Harry Behn (September 24, 1898September 6, 1973) was an American screenwriter and children's author. He was involved in writing scenes and continuities for a number of screenplays, including the war film ''

The Big Parade ''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran, Laurence Stallings, the film is about ...

''in 1925, and '' Hell's Angels''. He graduated from

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 high ...

in 1922.

Filmography

*''

'' (1925) *'' Proud Flesh'' (1925), with

Agnes Christine Johnson Agnes Christine Johnston was an American screenwriter who wrote for more than 80 films between 1915 and 1948. Biography Early life Johnston was born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, to John Johnston and Isabel McElhany. She attended the Horace Man ...

*''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...

'' (1926), with Ray Doyle *'' The Crowd'' (1928), with

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

and John V.A. Weaver *'' The Racket'' (1928), with Del Andrews *''

Frozen River ''Frozen River'' is a 2008 American crime drama film written and directed by Courtney Hunt. The screenplay focuses on two working-class women who smuggle illegal immigrants from Canada to the United States. The film received two Oscar nomination ...

'' (1929) *''

Sin Sister ''The Sin Sister'' is a lost 1929 American silent drama adventure film directed by Charles Klein and starring Nancy Carroll. It was produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation. The film was released with a music score and sound effects ...

'' (1929), with

Andrew Bennison Andrew Bennison (November 3, 1886 – January 7, 1942, in Oakland, California) was an American screenwriter and film director whose career was at its peak in the 1930s. Bennison was nearly entirely a screenwriter between 1923 and 1942 involved ...

*'' Hell's Angels'' (1930), with Howard Estabrook *'' Secret of the Chateau'' (1934), with Richard Thorpe

Bibliography

*''Siesta (poetry)'', Golden Bough, 1937 *''All Kinds of Time'', Harcourt, 1950. *''Rhymes of the Times'', under the pen name Jim Hill, published privately, 1950. *''Windy Morning'', Harcourt, 1953. *''The House beyond the Meadow'', Pantheon, 1955. *''The Wizard in the Well'', Harcourt, 1956. *''Chinese Proverbs from Olden Times'', Peter Pauper, 1956. *''(Translator and illustrator) Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino Elegies'', Peter Pauper, 1957. *''The Painted Cave'', Harcourt, 1957. *''Timmy's Search'', Seabury, 1958. *''The Two Uncles of Pablo'', Harcourt, 1959. *''(Translator) 300 Classic Haiku'', Peter Pauper, 1962. *''(Translator, along with Peter Beilenson) Haiku Harvest: Japanese haiku. Series IV'', Peter Pauper, 1962. *'' The Faraway Lurs'', World Publishing, 1963. *''(Translator) Cricket Songs: Japanese haiku'', Harcourt, 1964. *''Omen of the Birds'', World Publishing, 1964. *''The Golden Hive, Harcourt, 1957–1966. *''Chrysalis: Concerning Children and Poetry'', Harcourt, 1949–1968. *''What a Beautiful Noise'', World Publishing, 1970. *''(Translator) More Cricket Songs: Japanese haiku'', Harcourt, 1971. *''Crickets and Bullfrogs and Whispers of Thunder: Poems and Pictures'', edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Harcourt, 1949–1984. *''Trees: A Poem'', illustrated by James Endicott, H. Holt (New York, NY), 1992. *''Halloween'', illustrated by Greg Couch, North-South (New York, NY), 2003. *''The kite (Missing ~Date~). Behn's translations of haiku provided the texts for two works by

Norman Dinerstein Norman Myron Dinerstein (September 18, 1937 – December 23, 1982) was an American composer and pedagogue. Life and career A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, Dinerstein received his bachelor's degree in music from Boston University in 1 ...

: *''Cricket Songs'' for unison children's chorus and piano (1967) *''Frogs'' for SATB chorus (1977)

Notes

References

''Book Poems: Poems from National Children's Book Week 1959–1998'', page 26. Children's Book Council, 1998.
''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2003.
''Rememberings'', by Alice Lawrence Behn Goebel, edited by Pamela Behn Adam. Published privately, 1983
''St. James Guide to Children's Writers'', 5th ed. St. James Press, 1999.

HARRY BEHN DEAD; AN EARLY SCENARIST
(obituary on page 38 of the ''New York Times'', Monday, September 10, 1973)

External links

Guide to the Harry Behn papers at the University of Oregon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behn, Harry American male screenwriters American children's writers University of Arizona faculty 1898 births 1973 deaths Japanese–English translators 20th-century translators Harvard University alumni Screenwriters from Arizona 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters