Kenneth Casey Robinson (October 17, 1903 – December 6, 1979) was an American producer and director of mostly

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

s and a screenwriter responsible for some of

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

' most revered films. Film critic

Richard Corliss Richard Nelson Corliss (March 6, 1944 – April 23, 2015) was an American film critic and magazine editor for ''Time''. He focused on movies, with occasional articles on other subjects. He was the former editor-in-chief of ''Film Comment ...

once described him as "the master of the art – or craft – of adaptation."

Life and career

Born in

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

, the son of a

Brigham Young College Brigham Young College was a college and high school in Logan, Utah. It was founded by Brigham Young on 6 August 1877, 23 days before his death. He deeded several acres of land to a board of trustees for the development of a college. This was j ...

music/drama instructor, Robinson graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

at the age of 19 and briefly taught English before turning to journalism. In 1927, he began his Hollywood career writing the titles for

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...

s. He graduated to directing in the early 1930s, but after six films he abandoned that field in order to concentrate on writing. The films with Davis included ''

It's Love I'm After ''It's Love I'm After'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland. Based on the story "Gentlemen After Midnight" by Maurice Hanline, with a screenplay by Cas ...

'', ''

Dark Victory ''Dark Victory'' is a 1939 American melodrama film directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Bette Davis, and featuring George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Henry Travers, and Cora Witherspoon. The screenplay by Casey ...

'', '' The Old Maid'', '' All This, and Heaven Too'', ''

Now, Voyager ''Now, Voyager'' is a 1942 American drama (film and television), drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Oli ...

'', and ''

The Corn Is Green ''The Corn Is Green'' is a 1938 semi-autobiographical play by Welsh dramatist and actor Emlyn Williams. The play premiered in London at the Duchess Theatre in September 1938; with Sybil Thorndike as Miss Moffat and Williams himself portraying Mo ...

''. Robinson's production credits include '' Days of Glory'', '' Under My Skin'', and '' Two Flags West'', all of which he scripted as well. He also worked on three weeks of re-writes for

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

, but was uncredited. In 1935, Robinson was a write-in candidate for what was then called the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay for his work on '' Captain Blood''. After spending the better part of the 1930s and the early 1940s working at

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, Robinson moved to

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

in the mid-'40s, then to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

in the 1950s. He retired in 1962 and eventually emigrated to Sydney, Australia (his wife was Australian). While in Sydney he came out of retirement to write and produce '' Scobie Malone'', in 1975. His second wife was prima ballerina

Tamara Toumanova Tamara Toumanova ( ka, თამარა თუმანოვა; 2 March 1919 – 29 May 1996) was a Russian-born Georgian-American prima ballerina and actress. A child of exiles in Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, she made her ...

; they were wed from 1944 until their divorce in 1955. He died in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia in 1979, aged 76.

Selected filmography

*'' Bare Knees'' (1928) *'' Out of the Ruins'' (1928) *'' The Head of the Family'' (1928) *'' Companionate Marriage'' (1928) *'' United States Smith'' (1928) * ''

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

'' (1929) *'' The Squealer'' (1930) *'' The Last Parade'' (1931) *'' Renegades of the West'' (1932) *'' I Found Stella Parish'' (1935) *'' Captain Blood'' (1935) *''

'' (1937) *'' Tovarich'' (1937) *''

Four's a Crowd ''Four's a Crowd'' is a 1938 American screwball comedy, screwball comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell and Patric Knowles. The picture was written by Casey Robinson and Sig Herzig fr ...

'' (1938) *''

'' (1939) *'' The Old Maid'' (1939) *'' All This, and Heaven Too'' (1940) *''

One Foot in Heaven ''One Foot in Heaven'' is a 1941 American biographical drama film directed by Irving Rapper and starring Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi, Gene Lockhart and Elisabeth Fraser. The film was adapted by Casey Robinson from the autobi ...

'' (1941) *''

Kings Row ''Kings Row'' is a 1942 film starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan and Betty Field that tells a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth century. The picture was directed by Sam Woo ...

'' (1942) *''

This Is the Army ''This Is the Army'' is a 1943 American wartime musical film, musical comedy film produced by Jack L. Warner and Hal B. Wallis and directed by Michael Curtiz, adapted from This Is the Army (musical), the wartime stage musical of the same name, d ...

'' (1943) *''

Passage to Marseille ''Passage to Marseille'', also known as ''Message to Marseille'', is a 1944 American war film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay was by Casey Robinson and Jack Moffitt (screenwriter), Jack Moffitt from the novel ...

'' (1944) *'' The Racket Man'' (1944) *'' Days of Glory'' (1944) (also producer) *''

'' (1945) *'' Father Was a Fullback'' (1949) *'' The Snows of Kilimanjaro'' (1952) *'' The Egyptian'' (1954) *'' While the City Sleeps'' (1956) *'' Scobie Malone'' (1975) (also producer)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Casey 1903 births 1979 deaths Writers from Logan, Utah American male screenwriters American film producers Cornell University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Film directors from Utah Screenwriters from Utah American emigrants to Australia 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters