Paul Edward Dehn ( ; 5 November 1912 – 30 September 1976) was an English screenwriter, best known for '' Goldfinger'', ''

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold ''The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' is a 1963 Cold War spy fiction, spy novel by the British author John le Carré. It depicts Alec Leamas, a United Kingdom, British intelligence officer, being sent to East Germany as a faux Defection, defect ...

'', ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...

'' 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 life 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''.

Biography and work

Dehn was born in 1912 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

, and attended

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

. While at Oxford, he contributed film reviews to weekly undergraduate papers. 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 b ...

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

, he was stationed at Camp X in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

to train spies and special forces teams. According to the British writer and former spy

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophist ...

, Dehn worked in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) as an assassin during

. 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 Olympia (Par ...

'' (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 film '' Seven Days to Noon'' (1950). Through the 1960s, Dehn concentrated on screenwriting for espionage films, including '' Goldfinger'' (1964), ''

'' (1965), and '' The Deadly Affair'' (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 A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

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 Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley CBE (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James ...

; ''

A Dinner Engagement ''A Dinner Engagement'' is a one-act comic opera by Lennox Berkeley, (his opus number, Op. 45) to a libretto by Paul Dehn. The opera was written for Benjamin Britten's English Opera Group. It premiered at the Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, in ...

'' and ''Castaway''. His last screenplay was for

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

's all-star ''

'' (1974), based on the

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

whodunit A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal ...

, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He was working on adapting ''Evil Under the Sun'' when he died. 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

* '' Seven Days to Noon'' (1950) * '' Waters of Time'' (1951) (documentary) * '' On Such a Night'' (1956) * '' Orders to Kill'' (1958) *'' ITV Play of the Week'' - 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) * ''

'' (1965) * '' The Deadly Affair'' (1967) *'' The Night of the Generals'' (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 drunke ...

'' (1967) * '' Beryl Reid Says Good Evening'' (1968) * '' Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' (1970) * '' Fragment of Fear'' (1970) - also associate producer * '' Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' (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. The film is the sequel to '' Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' (1971) and the fourth installment in the ori ...

'' (1972) * '' Battle for the Planet of the Apes'' (1973) * ''

'' (1974)

Awards and nominations

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 ...

for ' Writing, (Motion Picture Story)', 1952 for ''Seven Days to Noon'' *

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

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 which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

for Best American Film, 1965 *

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

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 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 English LGBTQ people