The Writer's Life 11/9 - Collaboration

Last night PBS in NYC ran the classic film noir The Big Sleep (1946), starring Bogie and Bacall. As the opening credits ran, I noticed that William Faulkner, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, co-wrote the screenplay, which is based on Raymond Chandler's novel, which introduced iconic private dick, Phillip Marlowe. Bogie is his usual solid self in the role, but I believe Robert Mitchum is the definitive Marlowe. Anyway, I was curious as to how many screenplays Faulkner did. Most of his Hollywood work was uncredited, one of those films the great Gunga Din (1939). On those for which he received credit, he collaborated with others. The only original works he did are the largely forgotten The Road to Glory (1936) and Land of the Phaoroahs (1955), distinguished these days only by the presence of the bodacious Joan Collins. Wiki lists eleven un-produced scripts on which Faulkner had a hand. How amazing is it that such a literary icon never soloed in Tinsel Town? Back then, I'd bet 99% of screenplays were tweaked by several writers. These days I'm seeing a lot of flicks with only one screenwriter listed, although I'd bet the majority still pass through so-called script doctors. Here's a quote attributed to Faulkner: "Hollywood is a place where a man can get stabbed in the back while climbing a ladder." He had 19 novels and more than 100 short stories published. Several of his works were adapted to the silver screen. I'd guess that only The Reivers (1969), starring Steve McQueen, was successful commercially. Having died in 1962, he was not involved in the screenplay.

There's an interesting tidbit in an article by Jonathan Trugman in today's NY Post. The current price of a barrel of crude oil is $78. Russia needs it to be $90 just to break even. I guess their extraction technology hasn't caught up to modern standards, which really isn't surprising. The Saudis, who seem to be in full panic mode at the prospect of USA energy independence, have been the biggest driver of lower prices. Even where the price is now, they clear a profit of ten to 15 bucks per barrel. I do not weep for the king of the Russian Kleptocracy, Vladimir Putin. It's great to see capitalism at work.

My thanks to the young man who bought two classics today on Bay Parkway, and the woman who regrets having given her copy of A Hitch in Twilight to a friend, who never returned it. "It was so good," she said. Shucks, ma'am.

Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/rP7o9

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/