Sidney Buchman
Encyclopedia
Sidney Robert Buchman was a screenwriter
and producer
who worked on 38 films from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. He is also sometimes credited as Sydney Buchman.
, Minnesota
and educated at Columbia University
, he served as President of the Writers Guild of America
in 1941–1942. Buchman was one of the most successful Hollywood screenwriters of the 1930s and 1940s. His scripts from this period include She Married Her Boss
(1935), Theodora Goes Wild
(1936) and Holiday
(1938). He would go on to receive Academy Award nominations for his writing on Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), and Jolson Sings Again
(1949), winning an Oscar for Here Comes Mr. Jordan
(1941). He also did much uncredited work on various films during this period.
members to the House Un-American Activities Committee
led to a charge of contempt of Congress
. Buchman was fined, given a year's suspended sentence, and was then blacklisted
by the Hollywood movie studio
bosses.
Buchman would return to screenwriting in Hollywood in the 1960s, working on Cleopatra
(1963) and The Group
(1966].
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:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
who worked on 38 films from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. He is also sometimes credited as Sydney Buchman.
Career
Born in DuluthDuluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and educated at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, he served as President of the 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....
in 1941–1942. Buchman was one of the most successful Hollywood screenwriters of the 1930s and 1940s. His scripts from this period include She Married Her Boss
She Married Her Boss
She Married Her Boss is a 1935 film directed by Gregory La Cava, and starring Claudette Colbert and Melvyn Douglas.-Plot:It tells the story of a secretary who married with her boss, however she has a hard time living up to him.-Cast:...
(1935), Theodora Goes Wild
Theodora Goes Wild
Theodora Goes Wild is a 1936 American romantic comedy film that tells the story of a small town which is incensed by a risqué novel, little knowing that it was written under a pseudonym by a member of the town's leading family. It stars Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas and was directed by Richard...
(1936) and Holiday
Holiday (1938 film)
Holiday is a 1938 is a film directed by George Cukor, a remake of the 1930 film of the same name. The film is a romantic comedy which tells the story of a man who has risen from humble beginnings only to be torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family...
(1938). He would go on to receive Academy Award nominations for his writing on Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
(1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), and Jolson Sings Again
Jolson Sings Again
Jolson Sings Again is the 1949 film sequel to The Jolson Story, both of which cover the life of singer Al Jolson.-Synopsis:In this follow-up to The Jolson Story, we pick up the singer's career just as he has returned to the stage after a premature retirement. But his wife has left him and the...
(1949), winning an Oscar for Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a comedy film in which a boxer, mistakenly taken to Heaven before his time, is given a second chance back on Earth. It stars Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains and Evelyn Keyes. The movie was adapted by Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller from the play Heaven Can Wait by Harry...
(1941). He also did much uncredited work on various films during this period.
Hollywood blacklist, and return
Buchman's refusal to provide the names of American Communist PartyCommunist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
members to the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
led to a charge of contempt of Congress
Contempt of Congress
Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically the bribery of a senator or representative was considered contempt of Congress...
. Buchman was fined, given a year's suspended sentence, and was then 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.
Buchman would return to screenwriting in Hollywood in the 1960s, working on Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
(1963) and The Group
The Group (film)
The Group is a 1966 ensemble film directed by Sidney Lumet based on the novel of the same name by Mary McCarthy about a group of female graduates from a Connecticut College-like college during the early 1930s....
(1966].