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Charles Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 August 1899 |
| Died | 15 June 1995 (aged 95) |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, Director |
| Years active | 1929–1968 (film & TV) |
Charles Alfred Selwyn Bennett (2 August 1899 – 15 June 1995) was an English playwright, screenwriter and director probably best known for his work withAlfred Hitchcock.
Charles Bennett was born in a disused railway carriage inShoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England,[1] the son of Lilian Langrishe Bennett (1863–1930), an actress and artist. Bennett's mother told him his father was Charles Bennett, a civil engineer killed in a boiler explosion, though he thought it was actorKyrle Bellew (1855–1911). Bennett had an elder brother, Frederick (known as Eric), and a younger brother, Vere.[2] His father is recorded in his baptismal register as Frederick Bennett, engineer.[3] The film historianJohn Belton has asserted that Bennett's father died when he was four.[4] In the 1911 census, Lilian Bennett recorded herself as a widow, and an artist.[5]
Bennett was mostly educated at home, but also briefly atSt Mark's College, Chelsea.[6]
Bennett was a child actor, appearing in Max Reinhart's production ofThe Miracle at Olympia Theatre in 1911. He played child roles in stage productions ofAlice in Wonderland (1913),Goody Two Shoes (1913),Drake (1914) andThe Marriage Market (1915), and toured in productions all over England.
He had a role in the filmJohn Halifax, Gentleman (1915) as the young John Halifax; the older Halifax wasFred Paul. The performance was not particularly well received and Bennett became an extra and assistant toAdrian Brunel. He continued to appear in stage in productions ofThe Speckled Band (1916),King Lear (1916) withSir Herbert Tree andRaffles (1917).[6]
In 1917 he enlisted in the army and served with theRoyal Fusiliers. Most of his war service was spent on theSomme, where he saw action. He was awarded theMilitary Medal and ended the war with the rank of lieutenant. He was invalided out due to a gas attack and left the army in 1919.
Bennett resumed his acting career, playing with theBrewster's Millions company (1920), then theCompton Comedy Company, theLena Ashwell Players, theGertrude Elliott Touring Company, and theHenry Baynton Company (for whom he appeared inAntony and Cleopatra andA Midsummer Night's Dream).In 1923 he joined the Alexander Marsh Shakespearean company, touring throughout England. He later said "At first I was a terrible actor. I used to get jobs and be fired from them; but gradually I learned to act."[7]
In 1925 Bennett joined theBen Greet Repertory, which performed in Paris from 1925 to 1926. During this time, while acting in the evenings he wrote his first three full-length plays:The Return, based on his war service,Blackmail andThe Last Hour.[6]
In December 1926 Bennett played Theseus in a production ofA Midsummer Night's Dream at London'sWinter Garden Theatre. In April 1927 he was in a production ofOthello at theApollo Theatre alongsideJohn Gielgud,Robert Loraine andGertrude Elliott.
In May 1927 Bennett appeared in a production of his own playThe Return, which he also directed.Peggy Ashcroft was in the cast. Bennett said "it got wonderful reviews but never made any money."[6] In December 1927 he appeared in Loraine's production ofCyrano de Bergerac.
Bennett had the biggest success of his career to date whenAl Woods decided to finance a production ofBlackmail in 1928, produced byRaymond Massey and starringTallulah Bankhead. The play was not well received at first, but had a hugely successful run on tour.[8][9] The play was seen byAlfred Hitchcock who arranged forBritish International Pictures to buy the film rights and adapted Bennett's play into a script, withBenn Levy doing the dialogue. His film ofBlackmail (1929) is generally credited as the first Britishsound film, and was a huge commercial success.[6]
Bennett's playThe Last Hour debuted on London stage in December 1928 and was a popular hit in London.[10]The Last Hour (1930) was turned into a movie directed byWalter Forde, the first "talkie" for Nettleford Studios.[11]
Bennett's fourth play wasThe Danger Line (1929), based on Hazel May Marshall's storyTen Minutes to Twelve. He also wrote a one act playAfter Midnight (1929). Bennett later said "In 1929 I was making an immense amount of money, and I was happy. I had six plays touring the country. Then, talkies were really beginning to hit, and the theatres were beginning to go to hell."[12]
The success ofBlackmail led to British International offering him a contract in September 1931 to deliver three film stories a year for two years. He was reunited with Alfred Hitchcock and they collaborated on a story forBulldog Drummond, to be calledBulldog Drummond's Baby. However Hitchcock then directed some films which flopped and BIP chose not to proceed with the project.
While at BIP he wrote stories for as yet filmed books:Death on the Footplate,The Parrot Whistles,High Speed,Love My Dog andFireman Save My Child.
Bennett provided the story for a number of low-budget movies forGeorge King who he later called the "world's worst director":[13]Number, Please (1931);Deadlock (1931), which was a big hit;Midnight (1931), the latter based on his play; andTwo Way Street (1932).[14]
Bennett wrote and directed the playSensation (1931), a melodrama, but it was not a success, although it was adapted into a film.[15]
He followed it with another playBig Business (1932), which Bennett also directed and appeared in alongside his then-wife Maggie. But by now he had given up acting to focus on writing.[16]
Bennett wrote a short film,Partners Please (1932), and did an early film forJohn Paddy Carstairs,Paris Plane (1933).
Bennett wroteMannequin (1933);The House of Trent (1933);Matinee Idol (1933) for King;Hawley's of High Street (1933), a rare comedy for Bennett;The Secret of the Loch (1934), the first film shot on location in Scotland;Warn London (1934); an adaptation of his playBig Business (1934); andGay Love (1934). A number of these films were written in collaboration with publicist and story writerBillie Bristow; she and Bennett would work on eight films together in all.[17] Bennett said " I wrote about ten movies during that period, I suppose. I’d write the damned things in a month or less and be paid about 300 pounds for them, which wasn’t bad in those days."[18]
In 1934 he wrote the playHeart's Desire which he later regarded as the best play he wrote and the only one he loved but it was never produced.
Hitchcock moved over toGaumont British where he gotMichael Balcon interested inBulldog Drummond's Baby. It was eventually filmed asThe Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), which was a significant success.
After doingNight Mail (1935) with Bristow, Bennett wroteThe 39 Steps (1935) for Hitchcock, a film which soon established itself as a classic; Bennett said he was responsible for most of the film's construction, but paid tribute to the contribution ofIan Hay, who did dialogue. "Possibly, I suppose, I was the best-known constructionist in the world at that time," he said. "I’m not being conceited, but I was awfully bloody good. I was a first-class constructionist. I’m not saying I was the best dialogue writer in the world."[19]
Bennett was now in much demand. He wroteThe Clairvoyant (1935) withClaude Rains andFay Wray;King of the Damned (1935), written withSidney Gilliat;All at Sea (1936);Blue Smoke (1935).
He did two films for Hitchcock,Secret Agent (1936) (based onSomerset Maugham'sAshenden) andSabotage (1936).[20]
In January 1936 his playPage From a Diary, starringGreer Garson andErnst Deutsch, had a short run at theGarrick Theatre in London.[21]
Bennett was one of several writers onKing Solomon's Mines (1937) although he later said "Somehow or other, I got a credit on it, which I don’t think I probably deserved."[22] He went back to Hitchcock forYoung and Innocent (1937).[23][24] Bennett enjoyed working at Gaumont British "a very pleasant - I've never known anywhere as pleasant to work as was Gaumont-British."[6]
Bennett's work with Hitchcock had made him perhaps the most highly regarded screenwriter in England (one paper called him "Britain's best known blood curdler"[25]) and attracted the attention of Hollywood. In 1937 he accepted a contract withUniversal Studios at $1,500 a week.[26][27]
Bennett recalled, "When I came over here, I was a complete flop, by the way. They immediately decided they couldn’t afford to use me and they loaned me out at a profit—which irritated me immensely—to Goldwyn. "[28] For Goldwyn he did some uncredited writing onThe Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) andThe Real Glory (1939), then worked on Universal'sGood Girls Go to Paris (1939) andHidden Power (1939). After six months Universal dropped Bennett's contract. His agentMyron Selznick got Bennett a job with Myron's brotherDavid. Bennett got his first Hollywood credited on the comedyThe Young in Heart (1938); he did the construction and Paul Osborne the dialogue.
Bennett then signed a contract to MGM where he worked onCause for Alarm, an adaptation of anEric Ambler novel which ended up not being made, andBalalaika (1939), aNelson Eddy musical. He wrote a short novel,War in His Pocket, which was published in 1939.[29]
Hitchcock moved to the US and hired Bennett to do some work onForeign Correspondent (1940). Bennett was nominated for anOscar for Best Script.
Bennett worked onThey Dare Not Love (1941) atColumbia and did uncredited work onLucky Legs (1942). He was hired byCecil B. De Mille to work on the script construction ofReap the Wild Wind (1942), which was a huge hit.
Bennett went to RKO to writeJoan of Paris (1942), which he later said "It’s my favorite picture of all the pictures ’ve ever been connected with. Because it was more human, more in touch with my hatred of Germany, with my love of my country and my feeling for France."[30] At that studio he wrote the unproducedChallenge to the Night and was one of many writers onForever and a Day (1943). He also made some uncredited contributions to the script ofSaboteur (1942).
During war he claims to have done undercover work for Allied intelligence, including spying on Russia.[31]
De Mille used Bennett again onThe Story of Dr. Wassell (1944), once more focusing on construction while Alan Le May did the dialogue.[32] Another script Bennett did for De Mulle,Rurales, about theMexican Revolution, was never made.[33]
In 1944 Bennett returned to London to write propaganda films for theBritish Ministry of Information. He continued to write feature films as well, earning $15,000 fromEdward Small for an early draft ofLorna Doone, and an adaptation of theMadeleine Smith story forTwo Cities Films to starVivien Leigh andLaurence Olivier, at a fee of £4,000. He was contracted to direct the latter. Two Cities contracted Bennett to writeMiracle of Peille.
After the war, Bennett returned to Hollywood and wroteUnconquered (1947) for De Mille. Olivier and Leigh pulled out of the Madeleine Smith project, so Bennett went to Universal to work onIvy (1947), a thriller forSam Wood andJoan Fontaine.[34] Bennett liked the movie but felt "it wasn’t very successful. I think Sam Wood didn’t do a very good job on it. "[35]
Bennett was going to directLaraine Day inThe Trial of Madeleine Smith[36] but those plans were interrupted whenDavid Lean decided to makeMadeleine.
Instead he worked on the scripts forThe Sign of the Ram (1948) forJohn Sturges andBlack Magic (1948) forEdward Small. Bennett called the latter "a helluva good script ruined by Orson Welles and Gregory Ratoff, who were given their complete freedom to do so. Eddie Small, who was backing the picture, was afraid to cross the Atlantic by air."[37] Bennett attempted to remakeBlackmail[38] but was unsuccessful.[39]
Bennett finally made his directorial debut inMadness of the Heart (1949) withMargaret Lockwood.
He continued to write: the unproducedBangkok forRobert G. North,The Search for the Holy Grail for De Mille and a film forRank,The Moneyman.[40]
He was credited on the script forWhere Danger Lives (1950), where he worked withIrwin Allen for the first time. He also writeKind Lady (1951), andThe Green Glove (1952), then got another chance to direct withNo Escape (1953), a film noir.[41]
Bennett worked on the script forDangerous Mission (1954) where he worked with Allen again.
Bennett began writing for TV, doing such shows asThe Ford Television Theatre,Climax! (where he did"Casino Royale", the first screen adaptation of aJames Bond novel,Schlitz Playhouse,Fireside Theatre,Cavalcade of America,The Count of Monte Cristo,Conflict,The Christophers,Lux Video Theatre andThe New Adventures of Charlie Chan. Some of these he also directed and he producedCharlie Chan.
Bennett was reunited with Allen onThe Story of Mankind (1957) which he said was "dreadful. Because Irwin desperately wanted to have the first credit on the story, so everything I wrote he wanted to cut out. (Laughs.) I hated everything to do with that picture."[42] Bennett wroteNight of the Demon (1957) in England, which he had hoped to direct himself; it became a cult success.[43] Bennett later said "Hal Chester, messed up the screenplay quite a bit. It was so good, the screenplay, that it couldn’t be completely destroyed, only half destroyed. It’s still considered a good movie."[44]
He then did a series of films for Allen:The Big Circus (1959),The Lost World (1960),Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), andFive Weeks in a Balloon (1962).[45]
Bennett also wrote forThe Dick Powell Show and didWar-Gods of the Deep (1965) for AIP.
In the late 1960s Bennett focused on TV series such asThe Wild Wild West, andVoyage to the Bottom of the Sea andLand of the Giants for Allen. Bennett disliked his credits for Allen. "They were all jobs that I did well, let’s put it that way. Let’s not think in terms of something that I will carry down to my grave as things that I am proud of."[46]
Bennett had no produced credits from the 1970s onwards. "It was so frustrating, because in many ways I felt my writing had gotten even better", he said. "But at my age, no one wanted to hire me... know, I hate all the talk of this being a young man's industry. I hate it! Not because I'm an old man. But because I hate the notion that you must be young to be hot."[47]
Bennett continued to write films, plays, treatments and TV series, though none were produced. He wrote a novel,Fox on the Run which was published in 1987.
In 1990 Bennett was hired to write a remake ofBlackmail.[48][49] The film was never made.
Bennett appeared on the game show "Tic Tac Dough" in 1980 in an over 80's tournament. Wink Martindale (host) interviewed Bennett before and after his match.
Bennett's brother Eric was killed in World War I in 1915.[50] His other brother, Vere, hanged himself in 1928.[51]
He was twice married. First, in 1930, to the actressFaith Bennett. They were divorced in 1941, and in 1947 Bennett married Betty Jo Riley, who predeceased him. They had a son, John Charles Bennett.[52]
Bennett died in Los Angeles in 1995.[53]
Bennett has been the subject of two biographies, both written by his son John.
He has also been the subject of biographical articles:
He was interviewed byArnold Schwartzman for theBritish Entertainment History Project in 1992.[54]
