Wikipedia

Peter George (author)

Peter Bryan George(26 March 1924 – 1 June 1966) was a Welsh author, most famous for the 1958Cold Warthriller novelRed Alert,published initially with the titleTwo Hours to Doomand written using the pseudonymPeter Bryant.The book was the inspiration forStanley Kubrick's filmDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Peter George

Life

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George was born in 1924 inTreorchy,Rhondda,Wales, and died aged 42 inHastings,East Sussex,England. He was aflight lieutenantand navigator for theRoyal Air ForceduringWorld War IIserving withNo. 255 Squadron RAF,flyingnight fightermissions over Malta and Italy. He rejoined the RAF serving atRAF Neatisheadand as a fighter controller[1]where he often wrote while on duty and used apseudonym.He retired from the service in 1961.[2]

On 1 June 1966, Peter George was found dead with a discharged double-barreled shotgun between his knees; his death was ruled asuicide.[3]

Works

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His best-known novel,Red Alertwas written while he was a serving RAF officer (hence the original use of a pseudonym:Peter Bryant– theBryanbeing from his middle name). Drawn from personal experience,Red Alertwas the inspiration forStanley Kubrick's classic filmDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.Interest in nuclear weapon themes, sparked byStanley Kramer's film version of the novelOn the Beachin 1959, caused the movie rights toRed Alertto be sold that year, only to be transferred until Stanley Kubrick bought them in 1962, reportedly for as little as $3,500.

Another bestselling novel published in 1962,Fail Safe,was so similar to George's nuclear war theme that both he and Kubrick sued on a charge ofcopyright infringement,[4]settling out of court.[5]Ironically the same movie studio,Columbia Pictures,which had financed and was distributingStrangelove,also boughtFail Safe,which had been an independently financed production.[6]Since Kubrick insisted that the studio release his movie first in January 1964,[7]the perceived commonality led toFail Safeopening in October later that year to poor box office performance, despite excellent reviews for its more serious depiction of a nuclear crisis than Kubrick's overtly satirical approach.

While Peter George received a co-writing credit forStrangelove's screenplay with Kubrick andTerry Southern,it is unclear how much involvement he actually had, and he was reportedly dissatisfied with the comedic element Kubrick applied to the material. As a co-writer, he shared a "Best Adapted Screenplay"Oscarnomination. After the movie was released, he wrote anovelisationofDr. Strangeloveand dedicated it to Kubrick. It was out of print for many years but was to be re-issued in 2015 by Candy Jar Ltd and features previously unpublished material concerning Strangelove's early career, with a foreword by George's son, David.[8]

George's final completed novel before his suicide,Commander-1,envisaged a post-apocalyptic world in which a group of survivors is tyrannized by a dictator.

Novels

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  • Come Blonde, Came Murder(T. V. Boardman, 1952) as "Peter George".
  • Pattern of Death(T. V. Boardman, 1954) as "Peter George".
  • Cool Murder(T. V. Boardman, 1958) as "Peter George"; later reissued in paperback (Mayflower, 1965) as "Bryan Peters".
  • Two Hours To Doom(T. V. Boardman, 1958) as "Peter Bryant" - later published asRed Alert(Ace, 1958)
  • Hong Kong Kill(T. V. Boardman, 1958) as "Bryan Peters".
  • The Big H(T. V. Boardman, 1961) as "Bryan Peters".
  • The Final Steal(T. V. Boardman, 1962) as "Peter George".
  • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb(Corgi, 1963) as "Peter George"; novelisation of the screenplay; dedicated to Stanley Kubrick.
  • Commander-1(Heinemann, 1965) as "Peter George".

References

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  1. ^p. 10 Case, GeorgeCalling Dr. Strangelove: The Anatomy and Influence of the Kubrick MasterpieceMcFarland, 7 August 2014
  2. ^Sikov, Ed (2003).Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers.Hyperion. p. 190.ISBN978-0-7868-8581-7.
  3. ^Jones, Nick."Commander-1: The Life and Death of Author Peter George, alias Peter Bryant / Bryan Peters, co-writer of Dr. Strangelove; inc. Bibliography".Existential Ennui.unk.Retrieved29 December2015.
  4. ^Scherman, David E. (8 March 1963)."in Two Big Book-alikes a Mad General and a Bad Black Box Blow Up Two Cities, and then— Everybody Blows Up!".Life Magazine.p. 49.Retrieved18 August2017.
  5. ^Schlosser, Eric (2014).Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety.Penguin. p. 297.ISBN9780143125785.
  6. ^Schulman, Ari N. (7 October 2014)."Doomsday Machines".Slate.Retrieved21 July2020.
  7. ^Jacobson, Colin."Review:Fail-Safe: Special Edition (1964)."dvdmg,2000. Retrieved: November 21, 2010.
  8. ^"Candy Jar Publishes Classic".Retrieved14 October2014.
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