John Lee Mahin (August 23, 1902,

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

– April 18, 1984, Los Angeles) was an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and producer of films who was active in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was known as the favorite writer of

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

and

Victor Fleming Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were '' Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director, and '' The Wiza ...

. In the words of one profile, he had "a flair for rousing adventure material, and at the same time he wrote some of the raciest and most sophisticated sexual comedies of that period."

Biography

Mahin was born in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the secon ...

in 1902, the son of John Lee Mahin, Sr. (1869–1930), a Chicago newspaper and advertising man, and Julia Graham Snitzler. Mahin attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

; while there he reviewed movies and plays for the Boston ''American'' at $30 a week. Mahin worked as a journalist for two years in New York, at the ''Sun'', the ''Post'' and the ''City News''. He then tried to make a living as an actor, starting as a chorus boy in a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Patience'' at the Province Playhouse. He eventually moved into advertising in New York but wrote fiction on the side. Mahin became friendly with

Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplay ...

and

Charles MacArthur Charles Gordon MacArthur (November 5, 1895 – April 21, 1956) was an American playwright, screenwriter and 1935 winner of the Academy Award for Best Story. Life and career MacArthur was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the sixth of seven chi ...

, who he would meet on the ferry while commuting to work in New York. Hecht read Mahin's stories and encouraged him to move to Hollywood.

Early screenwriting

Hecht and MacArthur were working on ''

The Unholy Garden ''The Unholy Garden'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Ronald Colman and Fay Wray. It was based on a story by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.''The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: ...

'' (1931) for Sam Goldwyn and brought in Mahin to help at $200 a week. They liked his work and when Hecht went on to the gangster movie '' Scarface'' (1932), he took Mahin with him. Mahin wrote the script in collaboration with Hecht,

Seton I. Miller Seton Ingersoll Miller (May 3, 1902 – March 29, 1974) was an American screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked with film directors such as Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz. Miller received two Oscar nominations and won once f ...

and the director

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...

(

W. R. Burnett William Riley Burnett (November 25, 1899 April 25, 1982) was an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for the crime novel ''Little Caesar'', the film adaptation of which is considered the first of the classic American gangster ...

had done an earlier draft).

World War II

Mahin served as a lieutenant in the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War ...

with

MGM

It took a while for ''Scarface'' to be released but advance word was strong and MGM offered Mahin a long-term contract at $200 a week. They assigned him to a gangster film, ''

Beast of the City ''The Beast of the City'' is a 1932 American pre-Code gangster film featuring cops as vigilantes and known for its singularly vicious ending. Written by W.R. Burnett, Ben Hecht (uncredited), and John Lee Mahin, and directed by Charles Brabin, th ...

'' (1932) which starred

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

. While working on Howard Hawks asked him to do some uncredited work on ''

Tiger Shark The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of requiem shark and the last extant member of the family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large macropredator, capable of attaining a length over . Populations are found in many tropical and tempera ...

'' (1932) at Warner Bros; Mahin did it in the evenings. Mahin wrote ''

The Wet Parade ''The Wet Parade'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Robert Young, Myrna Loy, Walter Huston, Lewis Stone and Jimmy Durante. It is based on the 1931 novel by Upton Sinclair. The film shows how two fa ...

'' (1932) his first movie with director

. The two men had a huge hit with '' Red Dust'' (1932), which helped make a star out of

. Mahin did some work on '' Rasputin and the Empress'' (1933), then ''

Hell Below ''Hell Below'' (aka ''Pigboats'') is a 1933 American MGM pre-Code film set in the Adriatic Sea during World War I about submarine warfare based on Commander Edward Ellsberg's novel ''Pigboats''. The film stars Robert Montgomery, Walter Huston ...

'' (1933) (in which he also appeared as an actor), '' Bombshell'' (1933) for Fleming, ''

The Prizefighter and the Lady ''The Prizefighter and the Lady'' is a 1933 pre-Code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romance film starring Myrna Loy and the professional boxers Max Baer, Primo Carnera, and Jack Dempsey. The film was adapted for the screen by John Lee Mahin and John Meeh ...

'' (1933) and ''

Eskimo Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik (or Yuit) of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related ...

'' (1933); Mahin claims to have done some directing on the latter.McCarthy & McBride, p. 249. Other credits included '' Laughing Boy'' (1934), ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' (1934) for Fleming, and '' Chained'' (1934). He adapted the operetta '' Naughty Marietta'' (1935) and did uncredited work on ''

China Seas The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geolog ...

'' (1935). Mahin then wrote '' Riffraff'' (1936), ''

Wife vs. Secretary ''Wife vs. Secretary'' (or ''Wife versus Secretary'') is a 1936 comedy drama directed and co-produced by Clarence Brown and starring Clark Gable as a successful businessman, Jean Harlow as his secretary, and Myrna Loy as his wife, supported by Ja ...

'' (1936), '' Small Town Girl'' (1936), ''

The Devil Is a Sissy ''The Devil is a Sissy'' is a 1936 American MGM comedy-drama film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and Rowland Brown. The film stars Freddie Bartholomew, Jackie Cooper and Mickey Rooney, three of the biggest child stars of the 1930s. The film premi ...

'' (1936), and '' Love on the Run'' (1936). He was Oscar nominated for his work on ''

Captains Courageous ''Captains Courageous: A Story of the Grand Banks'' is an 1897 novel by Rudyard Kipling that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a Portuguese f ...

'' (1937) for Fleming. Mahin wrote '' The Last Gangster'' (1937), then did two Gable films, ''

Test Pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

'' (1938), and '' Too Hot to Handle'' (1938). In 1937 MGM paid him $56,000. With Fleming, Mahin did uncredited work on '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) and worked for about a week on ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' (1939). Mahin did another for Gable, ''

Boom Town A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

'' (1940) and was reunited with Fleming on '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1941). In July 1940 it was reported MGM had paid him $80,833 for the previous year. He did a gangster film for

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. In his youth he played juvenile roles in vaudeville and silent film comedies. During the 1930s, LeRoy was one of the two great practitioners of ...

, '' Johnny Eager'' (1941) and some uncredited work on the ending of '' Woman of the Year'' (1942). Mahin adapted ''

Tortilla Flat ''Tortilla Flat'' (1935) is an early John Steinbeck novel set in Monterey, California. The novel was the author's first clear critical and commercial success. The book portrays a group of 'paisanos'—literally, countrymen—a small band of er ...

'' (1943) and worked on the British film ''

The Adventures of Tartu ''The Adventures of Tartu'' (alternate British title and American release title: ''Sabotage Agent'', also known as ''Tartu'') is a 1943 British Second World War spy film directed by Harold S. Bucquet and starring Robert Donat. It was a morale b ...

'' (1943). While serving during World War II, Mahin wrote ''

Combat America ''Combat America'' is a 1945 documentary film produced in World War II, narrated by Clark Gable. At the time of the film's production in 1943, Gable was a 1st Lieutenant in the Eighth Air Force, part of the United States Army Air Forces. Whi ...

'' (1943), narrated by Gable. After the war, Mahin did uncredited work on ''

Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

'' (1945) for Gable and Fleming, ''

The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Month Club in April 1938. It won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It was the best-selling n ...

'' (1946) and '' The Beginning or the End'' (1947). He wrote ''The Risen Soldier'', a biopic of

Cardinal Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliary ...

to star

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment ...

that was not used.

20th Century Fox

Over at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

he did ''

That Wonderful Urge ''That Wonderful Urge'' is a 1948 20th Century Fox screwball comedy film directed by Robert B. Sinclair and starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; November 27, 1948, page 190. It is a remake of '' Love Is News ...

'' (1948), '' Down to the Sea in Ships'' (1949), '' Love That Brute'' (1950) and '' Panic in the Streets'' (1950).

Louis B Mayer

When

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

left MGM, Mahin went with him. Mayer put Mahin under personal contract, and would loan him out to studios, including MGM. Mahin wrote the screenplay for ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'' (1951), the

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

remake of the noted 1927 stage musical, which had previously been filmed in 1936. According to musical theatre historian

Miles Kreuger Miles Kreuger (born March 28, 1934) is the Grammy Award nominated president and founder of the Institute of the American Musical. He has been called "the foremost expert on the American musical" and his Institute of the American Musical has been r ...

in his book, ''Show Boat: The History of a Classic American Musical'', Mahin retained most of the basic structure of the storyline, but little of

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight ...

's stage dialogue, preferring to create his own. According to Kreuger, Mahin and producer

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for '' An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...

introduced the plot device of keeping the lovers Magnolia Hawks and Gaylord Ravenal young to the end, rather than having a passage that showed them forty years older, as in the original stage musical. He wrote '' Quo Vadis'' (1951) for MGM and ''

My Son John ''My Son John'' is a 1952 American political drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, Robert Walker and Dean Jagger. Walker plays the title character, a middle-class college graduate whom his parents suspect may ...

'' (1952) for

Leo McCarey Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 films, the most well known today being '' Duck Soup'', ''Make Way for Tomorrow'', '' The Awful T ...

. He redid his ''Red Dust'' script as '' Mogambo'' (1953) for Gable and John Ford, and worked on another melodrama in the tropics, ''

Elephant Walk ''Elephant Walk'' is a 1954 American drama film produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by William Dieterle, and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch and Abraham Sofaer.It is based upon the 1948 novel '' Elephant Walk'' by "Rob ...

'' (1954). In 1955 a play he wrote with Patsy Ruth Miller, ''Don Ella'', played at UCLA. Mahin wrote ''

Lucy Gallant ''Lucy Gallant'' is a 1955 American drama film directed by Robert Parrish and written by John Lee Mahin and Winston Miller. The film stars Jane Wyman, Charlton Heston, Claire Trevor, Thelma Ritter, William Demarest and Wallace Ford. The film wa ...

'' (1955), '' The Bad Seed'' (1956) for LeRoy, '' Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison'' (1957) for John Huston, and '' No Time for Sergeants'' (1958) for LeRoy. ''Heaven Knows, Mr Allison'' earned him another Oscar nomination. Mahin adapted '' Paint Your Wagon'' for Mayer but plans to film it were dropped when Mayer died. (It would be filmed in 1969 with a fresh script.) Mahin did do some uncredited work on the Cinerama film, ''

South Seas Adventure South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sun� ...

'' (1958).

Producer

Mahin got to know

Martin Rackin Martin Rackin (31 July 1918 – 15 April 1976) was an American writer and producer who was briefly head of production at Paramount Pictures from 1960–64. In the late 1950s he wrote and produced a series of films with actor Alan Ladd. Richa ...

when they worked on a script of

Pearl Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck ...

's ''Letter from Peking'', that was never filmed. They decided to form a production company. Together they wrote and produced ''

The Horse Soldiers ''The Horse Soldiers'' is a 1959 American adventure war western film set during the American Civil War directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers. The screenplay by John Lee Mahin and Martin Rackin w ...

'' (1959), '' Revak the Rebel'' (1959) and ''

North to Alaska ''North to Alaska'' is a 1960 comedic Western/Northern film directed by Henry Hathaway and John Wayne (uncredited). The picture stars Wayne along with Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian, and Capucine. The script is based on the 1939 play ' ...

'' (1960). The association ended when Rackin was appointed head of Paramount.

Later career

Mahin's later credits included ''

The Spiral Road ''The Spiral Road'' is a 1962 American adventure-drama film directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Rock Hudson, Burl Ives, Gena Rowlands, and Geoffrey Keen. The film was released by Universal-International in the United States in 1962, the sa ...

'' (1962) and '' Moment to Moment'' (1966) for LeRoy. He also wrote episodes of ''

The Jimmy Stewart Show ''The Jimmy Stewart Show'' is an American situation comedy starring James Stewart as a college professor in a small town who shares his home with three generations of his family. Twenty-four episodes of the show were broadcast during the 1971� ...

'' (1971–72).

Politics

Mahin was a founder of the

Screen Writers Guild The Screen Writers Guild was an organization of Hollywood screenplay authors, formed as a union in 1933. In 1954, it became two different organizations: Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East. Founding Screenwrite ...

in 1933. In the late 1930s, he became president of a rival organization, the Screen Playwrights Guild. He rejoined the Guild in 1948 and became its president.

Accolades

He won the

Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement The Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement (also known as the Screen Laurel Award) is a lifetime achievement award given by the Writers Guild of America. It is given "to that member of the Guild who, in the opinion of the current Board of Dir ...

in 1958.

Personal life

His second marriage was to silent film actress Patsy Ruth Miller from 1937 until their divorce in 1946. They had one child, Timothy Miller Mahin.

Selected credits

Writer

*''

'' (1931) – uncredited * ''

The Beast of the City ''The Beast of the City'' is a 1932 American pre-Code gangster film featuring cops as vigilantes and known for its singularly vicious ending. Written by W.R. Burnett, Ben Hecht (uncredited), and John Lee Mahin, and directed by Charles Brabin, t ...

'' (1932; dialogue continuity, as John L. Mahin) * ''

'' (1932; adaptation, as John L. Mahin) * '' Scarface'' (1932; dialogue continuity) * ''

'' (1932) – uncredited * '' Red Dust'' (1932; screenplay, as John Mahin) * '' Rasputin and the Empress'' (1932) – uncredited * ''

'' (1933; dialogue) * '' Bombshell'' (1933; screenplay) * ''

'' (1933) * ''

'' aka ''Mala the Magnificent'' (1933) * '' Laughing Boy'' (1934) * ''

'' (1934; screenplay) * '' Chained'' (1934) * '' Naughty Marietta'' (1935) * ''

'' (1935) – uncredited * '' Riffraff'' (1936) – uncredited * ''

'' (1936; screenplay) * '' Small Town Girl'' (1936) * ''

The Devil is a Sissy ''The Devil is a Sissy'' is a 1936 American MGM comedy-drama film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and Rowland Brown. The film stars Freddie Bartholomew, Jackie Cooper and Mickey Rooney, three of the biggest child stars of the 1930s. The film premi ...

'' (1936) * '' Love on the Run'' (1936) * ''

'' (1937) * '' A Star Is Born'' (1937) * '' The Last Gangster'' (1937) * ''

'' (1938) – uncredited * '' Too Hot to Handle'' (1938; screenplay) * '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) – uncredited * ''

'' (1940) * '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1941) * '' Johnny Eager'' (1942; screenplay) * '' Woman of the Year'' (1942) – uncredited * ''

'' (1942; screenplay) * ''

'' (1943) * ''

'' (1943) (documentary) * ''

'' (1945) – uncredited * ''

'' (1946) – uncredited * ''

'' (1948) – uncredited * '' Down to the Sea in Ships'' (1949) * '' Love That Brute'' (1950) * '' Panic in the Streets'' (1950) – uncredited * ''

'' (1951) * '' Quo Vadis'' (1951) * ''My Sơn John'' (1952; adaptation) * '' Mogambo'' (1953) * ''

'' (1954) * ''

'' (1955) * '' The Bad Seed'' (1956; screenplay) * '' Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison'' (1957) * '' No Time for Sergeants'' (1958) * ''

'' (1959) – also uncredited producer * '' The Barbarians'' (1960) – also producer * ''

'' (1960; screenplay) – also uncredited producer * ''

'' (1962) * '' Moment to Moment'' (1966) * ''

'' (1971–1972) (TV series) (episodes "Identity Crisis" and "Old School Ties")

Actor

* '' Scarface'' (1932) – MacArthur from the Journal (uncredited) * ''

'' (1933) – Lieut. (JG) 'Speed' Nelson (final film role)

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahin, John Lee 1902 births 1984 deaths American male screenwriters Deaths from emphysema Writers from Evanston, Illinois Writers from Los Angeles Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Illinois Harvard University alumni 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters