Alan Maurice Hyman (10 January 1910 – 23 February 1999) was an English writer, journalist, and film writer.

Life and work

Alan Hyman was the son of A. Hyman. He was educated at St Cyprian's School,

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, independent, day and boarding school in the English public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school ...

, and

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mar ...

. He became a journalist and worked on the staff of the ''

Daily Sketch The ''Daily Sketch'' was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton. It was bought in 1920 by Lord Rothermere's Daily Mirror Newspapers, but in 1925 Rothermere sold it to William and Gomer Berry ...

'' and ''

Sunday Graphic The ''Sunday Graphic'' was an English tabloid newspaper published in Fleet Street. The newspaper was founded in 1915 as the ''Sunday Herald'' and was later renamed the ''Illustrated Sunday Herald''. In 1927 it changed its name to the ''Sunday G ...

'' from 1929 to 1932. Then he became a

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 spent much of his life in the film industry. At Gaumont, he worked for

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

and collaborated on the scripts of ''Sunshine Suzie'' and ''Falling in Love''. Subsequently, he worked with

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wife ...

on ''

Three Maxims ''Three Maxims'' is a 1936 British drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Tullio Carminati and Leslie Banks. It was released in the United States under the alternative title '' The Show Goes On''. Separate French and Ge ...

'' and ''

Victoria the Great ''Victoria the Great'' is a 1937 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook and Walter Rilla. When Laurence Housman's play '' Victoria Regina'' was banned by the Lord Chamberlain (in 1935 the r ...

'' and then with

Thorold Dickinson Thorold Barron Dickinson (16 November 1903 – 14 April 1984) was a British film director, screenwriter, film editor, film producer, and Britain's first university professor of film. Dickinson's work received much praise, with fellow directo ...

as co-author of the script for the film '' The Arsenal Stadium Mystery'' in 1939. Later, he collaborated with

Sydney Box Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis. He produced and co-w ...

on ''

I Met a Murderer ''I Met a Murderer'' is a 1939 British thriller film directed by Roy Kellino and starring James Mason, Pamela Mason, Sylvia Coleridge and William Devlin. A man murders his oppressive wife and flees from the police. He meets a young woman wh ...

''. During the

Second World War 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was commissioned into the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, ...

and worked as a screenwriter. Hyman wrote scripts for

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

radio including the programme ''Spotlight on a Tunesmith'' compered by

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

and ''Pioneers of Jazz''. He joined Shell International in 1952, writing and producing scripts for their Visual Aids Unit. From 1954 to 1958, he was a member of the Council of the Screenwriters' Association and was on the film panel that selected the best British film scripts each year. He continued in journalism and became an expert on

Sullivan Sullivan may refer to: People Characters * Chloe Sullivan, from the television series ''Smallville'' * Colin Sullivan, a character in the film ''The Departed'', played by Matt Damon * Harry Sullivan (''Doctor Who''), from the British science f ...

's light operas and on

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known oper ...

theatre. He described this in ''The Gaiety Years'' a book about Gaiety Girls. He also wrote an important work on

Horatio Bottomley Horatio William Bottomley (23 March 1860 – 26 May 1933) was an English financier, journalist, editor, newspaper proprietor, swindler, and Member of Parliament. He is best known for his editorship of the popular magazine ''John Bull'', an ...

, the swindler. He had four children, the author

Miranda Miller Miranda Miller (born 23 September 1950) is an English novelist who has also published short stories and a book of interviews with homeless women and politicians. Biography She was born in London, the daughter of Alan Hyman and the youngest of four ...

, the artist Timothy Hyman, the Afghan scholar

Anthony Hyman Anthony Hyman (17 April 1946 – 19 December 1999) was a British academic, writer, broadcaster, and Islamicist. Anthony Hyman was a son of the author, journalist, and film writer Alan Hyman (1910–1999). His siblings were the author Mira ...

and Nicholas Hyman.

Filmography

* ''

Sunshine Suzie Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when t ...

'' * ''

Falling in Love Falling in love is the development of strong feelings of attachment and love, usually towards another person. The term is metaphorical, emphasizing that the process, like the physical act of falling, is sudden, uncontrollable and leaves the ...

'' (1935) (story) ... aka ''Trouble Ahead'' (USA) starring

Charles Farrell Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...

and

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...

* ''

'' (1936) * ''

'' (1937) * '' The Arsenal Stadium Mystery'' (1939) (adaptation) * ''

Bibliography

*''The Rise & Fall of Horatio Bottomley: The biography of a swindler'', Cassell, 1972. *''The Gaiety Years'', Cassell, 1975. *''Sullivan and his Satellites: A survey of English operettas 1860–1914'', Elm Tree Books, 1978.

References

Sources

* Repton School Register * Dustjacket notes to ''"The Gaiety Years"'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyman, Alan 1910 births 1999 deaths People educated at Repton School People educated at St Cyprian's School Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers English male screenwriters Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Burials at Brompton Cemetery