Charles William Brackett (November 26, 1892 – March 9, 1969) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He collaborated with

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

on sixteen films.

Life and career

Brackett was born in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

, the son of Mary Emma Corliss and New York State Senator, lawyer, and banker Edgar Truman Brackett. The family's roots traced back to the arrival of Richard Brackett in the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

in 1629. His mother's uncle, George Henry Corliss, built the Centennial Engine that powered the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. A 1915 graduate of

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

, he earned his law degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He joined the Allied Expeditionary Force during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was awarded the French Medal of Honor. He was a frequent contributor to the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'', ''

Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

'', and '' Vanity Fair'', and a drama critic for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. He wrote five novels: ''The Counsel of the Ungodly'' (1920), ''Week-End'' (1925), ''That Last Infirmity'' (1926), ''American Colony'' (1929), and ''Entirely Surrounded'' (1934). Brackett was a president of the

Screen Writers Guild The Screen Writers Guild was an organization of Hollywood screenplay authors, formed as a union in 1933. A rival organisation, Screen Playwrights, Inc., was established by the AMPP, film studios and producers, but after an appeal to the National ...

(1938–1939) and for the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

(1949–1955). He either wrote and/or produced over forty films, including '' To Each His Own'', '' Ninotchka'', '' The Major and the Minor'', '' The Mating Season'' (1951), '' Niagara'', '' The King and I'', '' Ten North Frederick'', '' The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker'' and ''

Blue Denim ''Blue Denim'' is a 1959 American drama film based on a Broadway play by writer James Leo Herlihy. It starred Carol Lynley and Warren Berlinger who reprised their stage roles. 17-year-old Brandon deWilde appeared in his first "adult" role ...

''. Beginning in August 1936, Brackett worked with Billy Wilder, writing the film classics '' The Lost Weekend'' and ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

'', both of which won

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

s for their respective screenplays. Brackett described their collaboration process as follows: "The thing to do was suggest an idea, have it torn apart and despised. In a few days it would be apt to turn up, slightly changed, as Wilder's idea. Once I got adjusted to that way of working, our lives were simpler." His partnership with Wilder ended in 1950 and Brackett went to work at 20th Century-Fox as a screenwriter and producer. His script for ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' (1953) won him another Academy Award. He received an Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1958. Brackett died on March 9, 1969. His diaries covering his screenwriting and social life from 1932 to 1949 were edited by Anthony Slide into Slide's book ''It's the Pictures That Got Small: Charles Brackett on Billy Wilder and Hollywood's Golden Age''.

Personal life

Brackett married Elizabeth Barrows Fletcher in 1919. They had two daughters, Alexandra Corliss Brackett and Elizabeth Fletcher Brackett. His wife died in 1948, and in 1953, Brackett married Lillian Fletcher, her sister. They had no children. Brackett was a Republican who voted for

Alf Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential ...

in 1936 and supported

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

in the

1964 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1964, less than a year following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, who won the previous presidential election. The Democratic Party (U ...

Works

Partial filmography

*'' Tomorrow's Love'' (1925) – based on a story ''Interlocutory'' *'' Risky Business'' (1926) – based on a story ''Pearls Before Cecily'' *'' Pointed Heels'' (1929) – based on a story *'' Secrets of a Secretary'' (1931) – based on a story *'' College Scandal'' (1935) – writer *'' Without Regret'' (1935) – writer *'' The Last Outpost'' (1935) – writer *'' Rose of the Rancho'' (1936) – writer *'' Woman Trap'' (1936) – writer *'' Piccadilly Jim'' (1936) – writer *'' Live, Love and Learn'' (1937) – writer *'' Bluebeard's Eighth Wife'' (1938)* – writer *'' What a Life'' (1939)* – writer *'' Ninotchka'' (1939)* – writer *'' Arise, My Love'' (1940)* – writer *'' Hold Back the Dawn'' (1941)* – writer *'' Ball of Fire'' (1941)* – writer *'' The Major and the Minor'' (1942)* – writer *'' Five Graves to Cairo'' (1943)* – writer, producer *'' The Uninvited'' (1944) – producer *'' The Lost Weekend'' (1945)* – producer, writer *'' To Each His Own'' (1946) – writer, producer *''

The Bishop's Wife ''The Bishop's Wife'' (also known as ''Cary and the Bishop's Wife'') is a 1947 American Christmas Romance film, romantic Fantasy film, fantasy comedy film directed by Henry Koster, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven. The plot is ...

'' (1947) – uncredited writer *'' A Foreign Affair'' (1948)* – writer, producer *'' The Emperor Waltz'' (1948)* – writer, producer *'' Miss Tatlock's Millions'' (1948) – writer, producer *''

'' (1950)* – writer, producer *'' Edge of Doom'' (1950) – writer (uncredited) *'' The Mating Season'' (1951) – writer, producer *'' The Model and the Marriage Broker'' (1951) – writer, producer *'' Niagara'' (1953) – writer, producer *''

'' (1953) – writer, producer *'' Woman's World'' (1954) – producer *'' Garden of Evil'' (1954) – producer *'' The Virgin Queen'' (1955) – producer *'' The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing'' (1955) – writer, producer *'' Teenage Rebel'' (1956) – writer, producer *'' The King and I'' (1956) – producer *'' D-Day the Sixth of June'' (1956) – producer *'' The Wayward Bus'' (1957) – producer *'' The Gift of Love'' (1958) – producer *'' Ten North Frederick'' (1958) – producer *'' The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker'' (1959) – producer *''

'' (1959) – producer *''

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel written by French novelist Jules Ve ...

'' (1959) – writer, producer *'' High Time'' (1960) – producer *''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...

'' (1962) – producer ("*" indicates collaboration with Wilder)

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

References

External links

''The Counsel of the Ungodly''
at Google Books * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brackett, Charles 1892 births 1969 deaths Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Golden Globe Award–winning producers Presidents of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Harvard Law School alumni American male screenwriters People from Saratoga Springs, New York Film producers from New York (state) Academy Honorary Award recipients Williams College alumni Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters