Michael Wilson (writer)
Encyclopedia
Michael Wilson was an Academy Award
winning American
screenwriter
who was blacklisted
by the Hollywood movie studio
bosses during the era of McCarthyism
.
Wilson was born and raised Roman Catholic
in McAlester, Oklahoma
. He graduated from UC Berkeley
in 1936. He taught English and began his writing career with short stories
for magazines. Then, starting in 1941, he wrote or co-wrote twenty-two screenplays, several of which are legendary and considered some of the finest in the history of film.
westerns. His career in Hollywood was interrupted by service with the United States Marine Corps
during World War II
. In 1945 he became a contract writer with Liberty Films
, working on such pictures as It's a Wonderful Life
. In 1952 he was a co-winner of the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
for A Place in the Sun, and in 1953 he won an Edgar Award
and another Oscar nomination for his script for 5 Fingers
.
He was named an unfriendly witness by the House Un-American Activities Committee and blacklisted for being a communist. After he was blacklisted, he left for France and worked on scripts for Europe
an film productions. In 1954, while blacklisted, Wilson wrote the script for Salt of the Earth
, a fictionalized account of a real strike by zinc miners in Grant County, New Mexico
. The movie was directed by Herbert Biberman
and produced by Paul Jarrico
both of whom had also been blacklisted by Hollywood. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress
and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
. The film has also been preserved by the Museum of Modern Art
in New York.
He also wrote or collaborated on scripts for Hollywood films without credit or under a pseudonym
for much less than the usual fees he was used to before being blacklisted including Friendly Persuasion
(1956), The Bridge on the River Kwai
(1957), and Lawrence Of Arabia
(1962); His screenplay for Friendly Persuasion was nominated for an Academy Award, but was disqualified because his name did not appear in the credits. Director William Wyler wanted his brother, Robert Wyler, and Jessamyn West credited for rewriting the script, but Wilson disputed this. Wyler then was able under the rules of the blacklist to have one of the few films in history credited to no writer at all. He remained in France with his family for 9 years before returning to the United States in 1964 where he continued to write, including The Sandpiper
(1965), Planet of the Apes
(1968), and Che!
(1969).
His screenplay for Planet of the Apes was based on a novel by Pierre Boulle
; the film spawned four sequels, a remake, a live-action television show, and a Saturday-morning cartoon, however only Boulle received screen credit (usually "Based on characters created by Pierre Boulle") in the subsequent incarnations.
Michael Wilson was awarded Writers Guild of America
's Laurel Award in 1975 and was posthumously awarded his second Academy Award in 1984 for The Bridge on the River Kwai. In 1995, Wilson was credited by the Academy Board of Directors with an Academy Award nomination as a co-writer of Lawrence of Arabia and credited as the winner of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best British Dramatic Screenplay
.
Wilson also completed an unproduced screenplay on December 16, 1976, The Raid On Harper's Ferry, which was an adaptation of Truman Nelson's 1973 book The Old Man: John Brown at Harper's Ferry. In a February 1, 1974 letter to Nelson [that is contained in the Truman Nelson papers at Boston University
's Howard Gottlieb Archival Research Library], Wilson (writing from his Ojai, California
home at 514 Del Norte Road) recalled how he became involved in one of his last screenwriting adaptation projects:
Besides writing his unproduced screenplay for The Raid On Harper's Ferry, Wilson also apparently wrote unproduced scripts for a movie about the IWW, titled The Wobblies, and for a movie about the infiltration of the Black Liberation Movement, titled Quiet Darkness.
Michael Wilson died of a heart attack
in 1978 in Los Angeles County, California
.
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
winning American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screenwriter
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:...
who was 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...
by the Hollywood movie studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
bosses during the era of McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
.
Wilson was born and raised Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester is a city in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 17,783 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pittsburg County. It is currently the largest city in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, followed by Durant....
. He graduated from UC Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1936. He taught English and began his writing career with short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
for magazines. Then, starting in 1941, he wrote or co-wrote twenty-two screenplays, several of which are legendary and considered some of the finest in the history of film.
Career
Wilson's early work consisted of William BoydWilliam Boyd (actor)
William Lawrence Boyd was an American film actor best known for portraying Hopalong Cassidy.-Biography:...
westerns. His career in Hollywood was interrupted by service with the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
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...
. In 1945 he became a contract writer with Liberty Films
Liberty Films
Liberty Films was an independent motion picture production company founded in California by Frank Capra and Samuel J. Briskin in April 1945. It produced only two films, It's a Wonderful Life , originally released by RKO Radio Pictures, and the film version of the hit play State of the Union ,...
, working on such pictures as It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
. In 1952 he was a co-winner of the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
for A Place in the Sun, and in 1953 he won an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
and another Oscar nomination for his script for 5 Fingers
5 Fingers
5 Fingers, known also as Five Fingers, is a 1952 American 20th Century Fox spy film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Otto Lang. The screenplay by Michael Wilson and Mankiewicz was based on Operation Cicero by L.C...
.
He was named an unfriendly witness by the House Un-American Activities Committee and blacklisted for being a communist. After he was blacklisted, he left for France and worked on scripts for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an film productions. In 1954, while blacklisted, Wilson wrote the script for Salt of the Earth
Salt of the Earth
Salt of the Earth is an American drama film written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico. All had been blacklisted by the Hollywood establishment due to their alleged involvement in communist politics....
, a fictionalized account of a real strike by zinc miners in Grant County, New Mexico
Grant County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*84.9% White*0.9% Black*1.4% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*9.8% Other races*48.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
. The movie was directed by Herbert Biberman
Herbert Biberman
Herbert J. Biberman , was an American screenwriter and film director. He may be best known for having been one of the Hollywood Ten as well as directing Salt of the Earth, a 1954 film about a zinc miners' strike in Grant County, New Mexico.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Joseph and...
and produced by Paul Jarrico
Paul Jarrico
Paul Jarrico was an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses during the era of McCarthyism.-Early years:...
both of whom had also been blacklisted by Hollywood. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
. The film has also been preserved by the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York.
He also wrote or collaborated on scripts for Hollywood films without credit or under a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
for much less than the usual fees he was used to before being blacklisted including Friendly Persuasion
Friendly Persuasion (film)
Friendly Persuasion is a 1956 Civil War film starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton and Phyllis Love. The screenplay was adapted by Michael Wilson from the 1945 novel The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West, and was directed by William Wyler...
(1956), The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
(1957), and Lawrence Of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
(1962); His screenplay for Friendly Persuasion was nominated for an Academy Award, but was disqualified because his name did not appear in the credits. Director William Wyler wanted his brother, Robert Wyler, and Jessamyn West credited for rewriting the script, but Wilson disputed this. Wyler then was able under the rules of the blacklist to have one of the few films in history credited to no writer at all. He remained in France with his family for 9 years before returning to the United States in 1964 where he continued to write, including The Sandpiper
The Sandpiper
The Sandpiper is a 1965 film starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, directed by Vincente Minnelli.-Plot:Laura Reynolds is a free-spirited, unwed single mother living with her young son Danny in an isolated California beach house...
(1965), Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
(1968), and Che!
Che!
Che! is an American Biographical film starring Omar Sharif as Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. It follows Guevara from when he first landed in Cuba in 1956 to his death in Bolivia in 1967, although the film does not portray the formative pre-Cuban revolution sections of Che's life as...
(1969).
His screenplay for Planet of the Apes was based on a novel by Pierre Boulle
Pierre Boulle
Pierre Boulle was a French novelist largely known for two famous works, The Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes .-Biography:...
; the film spawned four sequels, a remake, a live-action television show, and a Saturday-morning cartoon, however only Boulle received screen credit (usually "Based on characters created by Pierre Boulle") in the subsequent incarnations.
Michael Wilson was awarded Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
's Laurel Award in 1975 and was posthumously awarded his second Academy Award in 1984 for The Bridge on the River Kwai. In 1995, Wilson was credited by the Academy Board of Directors with an Academy Award nomination as a co-writer of Lawrence of Arabia and credited as the winner of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best British Dramatic Screenplay
Writers' Guild of Great Britain
The Writers' Guild of Great Britain, established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds .-Activities:...
.
Wilson also completed an unproduced screenplay on December 16, 1976, The Raid On Harper's Ferry, which was an adaptation of Truman Nelson's 1973 book The Old Man: John Brown at Harper's Ferry. In a February 1, 1974 letter to Nelson [that is contained in the Truman Nelson papers at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
's Howard Gottlieb Archival Research Library], Wilson (writing from his Ojai, California
Ojai, California
Ojai is a city in Ventura County, California, USA. It is situated in the Ojai Valley , surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,461 at the 2010 census, down from 7,862 at the 2000 census.-History:Chumash Indians were the early inhabitants of the valley...
home at 514 Del Norte Road) recalled how he became involved in one of his last screenwriting adaptation projects:
Besides writing his unproduced screenplay for The Raid On Harper's Ferry, Wilson also apparently wrote unproduced scripts for a movie about the IWW, titled The Wobblies, and for a movie about the infiltration of the Black Liberation Movement, titled Quiet Darkness.
Michael Wilson died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 1978 in Los Angeles County, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Films
- Che!Che!Che! is an American Biographical film starring Omar Sharif as Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. It follows Guevara from when he first landed in Cuba in 1956 to his death in Bolivia in 1967, although the film does not portray the formative pre-Cuban revolution sections of Che's life as...
(1969) - Planet of the ApesPlanet of the Apes (1968 film)Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
(1968) - The SandpiperThe SandpiperThe Sandpiper is a 1965 film starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, directed by Vincente Minnelli.-Plot:Laura Reynolds is a free-spirited, unwed single mother living with her young son Danny in an isolated California beach house...
(1965) - Lawrence of ArabiaLawrence of Arabia (film)Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
(1962) (originally uncredited) - 5 Branded Women5 Branded Women-Plot:Yugoslav partisans grimly crop the hair of a village quintet of women believed to have consorted with the occupational Nazis. Four, for various reasons, have indeed - and their seducer is a lone, swaggering sergeant whom the partisans briskly emasculate...
(1960) (originally uncredited) - La Tempesta (movie) (1958) (uncredited)
- The Two-Headed SpyThe Two-Headed SpyThe Two-Headed Spy is a 1958 British spy thriller, set in World War II. It starred Jack Hawkins and was directed by Andre De Toth. It also starred Gia Scala, Erik Schumann and Alexander Knox.-Plot:...
(1958) (originally as James O'Donnell) - The Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
(1957) (originally uncredited) - Friendly Persuasion (1956) (originally uncredited)
- The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) (uncredited)
- Mannequins für Rio (1954) (uncredited)
- Carnival StoryCarnival StoryCarnival Story is a 1954 film directed by Kurt Neumann, starring Anne Baxter and Steve Cochran, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was shot in 3-D, but was only released to theaters in 2D...
(1954) (uncredited) - Salt of the EarthSalt of the EarthSalt of the Earth is an American drama film written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico. All had been blacklisted by the Hollywood establishment due to their alleged involvement in communist politics....
(1954) - 5 Fingers5 Fingers5 Fingers, known also as Five Fingers, is a 1952 American 20th Century Fox spy film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Otto Lang. The screenplay by Michael Wilson and Mankiewicz was based on Operation Cicero by L.C...
(1952) - A Place in the Sun (1951)
- It's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
(1946) - Forty Thieves (1944)
- Bar 20 (1943)
- Colt Comrades (1943)
- Border Patrol (1943)
- The Men in Her LifeThe Men in Her LifeThe Men in Her Life was a 1941 film adaptation of the novel Ballerina by Eleanor Smith. It was nominated for the 1941 Academy Award for Sound , but lost to That Hamilton Woman.-Cast:* Loretta Young as Lina Varsavina...
(1941)
Further reading
- Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #2, October 1974. P. 48-52, "Michael Wilson: The Other Apes Writer," by David Johnson. An exclusive interview with the co-author of the original Planet of the Apes movie.
External links
- Finding Aid for the Michael Wilson Papers, 1942-1977 The Online Archive of California
- "'Under the table': Michael Wilson and the Screenplay for The Bridge on the River Kwai: for audiences, a screen masterpiece. For its blacklisted screenwriter, a saga of futility and bitterness, in epic proportions." The Free Library