Paul Edward Dehn (pronounced "Dain"; 5 November 1912 – 30 September 1976) was a British screenwriter, best known for '' Goldfinger'', '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'', ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'' sequels and ''

Murder on the Orient Express ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...

''. Dehn and his partner, James Bernard, won the

Academy Award for Best Story The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1956. This award can be a source of confusion for modern audiences, given its co-existence with the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenpl ...

for ''

Seven Days to Noon ''Seven Days to Noon'' is a 1950 British drama/thriller film directed by John and Roy Boulting. Paul Dehn and James Bernard won the Academy Award for Best Story for their work on the film. Plot In 1950, the British Prime Minister receives ...

''.

Biography and work

Dehn was born in 1912 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

, and attended Brasenose College, Oxford. While at Oxford, he contributed film reviews to weekly undergraduate papers. According to the British writer and former spy John Le Carre, Dehn worked in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) as an assassin 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 ...

. He began his career in 1936 as a film reviewer for several London newspapers. He was film critic for the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

'' until its closure in 1960 and then for the '' Daily Herald'' until 1963. During

, he was stationed at

Camp X Camp X was the unofficial name of the secret Special Training School No. 103, a Second World War British paramilitary installation for training covert agents in the methods required for success in clandestine operations. It was located on the ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. This was one of several training facilities operated by the British

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

to train spies and special forces teams. He was the Political Warfare officer from 1942 to 1944 and held the rank of Major. Dehn took part in missions in France and Norway. He narrated the 1951 film '' Waters of Time'' and later wrote plays, operettas and musicals for the stage. He wrote the lyrics for songs in two films, ''

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...

'' (1952) and '' The Innocents'' (1961). In 1949 or 1950, Dehn began a collaboration with composer James Bernard. Dehn asked Bernard to collaborate with him on the original story for the

Boulting Brothers John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for thei ...

film ''

'' (1950). Through the 1960s, Dehn concentrated on screenwriting for espionage films, including '' Goldfinger'' (1964), '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' (1965), and ''

The Deadly Affair ''The Deadly Affair'' is a 1967 British spy film based on John le Carré's first novel, ''Call for the Dead'' (1961). The film stars James Mason and was directed by Sidney Lumet from a script by Paul Dehn. As it is a Columbia Pictures productio ...

'' (1967). He later wrote the screenplays for the second, third, and fourth original ''

'' movies and received the story-by credit on the fifth. He wrote the libretto for

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

's opera '' The Bear'' and two by Lennox Berkeley; '' A Dinner Engagement'' and ''Castaway''. His last screenplay was for Sidney Lumet's all-star ''

'' (1974), based on the Agatha Christie

whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the c ...

, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Dehn resurrected or reinvented at least three genres given up for dead at the time; the British mystery, the Shakespeare adaptation, and the spy film.

Screenplays

* ''

'' (1950) * '' Waters of Time'' (1951) (documentary) * '' On Such a Night'' (1956) * ''

Orders to Kill ''Orders to Kill'' is a 1958 British wartime drama film. It starred Paul Massie, Eddie Albert and Irene Worth and was directed by Anthony Asquith. The film is based on a story by Donald Chase Downes, a former American intelligence operative who ...

'' (1958) *''

ITV Play of the Week ''Play of the Week'' is a 90-minute British television anthology series produced by a variety of companies including Granada Television, Associated-Rediffusion, ATV and Anglia Television. Synopsis From 1955 to 1967 approximately 500 episodes ...

'' - adaptation of ''

A Woman of No Importance ''A Woman of No Importance'' by Oscar Wilde is "a new and original play of modern life", in four acts, first given on 19 April 1893 at the Haymarket Theatre, London. Like Wilde's other society plays, it satirises English upper-class society. It ...

'' (1960) *''A Place for Gold'' (1960) (documentary) * '' Goldfinger'' (1964) * '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' (1965) * ''

'' (1967) *''

The Night of the Generals ''The Night of the Generals'' is a 1967 World War II mystery film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Sam Spiegel. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret. The screenplay ...

'' (1967) * ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'' (1967) * '' Beryl Reid Says Good Evening'' (1968) * ''

Beneath the Planet of the Apes ''Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. The film stars Ja ...

'' (1970) * '' Fragment of Fear'' (1970) - also associate producer * ''

Escape from the Planet of the Apes ''Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1971 American science fiction film directed by Don Taylor and written by Paul Dehn. It stars Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman and Ricardo Montalbán. It is the third of five films in the or ...

'' (1971) * ''

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes ''Conquest of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1972 American science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson and written by Paul Dehn. It is the fourth of five films in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. The ...

'' (1972) * ''

Battle for the Planet of the Apes ''Battle for the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1973 American science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fifth and final installment in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' series, produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, following ''Conquest of ...

'' (1973) * ''

'' (1974)

Awards and nominations

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 ...

for ' Writing, (Motion Picture Story)', 1952 for ''Seven Days to Noon'' * BAFTA Award Nomination for Best British Screenplay, 1959 *

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for Best American Film, 1965 *

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

Award Nomination for Best American Drama, 1966 * Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture, 1966 * BAFTA Award Nomination for Best British Screenplay, 1968 * Edgar Allan Poe Award Nomination for Best Motion Picture, 1974 * Writers Guild of Britain Award for Best British Screenplay, 1974 * Academy Award Nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, 1975

References

External links

* * http://theoscarsite.com/whoswho3/dehn_p.htm
The New York Times Movies
* Archival Material at {{DEFAULTSORT:Dehn, Paul 1912 births 1976 deaths 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English screenwriters Best British Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Best Story Academy Award winners Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Edgar Award winners English male screenwriters British gay writers English LGBT people People educated at Shrewsbury School English opera librettists Writers from Manchester 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights British Special Operations Executive personnel 20th-century LGBT people