Paul Dehn
Encyclopedia
Paul Dehn was a British
screenwriter
.
, England
. He was educated at Shrewsbury School
, and attended Brasenose College, Oxford
. While at Oxford, he contributed film reviews to weekly undergraduate papers.
He began his career in 1936 as a film reviewer for several London
newspaper
s.
During World War II he was stationed at Camp X in Canada. This was one of several training facilities operated by Special Operations Executive
to train spies and special forces teams. He was the Political Warfare officer from 1942–44 and held the rank of Major. Dehn took part in missions in France and Norway.
He narrated the 1951 film Waters of Time and later wrote plays, operettas, and musicals for the stage. He wrote the lyrics for songs in two films, The Innocents (1961) and Moulin Rouge
(1952).
In 1949 or 1950, Dehn began a professional relationship with composer
James Bernard, who later became his life partner. Dehn asked Bernard to collaborate with him on the original screen story for the Boulting Brothers film Seven Days to Noon
(1950).
Through the 1960s, Dehn concentrated on screenwriting for espionage
films, notably Goldfinger
(1964), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
(1965), and The Deadly Affair
(1967). He later wrote the screenplay for Planet of the Apes
sequels and the libretto
for William Walton
's opera
The Bear
; he also wrote libretti for two operas by Lennox Berkeley
, A Dinner Engagement and Castaway.
His last screenplay was for Sidney Lumet
's all-star Murder on the Orient Express
(1974), based on the Agatha Christie
whodunit, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
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:...
.
Biography and work
Dehn was born in 1912 in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was educated at Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
, and attended Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
. While at Oxford, he contributed film reviews to weekly undergraduate papers.
He began his career in 1936 as a film reviewer for several 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...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s.
During World War II he was stationed at Camp X in Canada. This was one of several training facilities operated by Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
to train spies and special forces teams. He was the Political Warfare officer from 1942–44 and held the rank of Major. Dehn took part in missions in France and Norway.
He narrated the 1951 film Waters of Time and later wrote plays, operettas, and musicals for the stage. He wrote the lyrics for songs in two films, The Innocents (1961) and Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge (1952 film)
Moulin Rouge is a 1952 film directed by John Huston, produced by Sir John Woolf and James Woolf of Romulus Films and released by United Artists. The film is set in Paris in the late 19th century, following artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in the city's bohemian sub-culture in and around the...
(1952).
In 1949 or 1950, Dehn began a professional relationship with composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
James Bernard, who later became his life partner. Dehn asked Bernard to collaborate with him on the original screen story for the Boulting Brothers film Seven Days to Noon
Seven Days to Noon
Seven Days to Noon is a 1950 British drama / thriller film directed by John Boulting and Roy Boulting. Paul Dehn and James Bernard won the Academy Award for Best Story for this film.-Plot:The film is set in the early 1950s...
(1950).
Through the 1960s, Dehn concentrated on screenwriting for espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
films, notably Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
(1964), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (film)
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a 1965 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by John le Carré. It was adapted by Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper. The film stars Richard Burton as Alec Leamas, along with Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, Peter van Eyck, Sam Wanamaker, Rupert Davies and Cyril Cusack...
(1965), and The Deadly Affair
The Deadly Affair
The Deadly Affair is a 1966 British espionage–thriller film, based on John le Carré's first novel Call for the Dead. The film stars James Mason, Harry Andrews, Simone Signoret and Maximilian Schell and was directed by Sidney Lumet from a script by Paul Dehn. In it George Smiley, the central...
(1967). He later wrote the screenplay for 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...
sequels and the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
The Bear
The Bear (opera)
The Bear is the second of the two operas by William Walton, described in publication as an "Extravaganza in One Act". The libretto was by Paul Dehn, based on the play by Anton Chekhov of the same title .Walton composed the opera on commission from the Koussevitzsky Foundation, and dedicated the...
; he also wrote libretti for two operas by Lennox Berkeley
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
, A Dinner Engagement and Castaway.
His last screenplay was for Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
's all-star Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)
Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 British mystery film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and based on the1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.-Overview:...
(1974), based on the Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
whodunit, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Books
- Quake, Quake, Quake: A Leaden Treasury of English Verse (1958)
- The Day's Alarm. Poetry (1949)
- Romantic Landscape. Poetry (1952)
- The Fern on the Rock: Collected Poems 1935-1965 (1965)
- For Love and Money. Essays and Poems (1956)
Screenplays
- Seven Days to NoonSeven Days to NoonSeven Days to Noon is a 1950 British drama / thriller film directed by John Boulting and Roy Boulting. Paul Dehn and James Bernard won the Academy Award for Best Story for this film.-Plot:The film is set in the early 1950s...
(1950) - Waters of Time (1951)
- On Such a NightOn Such a Night (1956 film)On Such a Night is a 1956 British short comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring David Knight, Josephine Griffin and Marie Lohr....
(1956) - Orders to KillOrders to KillOrders to Kill was a 1958 British wartime drama film. It starred Paul Massie, Eddie Albert and Lillian Gish. It was directed by Anthony Asquith based on a story by Donald C. Downes.-Plot summary:...
(1958) - GoldfingerGoldfinger (film)Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
(1964) - The Spy Who Came in from the ColdThe Spy Who Came in from the Cold (film)The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a 1965 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by John le Carré. It was adapted by Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper. The film stars Richard Burton as Alec Leamas, along with Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, Peter van Eyck, Sam Wanamaker, Rupert Davies and Cyril Cusack...
(1965) - The Deadly AffairThe Deadly AffairThe Deadly Affair is a 1966 British espionage–thriller film, based on John le Carré's first novel Call for the Dead. The film stars James Mason, Harry Andrews, Simone Signoret and Maximilian Schell and was directed by Sidney Lumet from a script by Paul Dehn. In it George Smiley, the central...
(1966) - The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew (1967 film)The Taming of the Shrew is a 1967 film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare about a courtship between two strong-willed people...
(1967) - Beryl Reid Says Good Evening (1968)
- Beneath the Planet of the ApesBeneath the Planet of the ApesBeneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs...
(1970) - Fragment of FearFragment of FearFragment of Fear is a 1970 British thriller film starring David Hemmings, Gayle Hunnicutt, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Roland Culver, Flora Robson and Arthur Lowe. -Plot:...
(1970) - Escape from the Planet of the ApesEscape from the Planet of the ApesEscape from the Planet of the Apes, directed by Don Taylor, is a 1971 science fiction film starring Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman and Ricardo Montalbán. It is the third of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, the second being Beneath the...
(1971) - Conquest of the Planet of the ApesConquest of the Planet of the ApesConquest of the Planet of the Apes is a 1972 science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fourth of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. It explores how the apes rebelled from mankind's ill treatment following Escape from the Planet of...
(1972) - Battle for the Planet of the ApesBattle for the Planet of the ApesBattle for the Planet of the Apes is a 1973 science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fifth and last entry in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P...
(1973) - Murder on the Orient ExpressMurder on the Orient Express (1974 film)Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 British mystery film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and based on the1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.-Overview:...
(1974)
Awards and nominations
- Academy Award for Best Screenplay, 1950
- BAFTA Award Nomination for Best British Screenplay, 1959
- Edgar Allan Poe AwardEdgar AwardThe Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for Best Foreign Film, 1965 - Writers Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of AmericaThe 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....
Award Nomination for Best American Drama, 1966 - Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture, 1966
- BAFTA Award Nomination for Best British Screenplay, 1968
- Edgar Allan Poe Award Nomination for Best Motion Picture, 1974
- Writers Guild of Britain Award for Best British Screenplay, 1974
- Academy Award Nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, 1975