Norman Krasna | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1909-11-07)November 7, 1909 |
| Died | November 1, 1984(1984-11-01) (aged 74) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1932–1964 |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth Frazee (1940–1950) Erle Chennault Galbraith (1951–1984) |
Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an Americanscreenwriter,playwright, producer, andfilm director who pennedscrewball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year career inHollywood. He garnered fourAcademy Award screenwriting nominations, winning once for 1943'sPrincess O'Rourke, which he also directed. Krasna wrote a number of successful Broadway plays, includingDear Ruth andJohn Loves Mary.
Krasna was born in Queens, New York City. He attendedColumbia University andSt. John's University School of Law, working at Macy's Department Store during the day. Krasna wanted to get into journalism and talked his way into a job as a copy boy for the Sunday feature department of theNew York World in 1928. While at that newspaper, he worked with Lewis Weitzenkorn who turned Krasna into a character in the playFive Star Final.[1]
Krasna eventually quit law school, and worked his way up to being a drama critic, at first forThe World then theNew York Evening Graphic andExhibitors Herald World. He was offered a job with Hubert Voight in the publicity department ofWarner Bros. and moved to Hollywood. By May 1930 he was established in Los Angeles.[2][3]
Krasna decided to become a playwright after seeingThe Front Page. To learn the craft, he retyped theBen Hecht–Charles MacArthur classic more than twenty times.[4] Then while working as a press agent at Warners, Krasna wrote a play at night. This wasLouder, Please, based on his job and heavily inspired byThe Front Page[5] with the lead character inspired by his boss, Hubert Voight.[6]
Krasna tried to sell the play to Warners who were not interested – indeed they fired him from his job as publicity agent.[7] HoweverLouder, Please was picked up byGeorge Abbott who produced it on Broadway.[8] The play had a short run starting November 1931, and Krasna was then offered a contract atColumbia Pictures as a junior staff writer.[9] He also wrote a playPaging Napoleon which was given some limited performances.[10]
In April 1932 Krasna was assigned to his first film to work on as a screenwriter,Hollywood Speaks (1932), directed byEddie Buzzell with Jo Swerling also credited as a writer.[11] Krasna would go on to write four pictures at Columbia, one in collaboration, the rest on his own. After that he was put in charge of the junior writers and no longer wrote on his own.
In August Krasna was working onThat's My Boy (1932).[12] He also didParole Girl (1933).[13]
In October 1932 he was appointed assistant toHarry Cohn.[14] In March 1933 the studio exercised its option on his services for another year.
Krasna wroteSo This Is Africa (1933) forWheeler and Woolsey, who had come to Columbia for one movie. Krasna later tried to get his name taken off the credits after censors refused to allow some of his dialogue.[15] "You can’t tell me I had any aspirations toward great art there," he said later.[16]
In May 1933 Harry Cohn of Columbia loaned him to MGM for 11 months starting withGoing Going Gone with Lee tracy.[17]
In June 1933 Eddie Buzzell arranged for Universal to borrow Krasna from MGM to work on the script forLove, Honor, and Oh Baby! (1933).[18] He also worked onMeet the Baron (1933).
While at MGM Krasna was assigned to Universal to work on a scriptCountess of Monte Cristo.[19][20]
In January 1934 Universal assigned him to writeThe Practical Joker forChester Morris.[21]
During the evenings of his stint at Columbia, Krasna wrote another play,Small Miracle, which was produced on Broadway in 1934. It had a reasonable run and earned good reviews. " Best notices I ever got," he said.[22]
Krasna went to RKO where he wroteThe Richest Girl in the World (1934), which earned him an Oscar. He stayed at that studio to doRomance in Manhattan (1935).
In September 1934 Krasna was working onThe Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo at 20th.
In November 1934 Krasna signed a two-year contract at Paramount at $1,500 a week for 42 weeks a year.Variety called this "the juiciest young writer contract in Hollywood."[23] Part of this deal (negotiated by Krasna's agentZeppo Marx) included adapting his own playSmall Miracle which had been sold to the studio for $37,500.[24]Small Miracle becameFour Hours to Kill! (1935), directed byMitchell Leisen.[25]
Krasna also wroteHands Across the Table (1935).[26] At MGM, Krasna worked onWife vs. Secretary (1936).
Around the time ofSmall Miracle he had an idea for a play about a lynching,Mob Rule, but was persuaded against writing it as a play on the grounds it was non commercial. He told the idea toJoseph Mankiewicz who bought it as a film for MGM. It becameFury (1936), directed byFritz Lang.[27] The film earned Krasna an Oscar nomination.[28]
In August 1936 Paramount announced that Krasna would make his directorial debut in a movie he wrote forGeorge Raft,Wonderful, co-starring Helen Burgess.[29] However the following month Raft objected and the project was suspended.[30] (The film was made two years later, asYou and Me (1938) withFritz Lang directing.)
At Warners he wroteThe King and the Chorus Girl (1937) with good friendGroucho Marx.
In November 1936 he was reportedly working on a new version ofHotel Imperial.[31] He moved to Universal to doAs Good as Married (1937) for his old collaborator Eddie Buzzell[32]
In early 1937 he went to MGM forBig City (1937) withSpencer Tracy, which Krasna also produced.[33] He also wrote and producedThe First Hundred Years (1938), originally calledTurnabout. In August 1938 MGM announced he would produceThe Broadway Melody of 1939.[34] He was also going to produce a James Stewart film about the shipCSS Patrick Henry.[35] Krasna ended up making neither of the latter two. In September 1938 MGM announced it would not renew its contract with Krasna.[36]
In December 1938 Kransa joined RKO and was assigned to work for George Stevens.[37] He wrote the script forBachelor Mother (1939), which was a huge success. In April 1939 Krasna's income for the previous year was $83,000.[38]
In September 1939 he signed a contract with Universal to write theDeanna Durbin vehicleIt's a Date (1940).[39]
ForCarole Lombard he wroteMr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) at RKO, which he sold for $60,000 in 1939.[40][41]
In April 1940 he signed an agreement with Jean Arthur and Arthur's husband Frank Ross to write and produce a film.[42] That becameThe Devil and Miss Jones (1941), which he co-produced. It was released by RKO. A second film was announced by the company,Googer Plays the Field, but was never made.[43] Krasna later saidBachelor Mother andDevil in Miss Jones "are as much of a protest as I can make against the existing system, and it’s all in the framework of a comedy... I always get in my social comment—but limited according to what the subject needs."[44]
He did two films for Universal: theRené Clair-directedThe Flame of New Orleans (1940)[45] and another Durbin vehicle for Joe Pasternak,It Started with Eve (1941).[46] He was working on another Durbin filmThe Good Fair.[47]
In September 1941 Krasna was in New York working on a script,Fire Escape, produced by Ross.[48] this becameThe Man with Blond Hair (1941), which he later described as his "attempt to win the Nobel Peace Prize". It only ran seven performances and encouraged Krasna to focus on comedies for the rest of his career. "I got burned" he said later.[49]
In February 1942, Krasna signed a contract to Warner Bros to write and direct.[50] This resulted inPrincess O'Rourke (1943), which earned him theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay. However, his career momentum as director was interrupted when he went into theU.S. Army Air Corps in September 1942, serving with theFirst Motion Picture Unit.[51] He later said "I’m not a good director, not at all. I know how to direct what I write; but then I write knowing that I’m able to direct it."[52]
While in the service, Krasna directed a film about the activities of theOfficer Training School. He spent most of his time in the Air Corps at Camp Roach in Los Angeles, enabling him to live in his house inBeverly Hills.
During his war service, he continued to write in his spare time. He sent his oldBachelor Mother producerBuddy DeSylva, now at Paramount, the story for what would becomePractically Yours (1944).[53] He also adaptedThe Man with Blond Hair into a movie: in October 1943 Warners announced they purchased an unproduced play by Krasna calledNight Action as a vehicle forHelmut Dantine (which wasThe Man with Blond Hair); the film was not made.[54][55] In March 1944 RKO said they would make a film based on Krasna's storyThe Hunter Girl withLaraine Day – this was in fact another version ofThe Richest Girl in the World and was released asBride by Mistake (1944).[56] He also wroteDear Ruth.
Moss Hart suggested Krasna write something likeJunior Miss and Krasna responded withDear Ruth. This debuted on Broadway in November 1944, financed solely byLew Wasserman, and was a massive hit, running for 680 performances; the film rights were sold for over $450,000.[57] (It was the basis of the 1947 filmDear Ruth 1947). By December 1945 it had earned over $1 million on Broadway and led to two touring productions, three USO productions and a plagiarism suit.[58] (In August 1946 Krasna won the plagiariam suit.[59])
Krasna followed it with another comedy for Broadway,John Loves Mary (1947), originallyWilliam and Mary, directed byJoshua Logan. It was also very popular and was made into a film (at Warners, sold for $150,000 going up to $250,000) that Krasna did not work on.[60][61]
Less successful was the playTime for Elizabeth (1947), co-written with Krasna's friendGroucho Marx, originally calledThe Middle Ages which had been written years earlier. The show ran for only eight performances, although film rights were sold for over $500,000. (The film was never made).
In January 1948 he was reportedly working on a musical withIrving Berlin,Stars on my Shoulder.[62] This ended a few months later over a financial disagreement.[63]
Krasna returned to directing feature films withThe Big Hangover (1950) for MGM. He sold the script for a big amount but the movie was not a success.[64]
Newspaper reports said he provided the original story forBorderline (1950) but he is not credited in the movie.[65]
In June 1950 he andJerry Wald formed a production company which was to start when Wald's contract with Warners expired.[66] Later that monthHoward Hughes announced he had bought out the remainder of Wald's contract with Warners for $150,000 so the duo could make 8-12 films a year at RKO.[67]
In August they announced a $50 million slate of pictures – 12 films a year over five years.[68] Among the films they were going to make wereThe Helen Morgan Story,[69]Stars and Stripes starringAl Jolson,Behave Yourself,Size 12,Mother Knows Best,Easy Going,Country Club,The Strong Arm,Call Out the Marines,The Harder They Fall based on the novel byBudd Schulberg with Robert Ryan,Present for Katie by George Beck,Galahad,Cowpoke withRobert Mitchum,Strike a Match,The Blue Veil,All the Beautiful Girls to be directed byBusby Berkeley,Clash by Night byClifford Odets,A Story for Grown Ups (based onThe Time for Elizabeth),All Through the Night,Pilate's Wife,I Married a Woman,Years Ago, a biopic ofEleanor Duse. They had independence to make films up to $900,000.[70][71][72] They bought rights toThe Big Story radio show.
By March 1951 the team had made no films.[73] They announcedThe Blue Veil,Strike a Match,Behave Yourself,Clash By Night,Cowpoke,The USO Story,Girls Wanted,Size 12,The Harted They Fall,I Married a Woman,All the Beautiful Girls andBeautiful Model.[74]
Their first four films wereBehave Yourself! (1951),The Blue Veil (1951),Clash by Night (1952) andThe Lusty Men. (1952)
In November 1951 Krasna said he "liked it" at RKO "but they would have liked mediocrity".[75] However, in December Krasna and Wald announced they intended to pick up their option to stay at RKO.[76]
In January 1952 the team announced they had renegotiated their deal with Hughes again, and wanted to make two more films that year – one based on an original story by Krasna, the other directed by Krasna with Wald being executive producer. Wald said, "Norman and I didn't feel there was enough work for the two of us as executive producers... Norman wants to devote more time to writing."[77] They were going to doHigh Heels and a musical version ofRain calledMiss Sadie Thompson.[78]
However Wald and Krasna became continually frustrated with Hughes. In May 1952 Wald bought out Krasna's interest in the company for $500,000 and Krasna returned to writing.[79][80] In November 1952 Wald was appointed head of production at Columbia. He took some properties he developed with Krasna includingMiss Sadie Thompson and an original of Krasna'sDarling I Love You.[81]
In July 1952 Krasna signed a contract with Paramount to writeWhite Christmas (1954), originally meant to be a vehicle forBing Crosby andFred Astaire.[82] His fee was $100,000;[83] the film was a massive hit.
He returned to Broadway with a play he had written years earlier:Kind Sir starringCharles Boyer andMary Martin directed byJoshua Logan.
In February 1954 Krasna announced he would write and direct an original film for Wald, now at Columbia,Speak to Me of Love.[84] The title of this was changed toThe Ambassador's Daughter. The film ended up not being made at Columbia – in February 1955 Krasna signed a two-picture deal to write and direct at Universal; the first was to beThe Ambassador's Daughter and the second wasRed Roses. The latter ended up not being made.[85]
Ambassador starred actorJohn Forsythe who was put under personal contract to Krasna.[86] Krasna wanted to reteam de Havilland and Forsythe in a film calledCabaret but it was never made.[87]
In November 1954 Krasna was going to directJack of Spades starring Jackie Gleason but it was never made.[88] Neither was a proposed film version ofTime Out for Elizabeth although he and Marx sold it to Warners for $500,000 in October 1955.[89]
In October 1956 Krasna signed to adapt the novelStay Away Joe for MGM withFeur and Martin.[90] (No film or show would result.)
A Time for Elizabeth was adapted for television.[91] Krasna adaptedKind Sir asIndiscreet (1958), starringCary Grant andIngrid Bergman. Unlike the play it was a big success.
In August 1957 Krasna announced his playMy Wife and I would be produced on Broadway withDavid Merrick.[92] This becameWho Was That Lady I Saw You With? (1958). Krasna then adapted this play for the screen and produced what becameWho Was That Lady? (1960).
In July 1958 he signed to write a film forJerry Wald, then at Fox, calledHigh Dive. It was not made.[93]
In July 1959 he signed to make what would becomeMy Geisha.[94]
In August 1959 Wald announced Fox would makeThe Billionaire from a script by Krasna starringGregory Peck.[95] This becameLet's Make Love (1960) starringMarilyn Monroe,Yves Montand andTony Randall.
In June 1960Richard Quine announced Krasna would adapt Leslie Storm's playRoar Like a Dove for Doris Day. It was not made.[96]
Krasna wroteSunday in New York, which reached Broadway withRobert Redford in 1961, directed byGarson Kanin. The film rights were bought by Ray Stark at Seven Arts, who formed a relationship with Krasna. They helped finance the film version ofSunday for which Krasna wrote the script.
In 1961 Krasna announced his playFrench Street, based on theJacques Deval playRamon Saro, would be produced by Seven Arts the following year, and turned into a film based on a script by Krasna, but the play did not go to Broadway and no film resulted.[97][98]
In October 1962 Seven Arts announced they had bought the film rights to the Krasna playWatch the Birdie! and would co produce the play.[99]
In May 1963 he signed to adaptA Shot in the Dark forAnatole Litvak.[100] However Litvak was replaced byBlake Edwards and Krasna's script was not used.
In 1964Garson Kanin announced he would direct both the Broadway production and film of Krasna's scriptNaked Mary, Will You Come Out?[101] However no production resulted.
A comic playLove in E-Flat (1967) had a short run on Broadway.[102] Reviewing itWalter Kerr said "Norman Krasna has become a pale echo of Norman Krasna."[103]
In October 1967 he was reportedly working on a play calledBlue Hour withAbe Burrows.[104]David Merrick announced he would produce it.[105] However it was never produced.
Some of his plays did reach Broadway:Watch the Birdie! (1969);Bunny (1970);We Interrupt This Program... (1975), a thriller; andLady Harry (1978), which premiered in London. "Don't write anything without being sure of your market", said Krasna around the time ofLady Harry. "I like to think I've become a craftsman. When I was a kid I tried to knock them dead line by line. Now I like to build it more gently in a kid of mosaic."[106] His last produced play wasOff Broadway (1982).
Krasna spent many years living in Switzerland, but returned to Los Angeles before his death in 1984.
From 1940 to 1950 Krasna was married to Ruth Frazee, sister of actressJane Frazee, with whom he had two children. They were divorced in April 1950 and she was awarded $262,500 and custody of the children.[107]
In December 1951 he eloped withAl Jolson's widow Erle to Las Vegas.[108][109] She had two children from her marriage to Jolson. They moved into thePalm Springs, California, home of Erle and Jolson.[110] She inherited $1 million in trust and a $1 million property from Jolson.[111]
They remained married until Krasna's death in 1984. He had six children.
