse and Beware) (1940) - Happy LandHappy Land (film)Happy Land is a 1943 film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Don Ameche.-Synopsis:Lew Marsh, s pharmacist to the small community of Hartfield, Iowa, is lunching with his devoted wife Agnes when a telegram arrives notifying them that their only child, Russell, whom they called Rusty, has been...
(novel) (1943) - Gentle AnnieGentle Annie (film)Gentle Annie is a film with a Western theme, directed in 1944 by Andrew Marton, starring Donna Reed and James Craig.. Marjorie Main played the role of Annie Goss. A notable actor in this film is Harry Morgan, who plays Cottonwood Goss...
(novel) (1944) - The Best Years of Our LivesThe Best Years of Our LivesThe Best Years of Our Lives is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell, a United States paratrooper who lost both hands in a military training accident. The film is about three United States...
(novel, Glory for Me) (1946) - The Romance of Rosy RidgeThe Romance of Rosy RidgeThe Romance of Rosy Ridge is a 1947 drama film about a rural community still bitterly divided in the aftermath of the American Civil War. It stars Van Johnson, Thomas Mitchell, and Janet Leigh in her film debut...
(novel) (1947) - Gun CrazyGun CrazyGun Crazy is a 1950 film noir feature film starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. The film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produced by Frank King and Maurice King...
(story and screenplay) (1950) - Hannah Lee: An American Primitive (novel, Wicked Water) (1953)
- Wind Across the EvergladesWind Across the EvergladesWind Across the Everglades is a 1958 film directed by Nicholas Ray. Ray was fired from the film before production was finished, and several scenes were completed by screenwriter Budd Schulberg, who also supervised the editing....
(actor) (1958) - Follow Me, Boys!Follow Me, Boys!Follow Me, Boys! is a 1966 family film released through Walt Disney Pictures, based on the book God and My Country by MacKinlay Kantor. It was the last production released before Walt Disney died of lung cancer...
(novel, God and My Country) (1966)
Television
- Lux Video TheatreLux Video TheatreLux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
, episode "Forever Walking Free" (story) (1951) - Studio One in Hollywood, episode "Signal Thirty-Two" (novel) (1953)
- The 20th Century Fox HourThe 20th Century Fox HourThe 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title Hour of Stars...
, episode "In Times Like These" (novel, Happy Land) (1956)
Legacy and honors
- 1956 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Andersonville - 1976, Kantor-Mollenhoff Plaza in West Twin Park, Webster City, Iowa, was named in honor of him and the author Clark R. MollenhoffClark R. MollenhoffClark R. Mollenhoff was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, lawyer, and columnist for The Des Moines Register.-Life and career:...
, as part of the city's Bicentennial Celebration - 1989, MacKinlay Kantor Drive in Webster City was named in his honor.
- Original editions of his more than 40 books were donated to the Kendall Young Library in Webster City by his longtime friend Richard Whiteman, who also donated more than $1 million to a library expansion.
Further reading
- Eckley, Wilton. "MacKinlay Kantor." In Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 9: American Novelists, 1910–1945, edited by James J. Martine. Detroit, Gale Research, 1981.
- Kantor, Tim. My Father’s Voice: MacKinlay Kantor Long Remembered (1988)
- "MacKinlay Kantor", in Contemporary Authors, Gale Literary Databases, March 1999.
- Zaidman, Laura. "MacKinlay Kantor", in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 102: American Short-Story Writers, 1910-1945, Second Series, ed. Bobby Ellen Kimbel. Detroit, Gale Research, 1991.