Captain John Overton Cone Orton (30 August 1889 – May 1962) was a British screenwriter.

Early life and military service

Orton was born in

St. John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough ...

, London in 1889 and lived in

Larchmont, New York Larchmont is a Village (New York), village located within the Town (New York), Town of Mamaroneck (town), New York, Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York. Larchmont is a suburb of New York City, located approximately northeast of Midt ...

, USA for a brief period of his childhood. In 1909 he joined the

Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. In 1918 Orton was awarded with the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

, and was included in the

1919 Birthday Honours The 1919 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

when he was awarded the Air Force Cross.

Film career

He was a head of the story department for

Gaumont-British The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was a British company that produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of France's Gaumont (company), Gaumont. Film production Gaumo ...

and was known for writing comedy scripts for such stars as

Will Hay William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' O ...

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, C ...

and

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation an ...

. He also wrote various dramas and directed five movies. His final credit was as co-writer of fellow Gaumont alum

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's short war propaganda film '' Bon Voyage''.

Val Guest Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer Film Productions, ...

called him "a charming, rather boring, fellow – there was nothing wrong with him, he wasn’t a very creative person unless he’d sold a story and came to work on the thing, but we never sat on a story with Joc and wrote...He was an ideas man, but not a very good one. They would sometimes say to Joc Orton, how he got his credits was, they’d say while we were working on something, Ted would call him or Frank “See if you can get something on the bus service, someone running a pirate bus” and Joc would go away and write a treatment, and the treatment when it came down to us, if it was one for us, … we would read it and say, “Yes its an idea, but that’s fucking awful and that needs more, and Ted would say “Kick it around.”, and we would take the script from there. And do the rewrites. Joc mostly did treatments of ideas they flung at him."

Select credits

* ''

Creeping Shadows ''Creeping Shadows'' is a 1931 British crime film directed by J. O. C. Orton, John Orton and starring Franklin Dyall, Arthur Hardy (actor), Arthur Hardy and Margot Grahame. It was made at the Welwyn Studios of British International Pictures.Wood ...

'' (1931) * '' After the Ball'' (1932) * '' Leave It to Smith'' (1933) * '' Soldiers of the King'' (1933) * ''

Brown on Resolution ''Brown on Resolution'' is a 1929 nautical novel written by C. S. Forester, set during World War I. The hero of the novel, Leading Seaman Albert Brown, is the sole able-bodied survivor of a sunken Royal Navy warship, who single-handedly dela ...

'' (1935) * '' Bulldog Jack'' (1935) * '' Turn of the Tide'' (1935) * ''

The Flying Doctor ''The Flying Doctor'' is a 1936 Australian-British drama film directed by Miles Mander and starring Charles Farrell, Mary Maguire and James Raglan. The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia operate in the Australian Outback. Noted as Aust ...

'' (1936) * ''

Jack of All Trades "Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person who has dabbled in many skills, rather than gaining expertise by focusing on only one. The original version, "a jack of all trades", is often used as a com ...

'' (1936) * ''

Everything Is Thunder ''Everything Is Thunder'' is a 1936 British thriller film directed by Milton Rosmer and starring Constance Bennett, Douglass Montgomery and Oskar Homolka. Its plot concerns a British officer who attempts to escape from a German Prisoner of War ca ...

'' (1936) * ''

Non-Stop New York ''Non-Stop New York'' (also known as ''Lisbon Clipper Mystery'') is a 1937 British science fiction crime film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring John Loder, Anna Lee and Francis L. Sullivan. It is based on the 1936 novel ''Sky Stew ...

'' (1937) * ''

Oh, Mr Porter! ''Oh, Mr Porter!'' is a 1937 British comedy film starring Will Hay with Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt and directed by Marcel Varnel. While not Hay's commercially most successful (although it grossed £500,000 at the box office – equal to ...

'' (1937) * '' Mr. Satan'' (1938) * ''

It's in the Blood ''It's in the Blood'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Gene Gerrard and starring Claude Hulbert, Lesley Brook and Max Leeds. It was made at Teddington Studios by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers.Wood p.95 Cast * Claude Hulbert a ...

'' (1938) * ''

Many Tanks Mr. Atkins ''Many Tanks Mr. Atkins'' is a 1938 British comedy war film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Claude Hulbert, Reginald Purdell and Barbara Greene. It was made as a quota quickie by Warner Brothers at the company's Teddington Studios in ...

'' (1938) * ''

Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It ''Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It'' is a 1941 British detective film directed by Walter Forde and starring Gordon Harker, Alastair Sim, Phyllis Calvert and Edward Chapman. It was the third and final film adaptation of the Inspector Hornleigh ...

'' (1941) * '' Cottage to Let'' (1941) * '' Hi Gang!'' (1941) * '' For Those in Peril'' (1944) * '' Bon Voyage'' (1944)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orton, J.O.C. 1889 births 1962 deaths English male screenwriters 20th-century English screenwriters