Ruth Rose
Encyclopedia
Ruth Rose was a writer
who worked on several films in the 1930s and the 1940s, most famously the original 1933 classic King Kong
.
Geological Society expedition to the Galapagos Islands. Ernest Schoedsack was working as a cinematographer
on that same expedition, just after he had made the film Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life
(1925) with Merian C. Cooper
. Rose and Schoedsack met there and fell in love. In 1926 they were married. She joined Schoedsack and Cooper in some of their other adventures and productions, including the film Chang
(1927).
, died before he could make any significant changes, and the second, James Creelman
, wrote a screenplay that was too slow-paced, descriptive, and had too much flowery dialogue according to Cooper. So he hired Rose to rework it. Rose cut out many of the long, unimportant scenes that Creelman had written to make it more fast-paced. She is credited with writing such famous lines as "Oh, no. It wasn’t the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast." She also based the character of Carl Denham
on Merian Cooper and Jack Driscoll
she based on her husband, Ernest Schoedsack. It was now more like one of the earlier Cooper-Schoedsack adventures.
, Rose wrote several other movies including Blind Adventure
, Son of Kong, She, The Last Days of Pompeii
, and Mighty Joe Young, another giant ape adventure. Her Kong screenplay
was the basis for two remakes of King Kong
, one in 1976 and one in 2005. Rose did not write any more films before her death on June 8, 1978, although, she did many rewrites and dialogue changes down through the years. She was survived by her husband and her only child, Peter, born in 1929 with cerebral palsy.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
who worked on several films in the 1930s and the 1940s, most famously the original 1933 classic King Kong
King Kong (1933 film)
King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
.
Early life
Rose was born on January 16, 1896 to a playwright, Edward E. Rose. At age 14 she first appeared on the Broadway stage doing various ingenue parts. In 1926, Rose was working as the official historian on a New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Geological Society expedition to the Galapagos Islands. Ernest Schoedsack was working as a cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
on that same expedition, just after he had made the film Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life
Grass (1925 film)
Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life is a silent documentary film which follows a branch of the Bakhtiari tribe of Persia as they and their herds make their seasonal journey to better pastures. It is considered one of the earliest ethnographic documentary films. It was written by Richard Carver and...
(1925) with Merian C. Cooper
Merian C. Cooper
Merian Caldwell Cooper was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, screenwriter, and film director and producer. His most famous film was the 1933 movie King Kong.-Early life:...
. Rose and Schoedsack met there and fell in love. In 1926 they were married. She joined Schoedsack and Cooper in some of their other adventures and productions, including the film Chang
Chang (film)
Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness is a documentary film about a poor farmer in Issan and his daily struggle for survival in the jungle. The two directors of Chang, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B...
(1927).
King Kong
In the early 1930s, Cooper began to make his film King Kong. He had already gotten two other writers to work on Kong. The first one, Edgar WallaceEdgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
, died before he could make any significant changes, and the second, James Creelman
James Creelman
James Creelman , was a reporter during the height of yellow journalism. He was born in Montreal, Province of Canada, the son of a boiler inspector, Matthew Creelman, and homemaker, Martha Dunwoodie....
, wrote a screenplay that was too slow-paced, descriptive, and had too much flowery dialogue according to Cooper. So he hired Rose to rework it. Rose cut out many of the long, unimportant scenes that Creelman had written to make it more fast-paced. She is credited with writing such famous lines as "Oh, no. It wasn’t the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast." She also based the character of Carl Denham
Carl Denham
Carl Denham is a fictional film director in the films King Kong and Son of Kong , as well as in the 2005 remake of King Kong, and a 2004 illustrated-novel titled Kong: King of Skull Island. The role was played by Robert Armstrong in the 1933 films and by Jack Black in the 2005 remake...
on Merian Cooper and Jack Driscoll
Jack Driscoll
Jack Driscoll is a fictional character in the King Kong franchise. In the original 1933 film he was the first mate of the ship The Venture, while in its 2005 remake he was a playwright . He was played by Bruce Cabot in the original and by Adrien Brody in the remake...
she based on her husband, Ernest Schoedsack. It was now more like one of the earlier Cooper-Schoedsack adventures.
Later life
After the success of King KongKing Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
, Rose wrote several other movies including Blind Adventure
Blind Adventure
Blind Adventure is a film directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack released by RKO Radio Pictures....
, Son of Kong, She, The Last Days of Pompeii
The Last Days of Pompeii (1935 film)
The Last Days of Pompeii is an RKO Radio Pictures film starring Preston Foster and directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper, creators of the original King Kong...
, and Mighty Joe Young, another giant ape adventure. Her Kong 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...
was the basis for two remakes of King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
, one in 1976 and one in 2005. Rose did not write any more films before her death on June 8, 1978, although, she did many rewrites and dialogue changes down through the years. She was survived by her husband and her only child, Peter, born in 1929 with cerebral palsy.