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Dalton Trumbo

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Dalton Trumbo
Trumbo at the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in 1947
Trumbo at theHouse Un-American Activities Committeehearings in 1947
BornJames Dalton Trumbo
(1905-12-09)December 9, 1905
Montrose, Colorado,U.S.
DiedSeptember 10, 1976(1976-09-10)(aged 70)
Los Angeles,California,U.S.
Occupation
  • Screenwriter
  • film director
  • playwright
  • essayist
  • novelist
Spouse
Cleo Beth Fincher
​
(m.1938)​
Children3, includingChristopher

James Dalton Trumbo(December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an Americanscreenwriterwho scripted many award-winning films, includingRoman Holiday(1953),Exodus,Spartacus(both 1960), andThirty Seconds Over Tokyo(1944). One of theHollywood Ten,[1]he refused to testify before theHouse Un-American Activities Committee(HUAC) in 1947 during the committee's investigation of allegedCommunistinfluences in the motion picture industry.[2][3][4][5]

Trumbo, the other members of the Hollywood Ten, and hundreds of other professionals in the industry wereblacklisted by Hollywood.He continued working clandestinely on major films, writing under pseudonyms or other authors' names. His uncredited work won twoAcademy AwardsforBest Story:forRoman Holiday(1953), which was presented to afrontwriter, and forThe Brave One(1956), which was awarded to apseudonymused by Trumbo.[6][7]When he was given public screen credit for bothExodusandSpartacusin 1960, it marked the beginning of the end of the Hollywood Blacklist for Trumbo and other affected screenwriters.[8]He finally was given full credit by the Writers' Guild forRoman Holidayin 2011, nearly 60 years after the fact, and 35 years after his death.[9][10]

Origins

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Trumbo was born inMontrose,Coloradoon December 9 1905, the son of Orus Bonham Trumbo and Maud (née Tillery) Trumbo. His family moved toGrand Junction, Coloradoin 1908.[11]

His paternal immigrant ancestor, a Protestant of Swiss origin named Jacob Trumbo, settled in the colony of Virginia in 1736.[12]Orus Trumbo worked variously as a shoe clerk and collection agent, never earning enough to keep the family far from poverty.[13]

Trumbo graduated fromGrand Junction High School.While still in high school, he worked forWalter Walkeras a cubreporterfor theGrand Junction Daily Sentinel,covering courts, the high school, the mortuary and civic organizations.[14]He attended theUniversity of Colorado at Boulderin 1924 and 1925, working as a reporter for theBoulder Daily Cameraand contributing to the school's humor magazine, yearbook, and newspaper. He was a member ofDelta Tau DeltaInternational Fraternity.[citation needed]

In 1924, Orus Trumbo relocated the family to California. Shortly after, he fell ill and died, leaving Dalton to support his mother and siblings.[13]For nine years after his father died, Trumbo worked the night shift wrapping bread at a Los Angeles bakery and attended theUniversity of California, Los Angeles(1926) and theUniversity of Southern California(1928–1930).[15]During this time, he wrote movie reviews, 88 short stories, and six novels, all of which were rejected for publication.[16]

Career

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Early career

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Trumbo began his professional writing career in the early 1930s, when several of his articles and stories were published in mainstream magazines, includingMcCall's,Vanity Fair,theHollywood SpectatorandThe Saturday Evening Post.[17]Trumbo was hired as managing editor of theHollywood Spectatorin 1934. Later he left the magazine to become a reader in the story department atWarner Bros.studio.[16]

His first published novel,Eclipse(1935), was released during theGreat Depression.Writing in thesocial realiststyle, Trumbo drew on his years in Grand Junction to portray a town and its people. The book was controversial in his hometown, where many people took issue with his fictional portrayal.[18]

Trumbo started working in movies in 1937 but continued writing prose. Hisanti-warnovelJohnny Got His Gunwon one of theearly National Book Awards:the Most Original Book of 1939.[19]It was inspired by an article Trumbo had read several years earlier: an account of a hospital visit by thePrince of Walesto a Canadian soldier who had lost all his limbs inWorld War I.[20]

During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Trumbo became one of Hollywood's highest-paid screenwriters, at about $4,000 per week while on assignment,[21]and earning as much as $80,000 in one year.[16]He worked on such films asThirty Seconds Over Tokyo(1944),Our Vines Have Tender Grapes(1945), andKitty Foyle(1940), for which he was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Political advocacy and blacklisting

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Main article:Hollywood blacklist

Aligned with theCommunist Partyin the United States before the 1940s, Trumbo was anisolationist.He joined the Communist Party in 1943, and remained active until 1947. He reaffiliated himself with the party in 1954.[21][22][23]His novelThe Remarkable Andrewfeatured the ghost of PresidentAndrew Jacksonappearing to caution the United States against getting involved inWorld War IIand in support of theNazi-Soviet pact.[24]

Shortly afterOperation Barbarossa,the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Trumbo and his publisher decided to suspend reprintingJohnny Got His Gununtil the end of the war. During the war, Trumbo received letters from individuals "denouncing Jews" and usingJohnnyto support their arguments for "an immediate negotiated peace" withNazi Germany;Trumbo reported these correspondents to theFBI.[25]Trumbo regretted this decision, which he called "foolish". After two FBI agents showed up at his home, he understood that "their interest lay not in the letters but in me".[25]

In a 1946 article titled "The Russian Menace" published in Rob Wagner'sScript Magazine,Trumbo wrote from the perspective of a post-World War II Russian citizen.[26]He argued that Russians were likely fearful of the mass of U.S. military power that surrounded them, at a time when any sympathetic view toward Communist countries was viewed with suspicion.[26]He ended the article by stating, "If I were a Russian... I would be alarmed, and I would petition my government to take measures at once against what would seem an almost certain blow aimed at my existence. This is how it must appear in Russia today".[26]He argued that the U.S. was a "menace" to Russia, rather than the more popular American view of Russia as the "red menace". According to anti-Communist author Kenneth Billingsley, Trumbo had written inThe Daily Workerthat Communist influence in Hollywood had prevented films from being made from anti-Communist books, such asArthur Koestler'sDarkness at NoonandThe Yogi and the Commissar.[24]

Trumbo mugshot, Ashland penitentiary

William R. Wilkerson,publisher and founder ofThe Hollywood Reporter,published a July 29, 1946, "TradeView" column entitled "A Vote ForJoe Stalin".It named Trumbo and several others as Communist sympathizers, the first persons identified on what became known as" Billy's Blacklist ".[27][28]In October 1947, drawing upon these names, theHouse Un-American Activities Committee(HUAC) summoned Trumbo and nine others to testify for their investigation as to whether Communist agents and sympathizers had surreptitiously planted propaganda in U.S. films. The writers refused to give information about their own or any other person's involvement and were convicted forcontempt of Congress.They appealed the conviction to theSupreme CourtonFirst Amendmentgrounds and lost. Trumbo served eleven months in thefederal penitentiaryinAshland, Kentucky,in 1950. In the 1976 documentaryHollywood On Trial,Trumbo said: "As far as I was concerned, it was a completely just verdict. I had contempt for that Congress and have had contempt for it ever since. And on the basis of guilt or innocence, I could never really complain very much. That this was a crime or misdemeanor was the complaint, my complaint."[29]

TheMPAAissued a statementthat Trumbo and his compatriots would not be permitted to work in the industry unless they disavowed Communism under oath. After completing his sentence, Trumbo sold his ranch and moved his family toMexico CitywithHugo Butlerand his wifeJean Rouverol,who had also been blacklisted.[21]In Mexico, Trumbo wrote 30 scripts (under pseudonyms) forB-moviestudios such asKing Brothers Productions.In the case ofGun Crazy(1950), adapted from a short story byMacKinlay Kantor,Kantor agreed to be the front for Trumbo's screenplay. Trumbo's role in the screenplay was not revealed until 1992.[30]

During this blacklist period, Trumbo also wroteThe Brave One(1956) for the King Brothers. LikeRoman Holiday,it received anAcademy Award for Best Storyhe could not claim. The script was credited to Robert Rich, a name borrowed from a nephew of the producers. Trumbo recalled earning an average fee of $1,750 per film for 18 screenplays written in two years and said, "None was very good".[21]

He publishedThe Devil in the Book,an analysis of the conviction of 14 CaliforniaSmith Actdefendants, in 1956.[31]The statute set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government and required all non-citizen adult residents to register with the government.

Later career

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Ingo Preminger,the brother of producer-directorOtto Preminger,was Dalton Trumbo's agent. Otto Preminger hired Trumbo to write a screenplay for thefilmhe intended to adapt from byLeon Uris' novelExoduswhen the script he had commissioned from Uris was deemed unusable. The producer-director decided to give Trumbo the screen credit.[32]Shortly thereafter, actorKirk Douglasannounced Trumbo had written the screenplay forStanley Kubrick's filmSpartacus(also 1960), adapted from thenovelbyHoward Fast.[33]With these actions, Preminger and Douglas helped end the power of the blacklist.

Trumbo was reinstated into theWriters Guild of America, Westand was credited on all subsequent scripts.[citation needed]The guild finally gave him full credit for the script of the 1953 filmRoman Holidayin 2011. Trumbo directed the 1971film adaptation of his novelJohnny Got His Gun,starringTimothy Bottoms,Diane Varsi,Jason RobardsandDonald Sutherland.One of the last films Trumbo wrote,Executive Action(1973), was based on theKennedy assassination.[34]The Academy officially recognized Trumbo as the winner of the Oscar for the 1956 filmThe Brave Onein 1975, presenting him with a statuette.[35]

Personal life

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In 1938, Trumbo married Cleo Fincher, who was born inFresno, California,on July 17, 1916, and had moved with her divorced mother and her brother and sister to Los Angeles. The Trumbos had three children: Nikola Trumbo (1939–2018), who became a psychotherapist;Christopher Trumbo(1940–2011), a filmmaker and screenwriter who became an expert on the Hollywood blacklist; and Melissa Trumbo (1945), known as Mitzi, a photographer.[36][37]Mitzi Trumbo dated comedianSteve Martinwhen they were both in their early 20s, which is recounted in Martin's 2007 bookBorn Standing Up.Martin wrote of her: "Mitzi became my official photographer, and she snapped dozens of rolls of film, all to find the perfect publicity photo."[38]

Cleo Trumbo died of natural causes at the age of 93 on October 9, 2009, at the home she shared with Mitzi Trumbo inLos Altos, California.[39][40]

Death and legacy

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Trumbo died in 1976, inLos Angelesof aheart attackat the age of 70. He donated his body to scientific research.[41]

In 1993, Trumbo was posthumously awarded the Academy Award for writingRoman Holiday(1953). The screen credit and award were previously given toIan McLellan Hunter,who had been a front for Trumbo.[42]A new statue was made for this award because Hunter's son refused to hand over the one his father had received.[43]

In 2003, Christopher Trumbo mounted an Off-Broadway play based on his father's letters, calledTrumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted,in which a wide variety of actors played his father during the run, includingNathan Lane,Tim Robbins,Brian Dennehy,Ed Harris,Chris CooperandGore Vidal.He adapted it as the documentaryTrumbo(2007),[36][44]which added archival footage and new interviews.[45]

A dramatization of Trumbo's life, also calledTrumbo,was released in November 2015.[46]It starredBryan Cranstonin the title role and was directed byJay Roach.[47]For his portrayal of Trumbo, Cranston was nominated forBest Actorat the88th Academy Awards.

The moving image collection of Trumbo is held at the Academy Film Archive and consists primarily of extensive 35 mm production materials relating to the 1971 anti-war filmJohnny Got His Gun.[48]In 2016, more than a hundred years after his birth, Trumbo was honored by the installation of a statue of him in front of the Avalon Theater on Main Street in Grand Junction, Colorado, his home town. He was depicted writing a screenplay in a bathtub.[18]

Works

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Selected film works

Novels, plays and essays

  • film "Half A Sinner" (1940, Universal Pictures) based on original story by Dalton Trumbo

Non-fiction

  • Harry Bridges,1941
  • The Time of the Toad,1949
  • The Devil in the Book,1956
  • Additional Dialogue: Letters of Dalton Trumbo,1942–62, 1970 (ed. by H. Manfull)

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Hollywood Ten – Cold War".History.com.Archived fromthe originalon February 24, 2018.RetrievedMarch 1,2018.
  2. ^"Dalton Trumbo".Biography.Archived fromthe originalon June 15, 2018.RetrievedJune 14,2018.
  3. ^"Dalton Trumbo".IMDb.RetrievedJune 14,2018.
  4. ^Day, Elizabeth (January 16, 2016)."Hollywood blacklisted my father Dalton Trumbo: now I'm proud they've put him on screen".The Guardian.RetrievedJune 14,2018.
  5. ^"Dalton Trumbo Facts".biography.yourdictionary.com.Archived fromthe originalon June 15, 2018.RetrievedJune 14,2018.
  6. ^"AMPAS Press Release".Archived from the original on October 8, 2007.RetrievedMarch 20,2008.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^AMPAS Oscar TriviaArchivedDecember 16, 2009, at theWayback Machine
  8. ^Rapold, Nicolas (November 4, 2015)."'Trumbo' Recalls the Hunters and the Hunted of Hollywood ".The New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon January 1, 2022.RetrievedDecember 22,2015.
  9. ^Cheryl Devall, Paige Osburn (December 19, 2011)."Blacklisted writer gets credit restored after 60 years for Oscar-winning film".89.3 KPCC.RetrievedDecember 20,2011.
  10. ^Verrier, Richard (December 19, 2011)."Writers Guild restores screenplay credit to Trumbo for 'Roman Holiday'".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedDecember 20,2011.
  11. ^Hanson, Peter (2007).Dalton Trumbo, Hollywood Rebel: A Critical Survey and Filmography.McFarland. p.12– via Google Books.
  12. ^Additional Dialogue; Letters of Dalton Trumbo, 1942–1962,edited by M. Evans, Lippincott, 1970, footnote #10, p. 26
  13. ^abSmith, Jeff (2015)."Dalton Trumbo".wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu.Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. Archived fromthe originalon February 21, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 21,2022.
  14. ^McIntyre, Erin (October 31, 2015)."Book, Movie Reminders of Dalton Trumbo's Ties to Grand Junction Leading Man".Daily Sentinel.Grand Junction, CO. Archived fromthe originalon November 4, 2015.
  15. ^Bloom, Harold (1988).Twentieth-Century American Literature.Langhorne, PA: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 3993.ISBN978-0877548072.
  16. ^abcWell, Martin (September 9, 1976). "Dalton Trumbo, 70, Dies: Blacklisted Screenwriter".Washington Post.
  17. ^"Dalton Trumbo".Spartacus Educational.Archived fromthe originalon July 2, 2014.RetrievedNovember 16,2013.
  18. ^abThomas, Irene Middleman."Dalton Trumbo: Grand Junction's blacklisted hometown hero".Colorado Life Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon March 14, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 23,2020.
  19. ^"1939 Book Awards Given by Critics: Elgin Groseclose's 'Ararat' is Picked...",The New York Times,1940-02-14, p. 25. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851–2007).
  20. ^Sparknotes.com.Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  21. ^abcdNordheimer 1976.
  22. ^"Coulter and Her Critics | Human Events".humanevents.com. Archived fromthe originalon September 30, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 29,2015.
  23. ^Victor Navasky,Naming Names,New York: Viking, 2003
  24. ^abBillingsley, Kenneth (June 1, 2000)."Hollywood's Missing Movies: Why American films have ignored life under Communism".Reason Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon March 12, 2008.
  25. ^abDalton Trumbo.Johnny Got His Gun.Citadel Press, 2000,pg 5,introduction
  26. ^abcTrumbo, Dalton (May 26, 1946)."The Russian Menace".Old Magazine Articles.Script Magazine. Archived fromthe originalon December 14, 2013.RetrievedNovember 16,2013.
  27. ^Wilkerson, William(July 29, 1946). "A Vote For Joe Stalin".The Hollywood Reporter.p. 1.
  28. ^Baum, Gary; Miller, Daniel (November 30, 2012)."Blacklist: THR Addresses Role After 65 Years".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedNovember 20,2012.
  29. ^Ceplair, Larry (2014).Dalton Trumbo.University Press of Kentucky. p. 228.ISBN978-0813146829.RetrievedDecember 15,2015.
  30. ^John Apostolou, "MacKinlay Kantor"ArchivedJune 1, 2011, at theWayback Machine,The Armchair Detective,Spring 1997, republished onMystery File,accessed October 17, 2010.
  31. ^Liukkonen, Petri."Dalton Trumbo".Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi).Finland:KuusankoskiPublic Library. Archived fromthe originalon October 24, 2014.
  32. ^Frischauer, Willi (1974).Behind the Scenes of Otto Preminger.New York: William Morrow & Co. p. 181-2.ISBN0688002625.
  33. ^Trumbo (2007)atIMDbRetrieved April 25, 2010.
  34. ^Steve Jaffe, technical adviser|Warner Bros. publications | "Executive Action" (1973)
  35. ^"Writer Collects Oscar for 1956 Film".Los Angeles Times.May 16, 1975. p. D2.
  36. ^abMcLellan, Dennis (January 12, 2011)."Christopher Trumbo dies at 70; screen and TV writer whose father was blacklisted".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedDecember 15,2011.
  37. ^Michael Cieply(September 11, 2007)."A Voice From the Blacklist: Documentary Lets Dalton Trumbo Speak".The New York Times.New York.RetrievedJanuary 4,2008.
  38. ^Born Standing Up, Ch. 5, 46:11 (Audible audiobook edition)
  39. ^Personal friend
  40. ^McLellan, Dennis (October 18, 2009)."Cleo Trumbo dies at 93; wife of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo".Los Angeles Times.Archived fromthe originalon January 28, 2013.RetrievedDecember 7,2010.
  41. ^Nordheimer, Jon (September 11, 1976)."Dalton Trumbo, Film Writer, Dies. Oscar Winner Had Been Blacklisted".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 18,2008.
  42. ^"Great To Be Nominated" Enjoys a "Roman Holiday"ArchivedOctober 8, 2007, at theWayback MachineAMPAS
  43. ^The Television Horrors of Dan Curtis: Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker and Other Productions, 1966–2006;Jeff Thompson;McFarland Publishing,2009; p. 90
  44. ^Cieply, Michael (September 11, 2007)."A Voice From the Blacklist: Documentary Lets Dalton Trumbo Speak (Through Surrogates)".New York Times.RetrievedDecember 15,2011.
  45. ^"Son Of Blacklisted Hollywood Writer Trumbo Dies"[permanent dead link](January 12, 2011) KTVU.com. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  46. ^Podgorski, Daniel (December 10, 2015)."History Less Exaggerated: The Excellent Subtlety of the Acting and History in Jay Roach'sTrumbo".The Gemsbok.Archived fromthe originalon November 30, 2016.RetrievedNovember 29,2016.
  47. ^"'Trumbo's' Dean O'Gorman plays Kirk Douglas and earns praise from the legend",Los Angeles Times,October 30, 2015
  48. ^"Dalton Trumbo Collection".Academy Film Archive.August 20, 2015.

Further reading

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