Edward Anhalt (March 28, 1914 – September 3, 2000) was an American screenwriter, producer, and documentary filmmaker. After working as a journalist and documentary filmmaker for

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

and CBS-TV, he teamed with his wife Edna Anhalt, one of his five wives, during World War II to write

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

. As a screenwriter, Anhalt won two Academy Awards: He shared the Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story with his wife Edna Anhalt for '' Panic in the Streets'' (1950) and a second Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for '' Becket'' (1964).

Early life and education

Anhalt was born in New York City. He began writing at the age of 15, with his first play being '' On the Rocks: A Political Comedy'' by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

. He got criticized by Shaw for messing with his work, and went to attend Columbia and Princeton universities instead.

Career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Anhalt served with the Army Air Force's First Motion Picture Unit in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

as a scenarist for training films. After the war, Anhalt graduated to writing screenplays for thrillers, initially using the joint pseudonym Andrew Holt. The works by him and his wife, Edna Anhalt had attracted Hollywood, and they moved from New York to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he made his first screenwriting debut in 1946 with '' Strange Voyage''. Put under contract by Columbia, the Anhalts scripted '' Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back'' (1947). After a stint at

Twentieth 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 ...

during which they won the Academy Award for Best Story for the screen story to the urban thriller '' Panic in the Streets'' (1950), the husband and wife team returned to Columbia as writer-producers, earning another

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination for their story to the thriller '' The Sniper'' in 1952. The Anhalts wrote the 1952 screen version of

Carson McCullers Carson McCullers (February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits ...

' ''

The Member of the Wedding ''The Member of the Wedding'' is a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers. It took McCullers five years to complete, although she interrupted the work for a few months to write the novella '' The Ballad of the Sad Café''.McDowell, Mar ...

'', which preserved the stage performances of Julie Harris,

Brandon deWilde Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theatre, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway theater, Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon b ...

and

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

. After the couple divorced, Anhalt proved a versatile, consistently effective (and reputedly speedy) scenarist. He penned the adaptation of Irwin Shaw's World War II novel '' The Young Lions'' (1958) and '' Wives and Lovers'' (1963). The screenwriter earned a second Academy Award for his adaptation of

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

's play '' Becket'' (1964). Subsequent solo outings included '' Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962), '' The Boston Strangler'' (1968), ''

The Madwoman of Chaillot ''The Madwoman of Chaillot'' (, ) is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play is in two acts. The story concerns an eccentric woman who lives in Paris and ...

'' (1969), and two for Ely A. Landau's American Film Theater, '' Luther'' (1973) and '' The Man in the Glass Booth'' (1975). He had box office successes with '' The Satan Bug'' (1965) and '' Jeremiah Johnson'' (1972). In the early 1970s, Anhalt returned to the small screen, earning an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nomination for the ABC

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' QB VII'' (1974). Three years later, he scripted the

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

vehicle '' Contract on Cherry Street'' ( NBC) and contributed to the small screen remake of '' Madame X'' (NBC, 1981) and the biblically inspired '' The Day Christ Died'' (CBS, 1982). Anhalt was also the guiding force behind the 1985 NBC miniseries ''

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

''. His feature film output towards the end of his life included films like '' Escape to Athena'' (1979), '' Green Ice'' (1981), '' The Holcroft Covenant'' (1985) and '' The Neon Empire''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anhalt, Edward 1914 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American documentary filmmakers American male screenwriters Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Story Academy Award winners Columbia University alumni Film producers from New York (state) First Motion Picture Unit personnel Military personnel from New York City Military personnel from New York (state) Princeton University alumni United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Screenwriters from New York City