DeWitt Bodeen (July 25, 1908 — March 12, 1988) was an American film

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 television writer best known for writing '' Cat People'' (1942).

Biography

Born Homer DeWitt Bodeen on July 25, 1908, in

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, he began his career as an actor and wrote more than 20 plays before entering the film business. He began his career in the film industry when his stage work drew the attention of film writer and producer

Val Lewton Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a pain ...

, who arranged for Bodeen to work as a research assistant to British novelist

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

. He published his first book-length contribution to entertainment history in 1937, ''Ladies of the Footlights'', a slim volume of theater celebrity profiles. Republished in 2013 by Literary Licensing. In the late 1930s, he began working for RKO and worked his way up to a script writer. His screenwriting credits include ''Cat People'' (1942), ''

The Curse of the Cat People ''The Curse of the Cat People'' is a 1944 American psychological fantasy thriller filmEggert, Brian (October 22, 2017)"The Curse of the Cat People" Deep Focus Review. Retrieved 2019-03-16. directed by Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, produce ...

'' (1944), ''

The Seventh Victim ''The Seventh Victim'' is a 1943 American horror film noir directed by Mark Robson and starring Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Kim Hunter, and Hugh Beaumont. Written by DeWitt Bodeen and Charles O'Neal, and produced by Val Lewton f ...

'' (1943), '' The Enchanted Cottage'' (1945), '' I Remember Mama'' (1948), '' Night Song'' (1948), and ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quickl ...

'' (1962). His play ''Harvest of Years'' premiered on Broadway in January 1948. It ran for two weeks. Beginning in the 1950s he moved to television, writing mainly for anthology shows including ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...

'', ''

Climax! ''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS progra ...

'', and ''

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars ''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'' is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to ''Schlitz Playhouse ...

'' among others. Bodeen was gay. In the 1950s he was Val Dufour's companion, living with him. In his later years he became a historian of Hollywood and the film industry. He wrote articles for the journal ''

Films in Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

'' and ''Focus on Film''. His books included ''The Films of Cecil B. DeMille'' (1969), ''The Films and Career of Maurice Chevalier'' (1973), ''From Hollywood!: the careers of 15 great American stars'' (1972), and ''More from Hollywood!: the careers of 15 great American stars'' (1977). He was still writing in 1979 at the age of 70, when he lived at the

Motion Picture Country Home The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as temp ...

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

. He died there on March 12, 1988.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodeen, Dewitt 1908 births 1988 deaths American male screenwriters American television writers American male television writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters