Philip Yordan
Encyclopedia
Philip Yordan was an American screenwriter
of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s who also produced several films.
He was also known as a highly regarded script doctor. Born to Polish immigrants, he earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois
and a law degree at Chicago-Kent College of Law
.
Some of his films include The Chase
(1946), Whistle Stop (1946), House of Strangers
(1949), Houdini
(1953), Broken Lance
(1954), Johnny Guitar
(1954), The Big Combo
(1955), The Harder They Fall
(1956), The Bravados
(1958) and God's Little Acre
(1958, official credit, but actually written by Ben Maddow
). He worked several times in collaboration with independent producer Samuel Bronston
and contributed to the screenplays of such films as King of Kings (1961), El Cid
(1961), 55 Days at Peking
(1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire
(1964) and Circus World
(1964).
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:...
of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s who also produced several films.
He was also known as a highly regarded script doctor. Born to Polish immigrants, he earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
and a law degree at Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago–Kent College of Law, the law school affiliated with Illinois Institute of Technology, is nationally recognized for the scholarship and accomplishments of its faculty and student body. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. Many of the applications of technology in the...
.
Some of his films include The Chase
The Chase (1946 film)
The Chase is an American film noir, shot in black and white, directed by Arthur Ripley. The screenplay is based on the Cornell Woolrich novel The Black Path of Fear...
(1946), Whistle Stop (1946), House of Strangers
House of Strangers
House of Strangers is a film noir, and is the first of three film versions of Jerome Weidman's novel I'll Never Go There Anymore, each scripted by Phillip Yordan...
(1949), Houdini
Houdini (film)
Houdini is a 1953 biographical film about the life of the magician and escapologist Harry Houdini. It was made by Paramount Pictures, directed by George Marshall and produced by George Pal from a screenplay by Philip Yordan, based on the book Houdini by Harold Kellock. The music score was by Roy...
(1953), Broken Lance
Broken Lance
Broken Lance is a 1954 Western film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Sol C. Siegel. The movie stars Spencer Tracy and features Katy Jurado, Richard Widmark, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Eduard Franz, Hugh O'Brian and Earl Holliman.Shot in color and...
(1954), Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar is a 1954 Republic Pictures Western film starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady.The screenplay was based upon a novel by Roy Chanslor. Though credited to Philip Yordan, he was merely a front for the actual screenwriter, blacklistee Ben Maddow. ...
(1954), The Big Combo
The Big Combo
The Big Combo is an American film noir directed by Joseph H. Lewis and stylistically photographed by cinematographer and noir icon John Alton with music by David Raksin....
(1955), The Harder They Fall
The Harder They Fall
The Harder They Fall is a film noir directed by Mark Robson, featuring Humphrey Bogart in his last film before his death in 1957. The film was written by Philip Yordan and based on the 1947 novel by Budd Schulberg....
(1956), The Bravados
The Bravados
The Bravados is a 1958 western film , directed by Henry King starring Gregory Peck and Joan Collins. The CinemaScope film was based on a novel of the same name written by Frank O'Rourke.-Plot:...
(1958) and God's Little Acre
God's Little Acre (film)
God's Little Acre is a 1958 American film of Erskine Caldwell's 1933 novel. It was directed by Anthony Mann and shot in black and white by master cinematographer Ernest Haller....
(1958, official credit, but actually written by Ben Maddow
Ben Maddow
Ben Maddow was a prolific screenwriter and documentarian from the 1930s through the 70s. Educated at Columbia University, Maddow began his career working within the American documentary movement in the 30s.In 1936 he co-founded the short-lived left-wing newsreel The World Today...
). He worked several times in collaboration with independent producer Samuel Bronston
Samuel Bronston
Samuel Bronston was a Bessarabian-born American film producer, film director, and a nephew of socialist revolutionary figure, Leon Trotsky. He was also the petitioner in a U.S...
and contributed to the screenplays of such films as King of Kings (1961), El Cid
El Cid (film)
El Cid is a historical epic film, a romanticized story of the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called "El Cid" who in the 11th century fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain.Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in...
(1961), 55 Days at Peking
55 Days at Peking
55 Days at Peking is a 1963 historical epic film starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and David Niven, made by Samuel Bronston Productions, and released by Allied Artists. The movie was produced by Samuel Bronston and directed by Nicholas Ray, Andrew Marton , and Guy Green...
(1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)
The Fall of the Roman Empire is a 1964 English-language epic film produced by Samuel Bronston Productions and the Rank Organisation, and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Samuel Bronston with Jaime Prades and Michal Waszynski as associate producers. The...
(1964) and Circus World
Circus World (film)
Circus World, also known as Samuel Bronston's Circus World, is a 1964 drama film made by the independent production company Samuel Bronston Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
(1964).
Awards
- Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay for Detective Story (1951), and for Best Writing, Original Screenplay for DillingerDillinger (1945 film)Dillinger is a 1945 gangster film telling the story of John Dillinger. The film was directed by Max Nosseck. Dillinger was the first major film to star Lawrence Tierney. The B-movie was shot in black and white and features a smoke-bomb bank robbery edited into the film from the 1937 Fritz Lang...
(1945). - Won an Academy Award for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story for Broken LanceBroken LanceBroken Lance is a 1954 Western film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Sol C. Siegel. The movie stars Spencer Tracy and features Katy Jurado, Richard Widmark, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Eduard Franz, Hugh O'Brian and Earl Holliman.Shot in color and...
(1954), which was actually a remake, reset in the West, of the earlier House of StrangersHouse of StrangersHouse of Strangers is a film noir, and is the first of three film versions of Jerome Weidman's novel I'll Never Go There Anymore, each scripted by Phillip Yordan...
, also credited solely to Yordan although written in part by the film's director Joseph L. MankiewiczJoseph L. MankiewiczJoseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
who declined to share a co-writing credit. - Won a 1952 Edgar AwardEdgar AwardThe Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for Best Motion Picture Screenplay, for Detective Story (along with credited cowriter Robert WylerRobert WylerRobert Wyler was an American film producer and associate producer. He was the older brother of the more illustrious William Wyler and a nephew of Universal Studios head, Carl Laemmle....
, and Sidney KingsleySidney KingsleySidney Kingsley was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Men in White in 1934.- Biography :...
, the author of the original stage play).