Niven Busch

Screenwriter

About

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Birth Place

New York City, New York, USA

Born

April 26, 1903

Died

August 25, 1991

Cause of Death

Heart Failure

Biography

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Best known for his screenplays for the Oscar-nominated "In Old Chicago" (1937; based on his novel "We the O'Learys") and "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946), Busch was also successful as a writer of psychological westerns, most notably "The Westerner" (1940), "Pursued" (1947), "Distant Drums" (1951) and "The Man from the Alamo" (1953). His 1944 novel "Duel in the Sun" was made into a...

Filmography

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955)

The Moonlighter (1953)

Story and Screenplay

The Man from the Alamo (1953)

Based on a Story by

Distant Drums (1951)

Distant Drums (1951)

From a story by

Photos & Videos

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Postman Always Rings Twice, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Get That Blonde Out Of My System

Till The End Of Time (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Silver Star Purple Heart

Family & Companions

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Sonia Frey

Wife

Married 1926, divorced 1934.

Teresa Wright

Wife

Actor. Married May 12, 1942, divorced 1952.

Carmencita Baker

Wife

Married March 14, 1956, divorced September 1969.

Suzanne Te Roller de Sanz

Wife

Married December 1973.

Notes

Busch was a regents professor at the University of California at Irvine (1971-75) and at San Siego (1974); he lectured at Berkeley (1977) and Princeton (1985) and was a Ferris Teaching Fellow at Princeton (1986)

Biography

Best known for his screenplays for the Oscar-nominated "In Old Chicago" (1937; based on his novel "We the O'Learys") and "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946), Busch was also successful as a writer of psychological westerns, most notably "The Westerner" (1940), "Pursued" (1947), "Distant Drums" (1951) and "The Man from the Alamo" (1953). His 1944 novel "Duel in the Sun" was made into an overwrought, lavish box-office success by King Vidor in 1947.

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

Writer (Feature Film)

The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955)

The Moonlighter (1953)

Story and Screenplay

The Man from the Alamo (1953)

Based on a Story by

Distant Drums (1951)

Distant Drums (1951)

From a story by

The Capture (1950)

Original Screenplay

Moss Rose (1947)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Belle Starr (1941)

The Westerner (1940)

Sailor's Lady (1940)

Contract Writer

Off the Record (1939)

The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)

In Old Chicago (1938)

Lady Tubbs (1935)

Contr to Screenplay const

Three Kids and a Queen (1935)

Contr to Screenplay const

The Big Shakedown (1934)

The Man with Two Faces (1934)

He Was Her Man (1934)

The Big Shakedown (1934)

College Coach (1933)

Story and Screenplay by

Scarlet Dawn (1932)

Miss Pinkerton (1932)

The Crowd Roars (1932)

Producer (Feature Film)

The Capture (1950)

Production Companies (Feature Film)

The Capture (1950)

Life Events

1925

Worked as associate editor of "Time" magazine

1930

First work published, "Twenty-One Americans"

1932

Wrote first screenplay "The Crowd Roars"

1941

First novel published, "The Carrington Incident"

1951

Left Hollywood for a ranch in Hollister, CA

Videos

Postman Always Rings Twice, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Get That Blonde Out Of My System The brief entire brilliant performance by Audrey Totter, herself usually the blonde, as Madge (the Anjelica Huston part in the 1982 Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange and Bob Rafelson remake), just the gal to distract John Garfield (as Frank) from wife Lana Turner (in her landmark performance as waitress, wife and murderous adulteress Cora), who’s left on the train to visit her ailing mother, Hume Cronyn their friendly lawyer, in The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946.

Till The End Of Time (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Silver Star Purple Heart Interesting contrast between actors, one known for sublime talent, the other for not acting, Robert Mitchum (as "Tabershaw") and Guy Madison (as "Harper"), being de-mobbed in Edward Dmytryk's Till The End Of Time, 1946.

Till The End Of Time (1946) -- (Movie Clip) I'm Driving You Home Nice scene by director Edward Dmytryk, soldier-come-home Cliff (Guy Madison) meets barkeep Scuffy (Harry von Zell), pal Pinky (Loren Tindall) and the forward war-widow Pat (Dorothy McGuire) in Till The End Of Time, 1946.

Till The End Of Time (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Some Super Ideas Soldier Cliff (Guy Madison) arrives home and meets the eager new girl next door with overpowering pigtails, Helen (Jean Porter, who would later marry the director) in Edward Dmytryk's Till The End Of Time, 1946.

Westerner, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) Justifiable Homicide Drifter Cole (Gary Cooper), just sentenced to hang as a horse thief by the ruthless unofficial judge and barkeep Roy Bean (Walter Brennan), plays the Lily Langtry card, early in the Samuel Goldwyn/William Wyler hit The Westerner, 1940.

Westerner, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) Law West Of The Pecos Director Williiam Wyler’s opening, with as much action as any part of the picture, with a prologue about Texas range wars and the introduction of Walter Brennan is his supporting-actor Academy Award-winning role, Trevor Burdette the villain/victim, in The Westerner, 1940, starring Gary Cooper.

Postman Always Rings Twice, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) The Original Plan Was Hers Rejoining Frank (John Garfield) and his narration from the James M. Cain novel, providing Cora (Lana Turner) with a bag of ball-bearings to whack her husband in the bathtub, arranging his accidental death, Tay Garnett directing, in The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946.

Duel In The Sun (1947) -- (Movie Clip) Right On About Your Business The famous and now much-derided seduction scene, as Lewt (Gregory Peck) returns to the ranch to find only Vashti (Butterfly McQueen) between himself and the fiery semi-servant Pearl (Jennifer Jones), producer David O. Selznick's hand much in evidence, in Duel In The Sun, 1947.

Duel In The Sun (1947) -- (Movie Clip) Can't You Ride Bareback? Treacherous ranch heir Lewt (Gregory Peck) taunts Pearl (Jennifer Jones), the sexy Mexican-Indian ward of his mother, into riding his horse bare-back, resulting in a raucous chase, with innuendo, in director King Vidor's provocative Duel in The Sun, 1947.

Duel In The Sun (1947) -- (Movie Clip) He Don't Want Me Mixed-race charity case Pearl (Jennifer Jones) at the Texas McCanles ranch, delivered by Jesse (Joseph Cotten), greeted by his mother Laura Belle (Lillian Gish), the Senator (Lionel Barrymore) and lustful brother Lewt (Gregory Peck) in Duel in the Sun, 1947.

In Old Chicago (1938) -- (Movie Clip) I Was Sane Enough Ambitious Dion O’Leary (Tyrone Power), flush from the race track, is enthralled by entertainer Belle (Alice Faye), at the saloon run by Warren (Brian Donlevy), so he leaps when she takes bids for a charity act, and isn’t easily discouraged, in 20th-Century Fox’s In Old Chicago, 1938.

In Old Chicago (1938) -- (Movie Clip) Mrs. O'Leary, Your Barn! October, 1871, and if you hadn’t realized, Alice Brady is named O’Leary for a reason, which becomes clear when her cow kicks over a lantern in the shed, the disaster begun, Tyrone Power her political operative son who thinks his brother the mayor is to blame, in In Old Chicago, 1938.

Man With Two Faces, The - (Original Trailer) Edward G. Robinson plays a ham actor in the film version of a George S. Kaufman - Alexander Wolcott play.

Westerner, The (1940) -- (Original Trailer) A drifter (Gary Cooper) accused of horse stealing faces off against the notorious Judge Roy Bean (Walter Brennan).

Miss Pinkerton - (Original Trailer) A private duty nurse (Joan Blondell) gets herself mixed up in a murder investigation in Miss Pinkerton (1932).

College Coach, The - (Original Trailer) Pat O'Brien may end up giving Ann Dvorak for the Gipper as The College Coach (1933) co-starring Dick Powell.

Big Shakedown, The - (Original Trailer) A racketeer (Ricardo Cortez) breaks into black-market medicine. Bette Davis co-stars in The Big Shakedown (1934).

Babbitt - (Original Trailer) Guy Kibbee is prefectly cast as Sinclair Lewis' small-town businessman, Babbitt (1934).

Angels Wash Their Faces, The -- (Original Trailer) Crusading district attorney Ronald Reagan helps the Dead End Kids when one of them is accused of arson.

Crowd Roars, The (1932) - (Original Trailer) James Cagney tries to keep floozy Joan Blondell away from his kid brother in Howard Hawks' racing drama The Crowd Roars (1932).

Off the Record - (Original Trailer) Joan Blondell stars as a reporter who adopts a delinquent her stories sent to jail in Off the Record (1939).

Scarlet Dawn - (Original Trailer) A Russian nobleman (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) escapes the revolution with the help of his adoring servant (Nancy Carroll) in Scarlet Dawn (1932).

Treasure of Pancho Villa, The - (Original Trailer) An American adventurer competes with the famed Mexcan bandit to recover a lost gold shipment in The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955) starring Rory Calhoun and Shelley Winters.

Postman Always Rings Twice, The (1946) - (Original Trailer) Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman's older husband in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946),starring Lana Turner and John Garfield.

Family

Briton Niven Busch

Father

Film executive. Was vice president of Lewis J. Selznick Enterprises.

Christine Busch

Mother

Peter Busch

Son

Briton Busch

Son

Terence Busch

Son

Mary Kelly

Daughter

Jerry Busch

Son

Joseph Busch

Son

Nicholas Busch

Son

Twin of Liza.

Liza Busch

Daughter

Twin of Nicholas.

Companions

Sonia Frey

Wife

Married 1926, divorced 1934.

Teresa Wright

Wife

Actor. Married May 12, 1942, divorced 1952.

Carmencita Baker

Wife

Married March 14, 1956, divorced September 1969.

Suzanne Te Roller de Sanz

Wife

Married December 1973.

Bibliography

Notes

Busch was a regents professor at the University of California at Irvine (1971-75) and at San Siego (1974); he lectured at Berkeley (1977) and Princeton (1985) and was a Ferris Teaching Fellow at Princeton (1986)

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