Seton I. Miller | |
|---|---|
| Born | Seton Ingersoll Miller (1902-05-03)May 3, 1902 Chehalis, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | March 29, 1974(1974-03-29) (aged 71) |
| Other names | Hap(nickname) |
| Education | Yale University |
| Occupation | Screenwriter &Producer |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 |
Seton Ingersoll Miller (May 3, 1902 – March 29, 1974) was an American screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked withfilm directors such asHoward Hawks andMichael Curtiz. Miller received twoOscar nominations and won once forBest Screenplay for the 1941 fantasy romantic comedy film,Here Comes Mr. Jordan, along withSidney Buchman.
Seton Miller was born and raised inChehalis, Washington. His father, Harry John, was a successful lumberman and a state legislator, and his mother was a prominent member of the local community. He attendedYale University and was part of the college orchestra andcrew.[1] A few of his movies were screened locally in his hometown, including 1932'sScarface at the Peacock Theater[2] and his 1933 movie,The Eagle and the Hawk, was honored with a first-run showing at the St. Helens Theater in downtown Chehalis.[3]
A Yale graduate, Miller began writing stories for silent films in the late 1920s. He worked onBrown of Harvard in technical direction and as a member of the cast.[4] He signed a three-year contract atFox Film Corporation in 1927[5] where his credits included the films,Paid to Love,Two Girls Wanted,[6]High School Hero, andWolf Fangs. He also started early work with Howard Hawks on the productions, Fazil andCradle Snatchers.[5]
Miller's first big hit was the 1928 film,A Girl in Every Port, directed byHoward Hawks, a crucial film in Hawks' career. He was reunited with Hawks later that year forFazil then did twoRex Bell 1928 Westerns,The Cowboy Kid andGirl-Shy Cowboy. In 1929, Miller wrote Hawks' first sound film,The Air Circus then didThe Far Call forAllan Dwan that same year, following it up in 1930 withThe Lone Star Ranger and a comedy,Harmony at Home, then left Fox.
Miller joined Hawks at First National and in 1930 didThe Dawn Patrol, working with another team onToday that same year. In 1931 he started work on three movies with Hawks,The Criminal Code at Columbia, and in 1932, bothScarface, andThe Crowd Roars.[7][8] His final works at Fox Films includeThe Last Mile then adapted the comedy playOnce in a Lifetime, both completed in 1932.
At Paramount, Miller wroteHot Saturday (1932) and in 1933, the horror film,Murders in the Zoo,[9] the Hawks movieThe Eagle and the Hawk, andGambling Ship (1933). During the year he went to Columbia forMaster of Men. In 1934, he worked onCome On Marines! forHenry Hathaway, then went back to Fox forMurder in Trinidad,Marie Galante andCharlie Chan's Courage.[10]
He worked onThe Farrell Case forJames Cagney and Jack Holt but it was not made.[11]
For Warner Bros., Miller wroteThe St. Louis Kid (1934) for James Cagney. In 1935, after working onMurder on a Honeymoon for RKO, Warner Bros. asked him to return to work on further Cagney films:G Men, andFrisco Kid. He wrote a sequel toG Men,G Women[12] that was not made.
Miller continued to write for other studios and in 1936, wroteIt Happened in New York forUniversal and in 1937,Two in the Dark for RKO and for Republic,The Leathernecks Have Landed.
Miller went back to Warner Bros. in 1937 to doBullets or Ballots forEdward G. Robinson andHumphrey Bogart.[13] He stayed at the studio to work onMarked Woman,San Quentin,Back in Circulation, andKid Galahad. He wroteKit Carson for Wayne Morris but it as not made.[14]
In 1938, Miller worked on theErrol Flynn vehicle,The Adventures of Robin Hood, which was a big success. He was put on another Flynn film, a remake ofThe Dawn Patrol.[15] Miller wroteValley of the Giants that year and following in 1939, two productions with John Garfield,Dust Be My Destiny andCastle on the Hudson.[16]
He officially left Warners in July 1939 after four years.[17] but did another Flynn swashbuckler,The Sea Hawk in 1940.[18] He also wrote a Western for Flynn,Tombstone[19] but it was not made.
At Universal he adaptedI James Lewis but it does not appear to have been made.[20] At Columbia he cowroteHere Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), which won him an Oscar, following it up with a Universal production,This Woman is Mine (1942). Warners'Secret Enemies (1942) was based on his story.[21]
Miller went to Fox, where in 1942 he worked onMy Gal Sal andThe Black Swan.[22] Working briefly for Columbia, he adapted the playHeart of City forMerle Oberon[23] but it was not made.
Miller signed a contract with Paramount to write and produce. He started withMinistry of Fear (1944), directed byFritz Lang.[24] He was assignedThe Griswold Story but it was not made.[25] Miller also producedThe Bride Wore Boots (1946).[26]
He had written a script ofTwo Years Before the Mast forEdward Small in 1939.[27] The project was bought by Paramount, and Miller also produced. It was directed byJohn Farrow and he and Miller made two more films together,California (1947), andCalcutta (1947).[28][29]
Miller sold his script forSingapore to Universal in 1947. It was later remade asIstanbul (1957).[30] In August 1947, he signed with Warner Bros to write and produce. He was to start withColt 45 starring Wayne Morris.[31] It was not made. Instead he wrote and producedFighter Squadron (1948).[32]
In the 1950s, Miller wrote either independently or for various studios. In 1950, Miller wroteThe Man Who Cheated Himself, originally known asThe Gun,[33] and associate producedThe Sound of Fury.[34] Early in that year he formed a company with Irvin Rubin.[35]
He wrote and producedQueen for a Day (1951) at United Artists[36] and wrote an adaptation ofIsland in the Sky[37] but is not credited on the final film. Miller wroteThe Mississippi Gambler (1953) and in 1954, theBengal Brigade for Universal andThe Shanghai Story for Republic.
In 1955, he sold a Western script,The Staked Plains toHenry Fonda.[38] He wrote scripts for a Dennis O'Keefe TV seriesHart of Honolulu.[39] He wroteThe Willie Gordon Story forRay Milland in 1957, meant to be shot in England but it was not made.[40] That same year, he sold a storyPete's Dragon for the Disney company to make as a vehicle forKevin Corcoran.[41]The eventual film was not made for another two decades.
Miller was credited on the remake ofThe Last Mile (1959).[42] He closed out the decade by writingDeath Valley Days and creating a series,Rogue for Hire.
His later credits span into the 1970s, includingKnife for the Ladies (1974) and an unpublished story of his was filmed asPete's Dragon (1977).
Miller was nominated withFred Niblo, Jr. for their 1931 screen adaptation ofMartin Flavin's playThe Criminal Code. He andSidney Buchman won theAcademy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay in 1941 forHere Comes Mr. Jordan.
Miller married Bonita and had two children, Keith and Bonita, but he and his wife divorced in 1940. She demanded $2,000 a month in alimony claiming Miller abused her verbally and physically.[43] He remarried in 1946, to actressAnn Evers[44] and had another child, a daughter, Catherine, who became an actor.
