Silvia Richards
Encyclopedia
Silvia Richards was a screenwriter
whose most notable films were made during the 1940s and 50s. She wrote screenplays for the German director Fritz Lang
, several "film noir
" classics, and later she wrote television
scripts. Her work was interrupted by the McCarthy Hearings. She was called in as a friendly witness for HUAC (the House on UnAmerican Activities Committee) but claimed that she went along with HUAC because she feared for the well being of her two young sons. Her action helped to cause a divorce from her husband, screenwriter Robert L. Richards
, who would not testify for the Committee. Robert Richards was blacklisted and forced to write under various pseudonyms for the remainder of his career. Silvia married screenwriter A. I. (Buzz) Bezzerides
and assisted him in developing his writing ideas but stopped writing on her own. Buzz died New Year's Day
, 2007 at the age of 98 and Silvia several years before.
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:...
whose most notable films were made during the 1940s and 50s. She wrote screenplays for the German director Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
, several "film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
" classics, and later she wrote television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
scripts. Her work was interrupted by the McCarthy Hearings. She was called in as a friendly witness for HUAC (the House on UnAmerican Activities Committee) but claimed that she went along with HUAC because she feared for the well being of her two young sons. Her action helped to cause a divorce from her husband, screenwriter Robert L. Richards
Robert L. Richards
Robert L. Richards was a film screenwriter.Richards worked on a number of notable films of the 1940s and 1950s including Winchester '73, Johnny Stool Pigeon, and Act of Violence. His radio work included writing for the Suspense series which aired on the CBS network from 1942 until 1962...
, who would not testify for the Committee. Robert Richards was blacklisted and forced to write under various pseudonyms for the remainder of his career. Silvia married screenwriter A. I. (Buzz) Bezzerides
A. I. Bezzerides
A.I. " Buzz" Bezzerides, , was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known for writing Noir and Action motion pictures, especially several of Warners' "social conscience" films of the 1940s....
and assisted him in developing his writing ideas but stopped writing on her own. Buzz died New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
, 2007 at the age of 98 and Silvia several years before.