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Brown Holmes

December 15, 2023

Brown Holmes (December 12, 1907, Toledo, Ohio – February 12, 1974, Los Angeles County, California) was an American screenwriter who worked for several major Hollywood studios in the 1930s and 1940s.

He was known as Kenneth Dewitt Holmes in his youth.[1] Holmes' father, Robert Brown Holmes, was a newspaperman.[2] Holmes was raised in California.[3] He had two younger brothers, Richard and Bob.[4] Holmes graduated from Hollywood High School.[5]

Among Holmes' credits are several highly-profile prison films: I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932),[6] 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) and its remake Castle on the Hudson (1940). The first two films had a “hyper-present protagonist”, one who appears in nearly every scene, which was uncommon in the 1930s but became a more common style starting with World War II.[7]

For the film, I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Holmes wrote the 86-page treatment from the 12-page outline and worked with Sheridan Gibney on a temporary script before studio executive Darryl F. Zanuck's suggestions.[5] Holmes and Gibney avoided showing all the brutality of the chain-gang by showing the reactions on the prisoner's faces and letting the audience use their imaginations.[8] Holmes and Gibney had written a powerful ending with an unusual outcome for the time.[9] Holmes had a public feud with writer Howard J. Green, who finalized the screenplay, over the billing.[10] Variety reported in 1934 that Holmes would write the sequel to I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, to star Paul Muni, but it was never filmed.[11]

His work on the 1933 film Ladies They Talk About was not well received by a Variety reviewer. "In the adaptation Sidney Sutherland and Brown Holmes have tried to overcome basic plot weaknesses through comedy, and much of which is excellent. But writers or director have erred in the picture of prison life painted and also in other ways".[12]

He wrote or co-wrote two adaptations of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 detective novel The Maltese Falcon: The Maltese Falcon (1931) and Satan Met a Lady (1936).[13]

He was a screenwriter for the Perry Mason film The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935) as well as adding "'snappy' rhythm"[14] dialog to the prior film in the series, The Case of the Curious Bride (1935). He received a critical review of his work on The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935). In a review for Oakland Tribune, Wood Soanes wrote, "It isn't the best part of the series, due in an apparent inability on the part of the adapters, Brown Holmes and Ben Markson, to get the story running along smoothly"[15] A Variety reviewer also enjoyed the writing in the film. "Slick writing job also sets it up as pretty smart entertainment" and "toward the end, when the solution is approaching the action slows down considerably, only the dialog keeping the picture alive".[16]

In 1936, Holmes faced two professional challenges. Zachary Zemby sued Holmes, George R. Bilson, Erwin Gelsey, and Warner Bros. for $2,990, accusing them of plagiarizing the film We're in the Money (1935) from Zemby's scenario Alimony and Nuts.[17] Later that spring, Holmes and three other writers, William Wister Haines, Richard Macaulay, and Robert Andrews, were dismissed from Warner Bros. These four and 20 others had "signed a protest petition against what they termed discriminatory treatment in the matter of sneak previews". The Writers Guild became involved in the matter, releasing a statement in support of the writers and their desire to attend first screenings of the films in which they have been involved.[18][19][20]

About the film Snowed Under (1936), Variety wrote, "Original story by Lawrence Saunders has been accorded intelligent treatment for screen by F. Hugh Herbert and Brown Holmes".[21]

Later that year, Holmes worked for Universal Pictures.[22] He cowrote Oh, Doctor (1937) with Harry Clark. A Variety review noted, "Smooth dialogue keeps this hokey picture from going completely corkscrew and it's sufficiently swift to please the fans in the multiple trade".[23]

The Lady Fights Back (1937) was "adapted by Brown Holmes and Robert T. Shannon along conventional melodramatic lines," according to Variety.[24]

About Three Blind Mice (1938), which was written with Lynn Sterling, Edwin Schallert of Los Angeles Times wrote, "Three Blind Mice moves with marked zip once its story really starts evolving. The dialogue is ingenious, and all due praise for that to the writers".[25] It was remade three years later as the musical Moon Over Miami.[26]

In 1938, Darryl F. Zanuck of 20th-Century Fox spoke to Variety about Holmes and other promising young writers, saying, "The foundation of production is in the writing department; the rest is architecture, which doesn't meant a thing unless the story stands up, and is strong and sound enough to support the structure".[27]

Holmes left MGM in April 1939.[28][29]

One of his final films was 1948's Leather Gloves. Variety wrote, "Okay scripting chore was turned in by Brown Holmes, story twists and dialog lifting it about level of ordinary prizefighting plotting".[30]

Holmes married Janet Banks, secretary to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer casting director Ben Piazza,[31] in 1933.[32]

Partial filmography edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Society". The Dayton Herald. 1908-12-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  2. ^ "Former Dayton Newspaperman is Dead in West". Dayton Daily News. 1924-01-05. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  3. ^ "Former Dayton Youth is Success as Film Writer". Dayton Daily News. 1933-03-19. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  4. ^ "Notes sport writer is dead here". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. 1924-01-05. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  5. ^ a b Green, Howard J.; Holmes, Brown; Gibney, Sheridan (1981). I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. Univ of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-08754-8.
  6. ^ Schatz, Thomas (2015-06-02). The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-1-62779-645-3.
  7. ^ Hoyt, Eric; Ponto, Kevin; Roy, Carrie (2014-12-20). "Visualizing and Analyzing the Hollywood Screenplay with ScripThreads". Digital Humanities Quarterly. 008 (4). ISSN 1938-4122.
  8. ^ a b c d Nollen, Scott A. Glenda Farrell: Hollywood's Hardboiled Dame. Midnight Marquee & BearManor Media.
  9. ^ Nollen, Scott Allen (2016-09-22). The Making and Influence of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6677-1.
  10. ^ "Pictures: Anyway W. U., Postal Benefitted in Feud Of 'Fugitive' Writers". Variety. Nov 22, 1932; 108, 11. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. Pg. 2. Via Proquest.
  11. ^ "Pictures: 'Fugitive' Sequel". Variety. Apr 3, 1934; 114, 3; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. pg. 3. Via Proquest.
  12. ^ Char. "Film Reviews: Ladies They Talk About". Variety. Feb 28, 1933; 109, 12; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. pg. 15. Via Proquest.
  13. ^ Friedrich, Otto (1987-06-14). "THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  14. ^ Bounds, J. Dennis (1996). Perry Mason : the authorship and reproduction of a popular hero. Internet Archive. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-29809-7.
  15. ^ Soanes, Wood. "Fox Oakland bill runs to feet and legs". Oakland Tribune. October 14, 1935. P. 16. Via NewspaperArchive.
  16. ^ Char. "Film Reviews: Case of the Lucky Legs. Variety. Nov 13, 1935; 120, 9; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. pg. 17. Via Proquest.
  17. ^ "Pictures: Warners Sued, Charges 'We're in Money' Thefied". Variety. Jan 22, 1936; 121, 6. Pg. 6. Via Proquest.
  18. ^ "Pictures: Screen Guild to Make an Issue Of WB Dismissal of Four Writers". Variety. Apr 22, 1936; 122, 6. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. Pg. 3. Via Proquest.
  19. ^ "Pictures: Hollywood 1936 Calendar". Variety. Jan 6, 1937. 125, 4. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. Pg. 52. Via Proquest.
  20. ^ Variety (1937). Variety (January 1937). Media History Digital Library Media History Digital Library. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company.
  21. ^ Wear. "Film Reviews: Snowed under". Variety. Apr 1, 1936; 122, 3; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. pg. 16. Via Proquest.
  22. ^ "Pictures: 30 U Scribes on 14 Yarns Is New Peak". Variety. Jul 1, 1936; 123, 3. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. pg. 4. Via Proquest.
  23. ^ a b Shan. "Film review: Oh Doctor." Variety (Archive: 1905-2000); Jun 23, 1937; 127, 2; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. pg. 33. Via Proquest.
  24. ^ Flin. "Film Reviews: Lady Fights Back". Variety. Oct 27, 1937; 128, 7; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. pg. 18. Via Proquest.
  25. ^ Schallert, Edwin. "Three Blind Mice' heads summertime show bill. Los Angeles Times. 23 June 1938: 8. Via Proquest.
  26. ^ Walt. "Film Reviews: Moon Over Miami". Variety. Jun 18, 1941. 143, 2. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. Pg. 16. Via Proquest.
  27. ^ Flinn, John C. "Pictures: Zanuck Analyzes Films". Variety. May 18, 1938. 130, 10. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. Pg. 3. Via Proquest.
  28. ^ "Pictures: Metro Scribes Droop". Variety. Apr 12, 1939; 134, 5; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. pg. 20. Via Proquest.
  29. ^ "McGuire to Dual Pact; Other Studio Changes". Boxoffice. Apr 15, 1939; 34, 21. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. Pg. 58. Via Proquest.
  30. ^ Brog. "Pictures: Leather Gloves Brog". Variety. Nov 3, 1948; 172, 9; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. pg. 14. Via Proquest.
  31. ^ "Pictures: Writer Marrying Piazza's Sec". Variety. May 30, 1933; 110, 12. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg. 4. Via Proquest.
  32. ^ "Studio couple will be married". The Los Angeles Times. 1933-05-31. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  33. ^ "Realism marks Paul Muni's Picture". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. 1932-11-11. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  34. ^ a b "Brown Holmes will write script for Frost picture". Valley Times. 1947-12-08. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  35. ^ "High-power salesman in hilarious comedy". The News Journal. 1934-12-20. p. 28. Retrieved 2022-03-24.

External links edit

December 15, 2023
brown, holmes, december, 1907, toledo, ohio, february, 1974, angeles, county, california, american, screenwriter, worked, several, major, hollywood, studios, 1930s, 1940s, known, kenneth, dewitt, holmes, youth, holmes, father, robert, newspaperman, holmes, rai. Brown Holmes December 12 1907 Toledo Ohio February 12 1974 Los Angeles County California was an American screenwriter who worked for several major Hollywood studios in the 1930s and 1940s He was known as Kenneth Dewitt Holmes in his youth 1 Holmes father Robert Brown Holmes was a newspaperman 2 Holmes was raised in California 3 He had two younger brothers Richard and Bob 4 Holmes graduated from Hollywood High School 5 Among Holmes credits are several highly profile prison films I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang 1932 6 20 000 Years in Sing Sing 1932 and its remake Castle on the Hudson 1940 The first two films had a hyper present protagonist one who appears in nearly every scene which was uncommon in the 1930s but became a more common style starting with World War II 7 For the film I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang Holmes wrote the 86 page treatment from the 12 page outline and worked with Sheridan Gibney on a temporary script before studio executive Darryl F Zanuck s suggestions 5 Holmes and Gibney avoided showing all the brutality of the chain gang by showing the reactions on the prisoner s faces and letting the audience use their imaginations 8 Holmes and Gibney had written a powerful ending with an unusual outcome for the time 9 Holmes had a public feud with writer Howard J Green who finalized the screenplay over the billing 10 Variety reported in 1934 that Holmes would write the sequel to I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang to star Paul Muni but it was never filmed 11 His work on the 1933 film Ladies They Talk About was not well received by a Variety reviewer In the adaptation Sidney Sutherland and Brown Holmes have tried to overcome basic plot weaknesses through comedy and much of which is excellent But writers or director have erred in the picture of prison life painted and also in other ways 12 He wrote or co wrote two adaptations of Dashiell Hammett s 1930 detective novel The Maltese Falcon The Maltese Falcon 1931 and Satan Met a Lady 1936 13 He was a screenwriter for the Perry Mason film The Case of the Lucky Legs 1935 as well as adding snappy rhythm 14 dialog to the prior film in the series The Case of the Curious Bride 1935 He received a critical review of his work on The Case of the Lucky Legs 1935 In a review for Oakland Tribune Wood Soanes wrote It isn t the best part of the series due in an apparent inability on the part of the adapters Brown Holmes and Ben Markson to get the story running along smoothly 15 A Variety reviewer also enjoyed the writing in the film Slick writing job also sets it up as pretty smart entertainment and toward the end when the solution is approaching the action slows down considerably only the dialog keeping the picture alive 16 In 1936 Holmes faced two professional challenges Zachary Zemby sued Holmes George R Bilson Erwin Gelsey and Warner Bros for 2 990 accusing them of plagiarizing the film We re in the Money 1935 from Zemby s scenario Alimony and Nuts 17 Later that spring Holmes and three other writers William Wister Haines Richard Macaulay and Robert Andrews were dismissed from Warner Bros These four and 20 others had signed a protest petition against what they termed discriminatory treatment in the matter of sneak previews The Writers Guild became involved in the matter releasing a statement in support of the writers and their desire to attend first screenings of the films in which they have been involved 18 19 20 About the film Snowed Under 1936 Variety wrote Original story by Lawrence Saunders has been accorded intelligent treatment for screen by F Hugh Herbert and Brown Holmes 21 Later that year Holmes worked for Universal Pictures 22 He cowrote Oh Doctor 1937 with Harry Clark A Variety review noted Smooth dialogue keeps this hokey picture from going completely corkscrew and it s sufficiently swift to please the fans in the multiple trade 23 The Lady Fights Back 1937 was adapted by Brown Holmes and Robert T Shannon along conventional melodramatic lines according to Variety 24 About Three Blind Mice 1938 which was written with Lynn Sterling Edwin Schallert of Los Angeles Times wrote Three Blind Mice moves with marked zip once its story really starts evolving The dialogue is ingenious and all due praise for that to the writers 25 It was remade three years later as the musical Moon Over Miami 26 In 1938 Darryl F Zanuck of 20th Century Fox spoke to Variety about Holmes and other promising young writers saying The foundation of production is in the writing department the rest is architecture which doesn t meant a thing unless the story stands up and is strong and sound enough to support the structure 27 Holmes left MGM in April 1939 28 29 One of his final films was 1948 s Leather Gloves Variety wrote Okay scripting chore was turned in by Brown Holmes story twists and dialog lifting it about level of ordinary prizefighting plotting 30 Holmes married Janet Banks secretary to Metro Goldwyn Mayer casting director Ben Piazza 31 in 1933 32 Partial filmography editThe Maltese Falcon 1931 Play Girl 1932 The Strange Love of Molly Louvain 1932 Street of Women 1932 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang 1932 8 33 20 000 Years in Sing Sing 1932 34 Ladies They Talk About 1933 The Avenger 1933 The Stranger s Return 1933 Dark Hazard 1934 Heat Lightning 1934 8 I Sell Anything 1934 35 While the Patient Slept 1935 add dialogue The Florentine Dagger 1935 add dialogue The Case of the Curious Bride 1935 add dialogue We re in the Money 1935 8 The Case of the Lucky Legs 1935 Snowed Under 1936 Satan Met a Lady 1936 Oh Doctor 1937 23 The Crime of Doctor Hallet 1938 Three Blind Mice 1938 Hollywood Cavalcade 1939 story Castle on the Hudson 1940 Moon Over Miami 1941 Shed No Tears 1948 34 Leather Gloves 1948 References edit Society The Dayton Herald 1908 12 12 p 3 Retrieved 2022 03 29 Former Dayton Newspaperman is Dead in West Dayton Daily News 1924 01 05 p 9 Retrieved 2022 03 29 Former Dayton Youth is Success as Film Writer Dayton Daily News 1933 03 19 p 3 Retrieved 2022 03 29 Notes sport writer is dead here Los Angeles Evening Post Record 1924 01 05 p 1 Retrieved 2022 03 29 a b Green Howard J Holmes Brown Gibney Sheridan 1981 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang Univ of Wisconsin Press ISBN 978 0 299 08754 8 Schatz Thomas 2015 06 02 The Genius of the System Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era Henry Holt and Company ISBN 978 1 62779 645 3 Hoyt Eric Ponto Kevin Roy Carrie 2014 12 20 Visualizing and Analyzing the Hollywood Screenplay with ScripThreads Digital Humanities Quarterly 008 4 ISSN 1938 4122 a b c d Nollen Scott A Glenda Farrell Hollywood s Hardboiled Dame Midnight Marquee amp BearManor Media Nollen Scott Allen 2016 09 22 The Making and Influence of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang McFarland ISBN 978 0 7864 6677 1 Pictures Anyway W U Postal Benefitted in Feud Of Fugitive Writers Variety Nov 22 1932 108 11 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive Pg 2 Via Proquest Pictures Fugitive Sequel Variety Apr 3 1934 114 3 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 3 Via Proquest Char Film Reviews Ladies They Talk About Variety Feb 28 1933 109 12 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 15 Via Proquest Friedrich Otto 1987 06 14 THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved 2022 03 23 Bounds J Dennis 1996 Perry Mason the authorship and reproduction of a popular hero Internet Archive Westport Conn Greenwood Press ISBN 978 0 313 29809 7 Soanes Wood Fox Oakland bill runs to feet and legs Oakland Tribune October 14 1935 P 16 Via NewspaperArchive Char Film Reviews Case of the Lucky Legs Variety Nov 13 1935 120 9 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 17 Via Proquest Pictures Warners Sued Charges We re in Money Thefied Variety Jan 22 1936 121 6 Pg 6 Via Proquest Pictures Screen Guild to Make an Issue Of WB Dismissal of Four Writers Variety Apr 22 1936 122 6 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive Pg 3 Via Proquest Pictures Hollywood 1936 Calendar Variety Jan 6 1937 125 4 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive Pg 52 Via Proquest Variety 1937 Variety January 1937 Media History Digital Library Media History Digital Library New York NY Variety Publishing Company Wear Film Reviews Snowed under Variety Apr 1 1936 122 3 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 16 Via Proquest Pictures 30 U Scribes on 14 Yarns Is New Peak Variety Jul 1 1936 123 3 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 4 Via Proquest a b Shan Film review Oh Doctor Variety Archive 1905 2000 Jun 23 1937 127 2 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 33 Via Proquest Flin Film Reviews Lady Fights Back Variety Oct 27 1937 128 7 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 18 Via Proquest Schallert Edwin Three Blind Mice heads summertime show bill Los Angeles Times 23 June 1938 8 Via Proquest Walt Film Reviews Moon Over Miami Variety Jun 18 1941 143 2 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive Pg 16 Via Proquest Flinn John C Pictures Zanuck Analyzes Films Variety May 18 1938 130 10 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive Pg 3 Via Proquest Pictures Metro Scribes Droop Variety Apr 12 1939 134 5 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 20 Via Proquest McGuire to Dual Pact Other Studio Changes Boxoffice Apr 15 1939 34 21 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive Pg 58 Via Proquest Brog Pictures Leather Gloves Brog Variety Nov 3 1948 172 9 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 14 Via Proquest Pictures Writer Marrying Piazza s Sec Variety May 30 1933 110 12 Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive pg 4 Via Proquest Studio couple will be married The Los Angeles Times 1933 05 31 p 16 Retrieved 2022 03 24 Realism marks Paul Muni s Picture Los Angeles Evening Citizen News 1932 11 11 p 10 Retrieved 2022 03 24 a b Brown Holmes will write script for Frost picture Valley Times 1947 12 08 p 11 Retrieved 2022 03 24 High power salesman in hilarious comedy The News Journal 1934 12 20 p 28 Retrieved 2022 03 24 External links editBrown Holmes at IMDb Brown Holmes at AllMovie Brown Holmes at the TCM Movie Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brown Holmes amp oldid 1178106293, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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