Nunnally Johnson

Screenwriter

About

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Birth Place

Columbus, Georgia, USA

Born

December 05, 1897

Died

March 25, 1977

Cause of Death

Pneumonia

Biography

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Though not consistently successful, Johnson's overall output clearly marks him as one of the best scenarists to work within the Hollywood system. Prolific and versatile, he wrote or co-wrote impressive American portraits ("Jesse James" 1939, "The Grapes of Wrath" 1940), urban thrillers ("The Woman in the Window" 1944) and tough action capers ("Flaming Star" 1960, "The Dirty Dozen" 1967),...

Filmography

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The Angel Wore Red (1960)

The Man Who Understood Women (1959)

Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957)

The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)

How To Be Very, Very Popular (1955)

Photos & Videos

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Grapes Of Wrath, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) Open, Homicide

Desert Fox, The (1951) -- (Movie Clip) Already A Legend

Family & Companions

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Dorris Bowdon

Wife

Actor. Married in 1940; played in "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940).

Bibliography

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"There Ought To Be A Law"

Nunnally Johnson (1930)

Biography

Though not consistently successful, Johnson's overall output clearly marks him as one of the best scenarists to work within the Hollywood system. Prolific and versatile, he wrote or co-wrote impressive American portraits ("Jesse James" 1939, "The Grapes of Wrath" 1940), urban thrillers ("The Woman in the Window" 1944) and tough action capers ("Flaming Star" 1960, "The Dirty Dozen" 1967), as well as a host of memorable comedies. His occasional attempts during the 1950s to direct his own screenplays were generally less successful, though he did well enough by "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (1956) and "The Three Faces of Eve" (1957). Johnson married actress Dorris Bowdon in 1940 and co-wrote the screenplay for "The World of Henry Orient" (1964) with his daughter Nora, author of the original novel.

Filmography

Director (Feature Film)

The Angel Wore Red (1960)

The Man Who Understood Women (1959)

Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957)

The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)

How To Be Very, Very Popular (1955)

Black Widow (1954)

Night People (1954)

Holy Matrimony (1943)

Fill-In Director

Cast (Feature Film)

The Big Show (1957)

Writer (Feature Film)

Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission (1985)

Characters As Source Material

Dark Mirror (1984)

From Screenplay ("Dark Mirror")

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

The World of Henry Orient (1964)

Take Her, She's Mine (1963)

Cleopatra (1963)

Screenplay cons for original production

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)

Flaming Star (1960)

The Angel Wore Red (1960)

The Man Who Understood Women (1959)

Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957)

The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)

How To Be Very, Very Popular (1955)

Black Widow (1954)

Night People (1954)

My Cousin Rachel (1953)

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)

We're Not Married! (1952)

O. Henry's Full House (1952)

Screenplay of "The Ransom of Red Chief"

The Desert Fox (1951)

The Long Dark Hall (1951)

The Mudlark (1950)

Three Came Home (1950)

Everybody Does It (1949)

Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948)

The Dark Mirror (1946)

Writ for the Screenplay by

The Keys of the Kingdom (1945)

Along Came Jones (1945)

Wrt for the Screenplay by

Casanova Brown (1944)

Written for Screen by

The Woman in the Window (1944)

Written for Screen by

Holy Matrimony (1943)

Written for Screen by

The Moon Is Down (1943)

Wrt for the Screenplay by

The Pied Piper (1942)

Written for Screen by

Roxie Hart (1942)

Written for Screen by

Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (1942)

Wrt for the Screenplay by

Moontide (1942)

Contract Writer

Tobacco Road (1941)

Scotland Yard (1941)

Contract Writer

Chad Hanna (1940)

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Wife, Husband and Friend (1939)

Jesse James (1939)

Original Screenplay

Rose of Washington Square (1939)

The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)

Banjo on My Knee (1936)

The Road to Glory (1936)

Contract Writer

Baby Face Harrington (1935)

Thanks a Million (1935)

The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (1935)

Cardinal Richelieu (1935)

Contract Writer

Moulin Rouge (1934)

The House of Rothschild (1934)

Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934)

Kid Millions (1934)

Original Screenplay and story

Moulin Rouge (1934)

Mama Loves Papa (1933)

A Bedtime Story (1933)

Producer (Feature Film)

The Man Who Understood Women (1959)

The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957)

How To Be Very, Very Popular (1955)

Black Widow (1954)

Night People (1954)

My Cousin Rachel (1953)

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

We're Not Married! (1952)

Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)

The Desert Fox (1951)

Three Came Home (1950)

The Mudlark (1950)

The Gunfighter (1950)

Everybody Does It (1949)

The Dark Mirror (1946)

Casanova Brown (1944)

The Woman in the Window (1944)

The Moon Is Down (1943)

Holy Matrimony (1943)

The Pied Piper (1942)

Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (1942)

Roxie Hart (1942)

Chad Hanna (1940)

Associate Producer

I Was an Adventuress (1940)

Associate Producer

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Associate Producer

Rose of Washington Square (1939)

Associate Producer

Wife, Husband and Friend (1939)

Associate Producer

Jesse James (1939)

Associate Producer

Slave Ship (1937)

Associate Producer

Nancy Steele Is Missing! (1937)

Associate Producer

Love Under Fire (1937)

Associate Producer

Café Metropole (1937)

Associate Producer

The Country Doctor (1936)

Associate Producer

The Road to Glory (1936)

Associate Producer

Banjo on My Knee (1936)

Associate Producer

Associate Producer

The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)

Associate Producer

The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (1935)

Associate Producer

Music (Feature Film)

The Pied Piper (1942)

Production Companies (Feature Film)

The Senator Was Indiscreet (1948)

Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948)

Casanova Brown (1944)

Writer (Special)

Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (2001)

Special Thanks (Special)

Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (2001)

Life Events

1927

Made feature debut (uncredited), co-wrote the screenplay for Frank Capra's "For the Love of Mike"

1931

Official screenwriting debut, also from story, "It Ought to Be a Crime"

1935

First feature as associate producer, also credited for his screenplay, "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo"

1937

Produced, "Cafe Metropole"

1943

Formed International Pictures; later absorbed by Universal

1950

TV debut as a writer on "Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theater"

1954

Feature directorial debut, also wrote and produced, "Night People"

1958

Received credit for the TV series, "How to Marry a Millionaire", from his screenplay of the same title

1959

Produced final feature, also wrote and directed, "The Man Who Understood Women"

1960

Final feature as director, also credited for screenplay, "The Angel Wore Red"

1963

Served as a script consultant for the initial shooting of "Cleopatra"

1967

Final feature, wrote the screenplay for "The Dirty Dozen"

Videos

Grapes Of Wrath, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) Open, Homicide John Ford and Darryl F. Zanuck delivering the John Steinbeck novel with full force, opening credits and Henry Fonda appears in the dust bowl as Tom Joad, just tolerating a supercilious trucker (Irving Bacon), in the Best Picture-nominated The Grapes Of Wrath, 1940.

Desert Fox, The (1951) -- (Movie Clip) Already A Legend Michael Rennie is narrating but it's the author of the original book Desmond Young playing himself, in this scene introducing Erwin Rommel (James Mason), the title character, in Henry Hathaway's The Desert Fox, 1951.

O. Henry's Full House (1952) -- (Movie Clip) The Ransom Of Red Chief Droll Alabamians Kathleen Freeman and Irving Bacon are little moved when their son (Lee Aaker) is kidnapped by bumbling Yankee interlopers Sam Brown (Fred Allen) and William Smith (Oscar Levant), who hope to turn a quick profit, Howard Hawks directing, in the literary anthology O. Henry’s Full House, 1952.

Woman In The Window, The (1944) -- (Movie Clip) Thanks For The Dime Having committed no offense but justifiable homicide, Professor Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) leaves Joan Bennett (title character) with the body of her sponsor, flees New York to the north, and encounters a toll collector (Joe Devlin), Fritz Lang making it more than tense, in The Woman In The Window, 1944.

Woman In The Window, The (1944) -- (Movie Clip) Some Psychological Aspects Of Homicide Opening doesn’t seem for a moment incidental, establishing Edward G. Robinson as composed professor Wanley, Dorothy Peterson his wife departing for the summer with the kids, Raymond Massey and Edmond Breon as his friendly colleagues, and a portrait of Joan Bennett, in Fritz Lang’s chilling The Woman In The Window, 1944.

Phone Call From A Stranger (1952) -- (Movie Clip) You're All Married Binky (top-billed Shelley Winters), nervous about the weather before her first airplane flight, makes a second approach to Gary Merrill, whom we know is leaving his wife and traveling under an assumed name, when they’re joined by Keenan Wynn and Michael Rennie, with extensive exposition, in Jean Negulesco’s Phone Call From A Stranger, 1952, produced and written by Nunnally Johnson from an I.A.R. Wylie novelette.

Phone Call From A Stranger (1952) -- (Movie Clip) He's Had A Great Deal To Drink In his flashback to events pre-dating the airline flight by about seven years, Michael Rennie as Dr. Fortness (Michael Rennie) shouldn’t be driving, his wife (Beatrice Straight) and colleague Dr. Brooks (Hugh Beaumont) trying to intervene, in Phone Call From A Stranger, 1952.

Phone Call From A Stranger (1952) -- (Movie Clip) Even Though You're Still In Love With Her? Gary Merrill as lawyer Trask visits Bette Davis (Mrs. Merrill, at the time) as Marie, last of the next-of-kin of his fellow travelers who didn’t survive the airline crash, surprised she isn’t the swimsuit ingenue from the photograph her boorish husband showed, in Phone Call From A Stranger, 1952, from an I.A.R. Wylie story.

Three Faces Of Eve, The (1957) -- (Movie Clip) Opening, Introduction Opening credits and the most dignified introduction by Alistair Cooke from Nunnally Johnson's The Three Faces of Eve, starring Academy Award-winner Joanne Woodward, Lee J. Cobb and David Wayne.

Three Faces Of Eve, The (1957) -- (Movie Clip) On Your Way To Hollywood Georgian Ralph White (David Wayne) discovers some gaudy wardrobe purchases and confronts his wife (Joanne Woodward, title character), early in Nunnally Johnson's The Three Faces of Eve, 1957.

Angel Wore Red, The (1960) -- (Movie Clip) The War Is On! Reporter Hawthorne (Joseph Cotten) is pleased to tell his editor that war has come to his nameless Spanish city, Soledad (Ava Gardner) makes her first appearance, with newly-ex priest Aturo (Dirk Bogarde), while his superiors (Finlay Currie, Aldo Fabrizi) make emergency plans, in The Angel Wore Red, 1960.

How To Marry A Millionaire -- (Movie Clip) Those Income Tax People Director Jean Negulesco beginning with slick shots of Manhattan, landing in Midtown East at Sutton Place, equally sharp Lauren Bacall (as "Schatze") confers with the rental agent (Percy Helton), in How To Marry A Millionaire, 1953, also starring Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe.

Gunfighter, The - (Re-issue Trailer) The fastest gun in the West (Gregory Peck) tries to escape his reputation in The Gunfighter (1950).

Night People - (Original Trailer) Communists kidnap a U.S. officer (Gregory Peck) in cold war Berlin in Night People (1954).

Grapes of Wrath, The - (Original Trailer) Henry Fonda stars in John Ford's movie version of the John Steinbeck novel about Depression-era migrants, The Grapes of Wrath (1940).

Dirty Dozen, The - (Original Trailer) A renegade officer trains a group of misfits for a crucial mission behind enemy lines in The Dirty Dozen (1967) starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown.

How to Marry a Millionaire - (Original Trailer) Three models pool their resources to rent a posh penthouse in hopes of snaring rich husbands in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) starring Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe & Betty Grable.

Baby Face Harrington - (Original Trailer) A milquetoast has to fight off cops and gangsters when he's mistaken for the notorious Baby Face Harrington (1935).

O. Henry's Full House - (Original Trailer) Five stories reveal O. Henry's gift for the surprise ending with the help of five directors and a host of stars in O. Henry's Full House (1952).

Along Came Jones -- (Original Trailer) Gary Cooper spoofs his screen image playing a mild-mannered cowboy who is mistaken for a notorious outlaw in Along Came Jones (1945).

Woman in the Window, The - (Original Trailer) Joan Bennett gets innocent professor Edward G. Robinson mixed up in murder in Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Window (1944).

Rose of Washington Square - (Re-issue Trailer) A singer (Alice Faye) struggles to keep her criminal boyfriend (Tyrone Power) from trouble in Rose of Washington Square (1939).

Roxie Hart - (Original teaser trailer) To try and kick-start her show-business career, a woman (Ginger Rogers) admits to a Chicago murder in Roxie Hart (1942).

Take Her, She's Mine - (Original Trailer) James Stewart attempts to protect his college-age daughter from trouble which leads to scandal in Take Her, She's Mine (1963).

Family

Marjorie Fowler

Daughter

Editor.

Nora Johnson

Daughter

Author. Wrote novel "The World of Henry Orient" and co-wrote, with father, the screenplay.

Scott Johnson

Son

Scenic and lighting designer.

Gene Fowler Jr

Son-In-Law

Editor.

Companions

Dorris Bowdon

Wife

Actor. Married in 1940; played in "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940).

Bibliography

"There Ought To Be A Law"

Nunnally Johnson (1930)

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