Victor Eugene Heerman (August 27, 1893 – November 3, 1977) was an English-American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

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

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

.Vazzana, Eugene Michael (2001). ''Silent Film Necrology.'' McFarland, After writing and directing short comedies for

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in th ...

, Heerman teamed with his wife Sarah Y. Mason to win the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, music ...

Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel '' Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels '' Little Men'' (1871) and '' Jo's Boys'' (1886). Raised ...

's novel '' Little Women'' in 1933. He directed the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AF ...

' second film, '' Animal Crackers'', in 1930. He and Mason were the first screenwriters involved in early, never-produced scripts commissioned for what would become MGM's ''

Pride and Prejudice (1940 film) ''Pride and Prejudice'' is a 1940 American film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'', starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, the screenplay was written by Aldous Huxley and Jane Mur ...

''.

Life and career

As director

*'' She Loved a Sailor'' (1916, short) *''

Are Waitresses Safe? Are Waitresses Safe? is a 1917 silent film short comedy starring Louise Fazenda and Ben Turpin. It was produced by Mack Sennett. The film was possibly rereleased in 1923. The film is preserved in the Library of Congress.''Catalog of Holdings The A ...

'': 1917, short) *''

A Maiden's Trust A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'': (1917, short) *'' Pinched in the Finish'': 1917, short) *'' Stars and Bars'': (1917, short) *'' Watch Your Neighbor'' (1918, short) *''

His Naughty Wife His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International Schoo ...

'' (1919, short) *''

Chicken à la Cabaret The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an ad ...

'' (1920, short) *'' The River's End'' (1920) *'' Don't Ever Marry'' (1920) *'' The Poor Simp'' (1920) *'' My Boy'' (1921) *'' The Chicken in the Case'' (1921) * '' A Divorce of Convenience'' (1921) *''

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

'' (1922) *'' Love Is an Awful Thing'' (1922) *'' Modern Marriage'' (1923) *''

Rupert of Hentzau ''Rupert of Hentzau'' is a sequel by Anthony Hope to ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', written in 1895 but not published in book form until 1898. The novel was serialized in ''The Pall Mall Magazine'' and ''McClure's Magazine'' from December 1897 thr ...

'' (1923) *'' The Dangerous Maid'' (1923) *'' The Confidence Man'' (1924) *''

Old Home Week Old Home Week or Old Home Day is a practice that originated in the New England region of the United States similar to a harvest holiday or festival. In its beginning in the 19th–20th century it involved a municipal effort to invite former res ...

'' (1925) *'' Irish Luck'' (1925) *'' For Wives Only'' (1926) *''

Rubber Heels ''Rubber Heels'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. It stars stage comedian Ed Wynn in his first motion picture.''The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: ...

'' (1927) *'' Ladies Must Dress'' (1927) *''

Love Hungry ''Love Hungry'' is a 1928 American comedy film directed by Victor Heerman and written by Randall Faye and Frances Agnew. The film stars Lois Moran, Lawrence Gray, Marjorie Beebe, Edythe Chapman, James Neill and John Patrick. The film was re ...

'' (1928) *''

Paramount on Parade ''Paramount on Parade'' is a 1930 all-star American pre-Code revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Lothar Mendes, ...

'': (1930, sequence director) *''

Personality Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, mos ...

'' (1930) *'' Animal Crackers'' (1930) *''

Sea Legs ''Sea Legs'' is an American musical with music by Michael H. Cleary and lyrics by Arthur Swanstrom. The musical book by Swanstrom is based on the play ''The Cat Came Back'' by Laurence E. Johnson, Beula King, and Avery Hopwood. Produced by Albe ...

'' (1930) *''

The Stolen Jools ''The Stolen Jools'' is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy short produced by the Masquers Club of Hollywood, featuring many cameo appearances by film stars of the day. The stars appeared in the film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, to raise fun ...

'': (1931, short)

As writer

*'' Magnificent Obsession'': 1954 (based upon the screenplay by) *'' Little Women'': 1949 (screenplay) *'' Meet Me in St. Louis'': 1944 (uncredited) *'' A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob'': 1941 (uncredited) *''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'': 1940 (uncredited) *'' Golden Boy'': 1939 (screenplay) *'' Stella Dallas'': 1937 (screenplay) *'' Magnificent Obsession'': 1935 (screenplay) *'' Break of Hearts'': 1935 (screenplay) *'' The Little Minister'': 1934 (screenplay) *''

Imitation of Life Imitation (from Latin ''imitatio'', "a copying, imitation") is a behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. Imitation is also a form of that leads to the "development of traditions, and ultimately our culture. I ...

'': 1934 (uncredited) *''

The Age of Innocence ''The Age of Innocence'' is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine '' Pictorial Review''. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. Ap ...

'': 1934 (screenplay) *'' Little Women'': 1933 (screenplay) *''

'': 1930 *''

'': 1928 (story) *'' Ladies Must Dress'': 1927 (story) *'' Modern Matrimony'': 1923 (story) *'' Love Is an Awful Thing'': 1922 *''

'': 1922 (story) *'' My Boy'': 1921 *'' A Divorce of Convenience'':, 1921 (story) *'' The Chicken in the Case'': 1921 (story)

References

External links

* * * 1893 births 1977 deaths English film directors English male screenwriters English film producers Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English businesspeople {{screenwriter-stub