John Michael Hayes (11 May 1919 – 19 November 2008) was an American screenwriter, who scripted four of Alfred Hitchcock's films in the 1950s.

Early life

Hayes was born in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

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to John Michael Hayes Sr. and Ellen Mabel Hayes. Hayes Sr. was a tool and die maker but had performed as a song and dance man on the Keith-Orpheum

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

circuit earlier in life. As a child, Hayes missed much of his school career from second grade through fifth grade due to ear infections. During that time away from school, he discovered a love of reading. In junior high school, he became a staff writer on ''The Spectator'', the school newspaper, and at age 16, he wrote for the high school yearbook as well as editing a Boy Scout weekly, ''The Eagle Trail''. His work brought him to the attention of Worcester's ''Evening Gazette'', and Hayes began penning articles about Boy Scout activities for the paper. Later stints with the ''Worcester Telegram'' and a profile in ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' led to a job with the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

. Working diligently, Hayes managed to amass enough money to attend Massachusetts State College.

Radio

At college, Hayes became interested in radio and won a contest to write radio stories for Crosley Corporation in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. Following a period in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Hayes moved to California and resumed his radio career. In California, Hayes scripted for various radio comedies and dramas, including '' The Adventures of Sam Spade'', '' Alias Jane Doe'', ''

Inner Sanctum Mysteries ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'', also known as ''Inner Sanctum'', is a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952. It was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the imprint given to the mystery novels ...

'', ''

My Favorite Husband ''My Favorite Husband'' is the name of an American radio program and network television series. The original radio show, starring Lucille Ball, evolved into the groundbreaking television sitcom '' I Love Lucy''. The series was based on the novels ...

'', '' Sweeney and March'', ''Twelve Players'' and ''

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' is a radio drama that aired on CBS Radio from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962. The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a private investigator drama, with Charles Russell, Edmond O'B ...

''.

Films

His success in radio led to an invitation from Universal-International Pictures to write screenplays. His first screen credit was for ''Redball Express'' in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. Much of Hayes's career was spent writing screenplays for glossy, big-budget melodramas like ''

Torch Song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

'' with

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...

, ''

BUtterfield 8 ''BUtterfield 8'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor won her first Academy Award for her performance in a leading role. The film was based on a 1935 novel of the same na ...

'' with Elizabeth Taylor, ''

The Carpetbaggers ''The Carpetbaggers'' is a 1961 bestselling novel by Harold Robbins, which was adapted into a 1964 film of the same title. The prequel '' Nevada Smith'' (1966) was also based on a character in the novel. In the United States, the term "car ...

'' with

Carroll Baker Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American former actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in t ...

, and '' Where Love Has Gone'' with Susan Hayward,

Mike Connors Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series ''Mannix'' from 1967 to 1975, a role which earne ...

and

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

. His adaptation of

Grace Metalious Grace Metalious (September 8, 1924 – February 25, 1964) was an American author known for her novel '' Peyton Place'', one of the best-selling works in publishing history. Early life Marie Grace DeRepentigny was born into poverty and a broken ...

's steamy bestseller, '' Peyton Place'', earned him an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination. Hayes collaborated with director Alfred Hitchcock on four films: ''

Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film st ...

'' (for which he won an Edgar Award and an Oscar nomination), ''

To Catch a Thief '' To Catch a Thief'' is a 1955 American romantic thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes based on the 1952 novel of the same name by David Dodge. The film stars Cary Grant as a retired cat burgl ...

'', '' The Trouble with Harry'' and '' The Man Who Knew Too Much''. Their first collaboration, ''Rear Window'', is considered by many critics to be one of Hitchcock's best and most thrilling pictures. ''The Man Who Knew Too Much'', a remake of Hitchcock's 1934 film of the same name, became one of the most financially successful films of its year of release. After several years of retirement, Hayes resurfaced to co-write director Charles Haid's family adventure drama ''

Iron Will ''Iron Will'' is a 1994 American adventure film. It is based on the true story of a 1917 dog-sled race from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Saint Paul, Minnesota, a 522-mile-long stretch and part of the "Red River-St. Paul Sports Carnival Derby." It is d ...

'', starring

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

, in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

. He taught film writing at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

until he retired in 2000. In 2001, Hayes's collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock was the subject of the book ''Writing with Hitchcock'' by Steven DeRosa, which gave a full account of Hayes's four film collaboration with the director. In 2004, Hayes was the recipient of the Writers Guild of America's highest honor, the Screen Laurel Award. Hayes died of natural causes on November 19, 2008, in

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of En ...

. A movie based upon ''Writing with Hitchcock'' is currently in development and a new edition was published in 2011 containing additional material.

Select filmography

*''

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...

'' (1953) *''

'' (1954) *''

'' (1955) *'' The Trouble with Harry'' (1955) *'' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956) *'' Peyton Place'' (1957) *''

The Matchmaker ''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been exte ...

'' (1958) *'' But Not for Me'' (1959) *''

'' (1960) *'' The Children's Hour'' (1961) *''

The Chalk Garden ''The Chalk Garden'' is a play by Enid Bagnold that premiered in the US in 1955 and was produced in Britain the following year. It tells the story of the imperious Mrs St Maugham and her granddaughter Laurel, a disturbed child under the care of ...

'' (1964) *'' Harlow'' (1965) *''

Nevada Smith ''Nevada Smith'' is a 1966 American Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy and Suzanne Pleshette. The film was made by Embassy Pictures and Solar Productions, in association ...

'' (1966) *'' Judith'' (1966) *'' Winter Kill'' (1974) *'' Pancho Barnes'' (1988) *''

'' (1994)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, John Michael 1919 births 2008 deaths American male screenwriters Dartmouth College faculty Edgar Award winners Writers from Worcester, Massachusetts United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Screenwriters from Massachusetts Screenwriters from New Hampshire 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters