Editing Ben Hecht (section)

==Notable screenplays==
;''Underworld'' (1927)
[[Underworld (1927 film)|''Underworld'']] was the story of a petty hoodlum with political pull; it was based on a real Chicago gangster Hecht knew. "The film began the gangster film genre that became popular in the early 1930s.".<ref name=Clark/> It and ''Scarface'' were "the alpha and omega of Hollywood's first gangster craze".<ref name=Corliss/>{{rp|6}} In it, he "manages both to congratulate journalism for its importance and to chastise it for its chicanery, by underlining the newspapers' complicity in promoting the underworld image".<ref name=Corliss/>{{rp|10}}

{{blockquote|Like so many of his films, ''Underworld'' and ''Scarface'' are "stories" that ace-reporter Hecht loved to cover, as much for the larger-than-life qualities of his headliners as for the enormity of their crimes. Love-hate&nbsp;... fascination-revulsion&nbsp;... exposé-glorification&nbsp;... these are the polarities that make Hecht's best films deliciously ambiguous.<ref name=Corliss/>{{rp|6}}}}
 
{{blockquote|Hecht's introduction, which is nothing if not moody and Sandburgian, describes "A great city in the dead of night – streets lonely, moon-flooded – buildings empty as the cliff-dwellings of a forgotten age."<ref name=Corliss/>{{rp|6}}}}

Hecht was noted for confronting producers and directors when he wasn't satisfied with the way they used his scripts. For this film, at one point he demanded that its director, [[Josef von Sternberg]], remove his name from the credits since Sternberg unilaterally changed one scene. Afterward, however, he relented and took credit for the film's story, which went on to win the [[Academy Award]] for [[Best Original Screenplay]] – the first year the awards were presented.<ref name=Clark/><ref name=chicago>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ben-hecht-at-the-first-oscars-ae-0228-20160225-column.html "Remembering Ben Hecht, the first Oscar winner for original screenplay"], ''Chicago Tribune'', February 25, 2016</ref>

;''The Front Page'' (1931)
After contributing to the original stories for a number of films, he worked without credit on the first film version of his original 1928 play [[The Front Page (1931 film)|''The Front Page'']]. It was produced by [[Howard Hughes]] and directed by [[Lewis Milestone]] in 1931. James Harvey writes,

{{blockquote |it is Hecht and MacArthur's Chicago&nbsp;... that counts most deeply in the imagination of Hollywood. And their play, the first of the great newspaper comedies, did more to define the tone and style, the look and the sound of Hollywood comedy than any other work of its time.<ref name=Harvey/>{{rp|86}}}}

Of the original play, theater producer and writer [[Jed Harris]] writes,

{{blockquote|here is a play which reflects miraculously the real as well as the literary personalities of the playwrights. Every line of it glows with a demoniacal humor, sordid, insolent, and mischievous to the point of downright perversity, in which one instantly recognizes the heroic comic spirit of its authors&nbsp;... Both Hecht and MacArthur owe their literary origins to the newspapers of Chicago. Famous crime reporters, their talents were first cradled in the recounting of great exploits in arson, rape, murder, gang war, and municipal politics. Out of a welter of jailbreaks, hangings, floods, and whore-house raidings, they have gathered the rich, savory characters who disport themselves on the stage to Times Square Theatre.<ref>Harris, Jed, ''The Front Page: From Theater to Reality'' (Introduction), (2002) Smith & Kraus Publishing Inc.</ref>}}

;''Scarface'' (1932)
After ushering in the beginning of the gangster films with ''Underworld'', his next film became one of the best films of that genre. [[Scarface (1932 film)|''Scarface'']] was directed by [[Howard Hawks]], with "Hecht the wordsmith and Hawks the engineer",<ref name=Corliss/>{{rp|8}} who became "one of the few directors with whom Hecht enjoyed working".<ref name=Clark/> It starred [[Paul Muni]] playing the role of an [[Al Capone]]-like gangster. "''Scarface's'' all-but-suffocating vitality is a kind of cinematic version of tabloid prose at its best."<ref name=Corliss/>{{rp|10}}

The story of how ''Scarface'' came to be written represents Hecht's writing style in those days. Film historian Max Wilk interviewed Leyland Hayward, an independent literary agent, who, in 1931, managed to convince Hecht that a young oil tycoon in Texas named [[Howard Hughes]] wanted him to write the screenplay to his first book. Hayward wrote about that period:

{{blockquote|So I went back to Hughes, and told him I'd been able to persuade Hecht to do his script; I told him Ben's terms, – $1,000 per day – and Howard didn't blink an eye. He nodded, and said, 'Okay-it's a deal. But you tell Hecht I want a real tough shoot-'em-up script that'll knock the audience out of its seats, okay?'<ref name=Wilk>Wilk, Max. "Schmucks with Underwoods: Conversations with Hollywood's Classic Screenwriters", Hal Leonard Corp. (2004)</ref>}}

{{blockquote|"So Ben went to work", added Hayward. Hayward was to receive 10% of Hecht's fees as his commission. "He was a hell of a fast writer – sometimes too fast. I didn't even know how fast he could go&nbsp;... At the end of the first day, I went back to Ben's house. There he was, typing away&nbsp;... I said, 'Ben – please slow down.' Over the next few days, 'while watching the accumulated pages of Hecht's script growing higher and higher, 'I couldn't slow the guy down!', sighed Hayward, who only made his commission for each day Hecht worked.

I came by his home the next day&nbsp;... 'I've got an idea. I'm going to finish this damn thing tomorrow', Ben told me. 'Ben—for God's sake!', I said. 'Can't you slow down a little? Hughes isn't interested in you setting some sort of a speed record for writing!'

But it was as if young Hayward had set out to flag down an army tank. Nothing stopped Hecht. On the night of the ninth day, Hayward arrived with his daily payment from Hughes, to find Hecht lounging in a chair, enjoying a highball.

Hecht waved at his stack of manuscript. 'Done', he announced. 'Finished the damn thing'.

Nine thousand dollars – for the screenplay of ''Scarface?'' sighed Hayward.&nbsp;... Hughes was tickled with Ben's script; he showed it to [[Howard Hawks]]. Hawks loved it, and then they picked up this wonderful young actor from New York, [[Paul Muni]], to play the lead. The picture went out and cleaned up – made a bundle for Hughes&nbsp;... And if old Ben really outsmarted himself on that one&nbsp;... he didn't care. He was on to something else. Ben was always on to something else."<ref name=Wilk/>}}

;''Twentieth Century'' (1934)
For his next film, [[Twentieth Century (film)|''Twentieth Century'']], he wrote the screenplay in collaboration with [[Charles MacArthur]] as an adaptation of their original play from 1932. It was directed by Howard Hawks, and starred [[John Barrymore]] and [[Carole Lombard]]. It is a comedy about a Broadway producer who was losing his leading lady to the seductive Hollywood film industry, and will do anything to win her back.

It is "a fast-paced, witty film that contains the rapid-fire dialogue for which Hecht became famous. It is one of the first, and finest, of the [[screwball comedies]] of the 1930s."<ref name=Clark/>

;''Viva Villa!'' (1934)
This was the story about Mexican rebel, [[Pancho Villa]], who takes to the hills after killing an overseer in revenge for his father's death. It was directed by Howard Hawks and starred [[Wallace Beery]]. Although the movie took liberties with the facts, it became a great success, and Hecht received an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation.

In a letter from the film's producer, [[David O. Selznick]], to studio head [[Louis B. Mayer]], Selznick discussed the need for a script rewrite:<ref name=Selznick/>{{rp|70}}

{{blockquote|I have arranged with Ben Hecht to do the final script of ''Viva Villa!''&nbsp;... On the quality, we are protected not merely by Hecht's ability, but by the clause that the work must be to my satisfaction. It may seem like a short space of time for a man to do a complete new script, but Hecht is famous for his speed, and did the entire job on ''Scarface'' in eleven days.}}

;''Barbary Coast'' (1935)
[[Barbary Coast (film)|''Barbary Coast'']] was also directed by Howard Hawks and starred [[Miriam Hopkins]] and [[Edward G. Robinson]]. The film takes place in late nineteenth century San Francisco with Hopkins playing the role of a dance-hall girl up against Robinson, who runs the town.

;The Scoundrel (1935)
Hecht and Macarthur left Hollywood and went back to New York where they wrote produced and co-directed "The Scoundrel" marking the American film debut of Noël Coward. Reminiscent of Molnar's "Liliom", the movie won the Academy Award for Best Original Story.

;''Nothing Sacred'' (1938)
[[Nothing Sacred (film)|''Nothing Sacred'']] became Hecht's first project after he and Charles MacArthur closed their failing film company, which they started in 1934. The film was adapted from his play, ''Hazel Flagg'', and starred Carole Lombard as a small-town girl diagnosed with [[radiation poisoning|radium poisoning]]. "A reporter makes her case a cause for his newspaper." The story "allowed Hecht to work with one of his favorite themes, hypocrisy (especially among journalists); he took the themes of lying, decadence, and immorality, and made them into a sophisticated screwball comedy".<ref name=Clark/>

;''Gunga Din'' (1939)
[[Gunga Din (film)|''Gunga Din'']] was co-written with Charles MacArthur, and became "one of Hollywood's greatest action-adventure films".<ref name=Clark/> The screenplay was based on the poem by [[Rudyard Kipling]], directed by [[George Stevens]] and starred [[Cary Grant]] and [[Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.]] In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the [[United States Library of Congress]].

;''Wuthering Heights'' (1939)
After working without credit on [[Gone with the Wind (film)|''Gone with the Wind'']] in 1939, he co-wrote (with Charles MacArthur) an adaptation of [[Emily Brontë]]'s novel, [[Wuthering Heights (1939 film)|''Wuthering Heights'']]. Although the screenplay was cut off at the story's half-way point, as it was considered too long, it was nominated for an Academy Award.<ref name=Clark/>

;''It's a Wonderful World'' (1939)
Movie historian James Harvey notes that in some respects ''It's a Wonderful World'' is an even more accomplished film – the comedy counterpart to the supremely assured and high-spirited work Van Dyke had accomplished with ''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]'' (1936). "Ben Hecht, another speed specialist, wrote the screenplay (from a story by Hecht and Herman Mankiewicz); it's in his ''Front Page'' vein, with admixtures of ''[[It Happened One Night]]'' and ''[[Bringing Up Baby]]'', as well as surprising adumbrations of the nineteen-forties private-eye film."<ref name=Harvey/>{{rp|335}}

;''Angels Over Broadway'' (1940)
''[[Angels Over Broadway]]'' was one of only two movies he directed, produced, and wrote originally for film, the other was ''[[Specter of the Rose]]'' (1946). Angels Over Broadway was considered "one of his most personal works".<ref name=Corliss/>{{rp|21}} It starred [[Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.]] and [[Rita Hayworth]] and was nominated for an Academy Award. "The dialogue as well as the script's descriptive passages are chock full of brittle Hechtian [[simile]]s that sparkle on the page, but turn leaden when delivered. Hecht was an endlessly articulate raconteur. In his novels and memoirs, articulation dominates".<ref name=Corliss/>{{rp|19}}

In the script, he experimented with "reflections of life – as if a ghost were drifting in the rain". These "reflections" of sidewalks, bridges, glass, and neon make the film a visual prototype of the nineteen-forties ''[[film noir]]''.<ref name=Corliss/>{{rp|21}}

;Alfred Hitchcock's ''Spellbound'' (1945) and ''Notorious'' (1946)
For [[Alfred Hitchcock]] he wrote a number of his best psycho-dramas and received his final Academy Award nomination for [[Notorious (1946 film)|''Notorious'']]. He also worked without credit on Hitchcock's next two films, ''[[The Paradine Case]]'' (1947) and ''[[Rope (film)|Rope]]'' (1948). [[Spellbound (1945 film)|''Spellbound'']], the first time Hitchcock worked with Hecht, is notable for being one of the first Hollywood movies to deal seriously with the subject of [[psychoanalysis]].

;''Monkey Business'' (1952)
In 1947, he teamed up with [[Charles Lederer]], and co-wrote three films: ''Her Husband's Affairs'', ''[[Kiss of Death (1947 film)|Kiss of Death]]'', and ''Ride the Pink Horse''. In 1950, he co-wrote ''[[The Thing (1951 film)|The Thing]]'' without credit. They again teamed up to write the 1952 screwball comedy, [[Monkey Business (1952 film)|''Monkey Business'']], which became Hecht's last true success as a screenwriter.<ref name=Clark/>

===Uncredited films===
Among the better-known films he helped write without being credited are [[Gone with the Wind (film)|''Gone with the Wind'']], ''[[The Shop Around the Corner]]'', ''[[Foreign Correspondent (film)|''Foreign Correspondent'']]'', ''[[His Girl Friday]]'' (the second film version of his play ''The Front Page''), ''[[The Sun Also Rises (1957 film)|The Sun Also Rises]]'', [[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|''Mutiny on the Bounty'']], ''[[Casino Royale (1967 film)|Casino Royale]]'' (1967), and ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]''.<ref name=Chicago/>  According to Edward White, Hecht's last minute script rewrite for ''Gone with the Wind'' (Hecht had never read the novel), likely saved it from box office disaster, lending credence to Hecht's nickname as the "Shakespeare of Hollywood", even though Hecht saw it as an example of how bad Hollywood's movies really are.<ref name=Paris/>

Often, the only evidence of Hecht's involvement in a movie screenplay has come from letters.

The following are snippets of letters discussing ''[[The Sun Also Rises (1957 film)|The Sun Also Rises]]'', based on the novel by [[Ernest Hemingway]]:<ref name=Selznick>Selznick, David O. ''Memo from David O. Selznick'', The Viking Press (1972)</ref>{{rp|444–445}}

:Letter by [[David O. Selznick]] to Hecht, December 19, 1956:
 
{{blockquote|My present feeling is that eighty percent of the script is eighty per cent right, and that twenty per cent of it is eighty per cent wrong. That's pretty damn good, considering the time we spent on it, even though it was twice as long as you normally spend. So let's really try to do a job that will be&nbsp;... something that we can be proud of for many years to come&nbsp;...}}

:Letter by Selznick to [[John Huston]], April 3, 1957:

{{blockquote|It is certainly not demeaning your talent to say that I don't think there is anybody alive who can come in on a job at the last minute and revise, ''without serious danger'', work to which two old hands like Ben and myself have devoted many, many months of most careful work and devoted effort&nbsp;... it is also true that I have never seen Ben or anyone else bring to a job more thorough analysis, more willingness to rewrite, than he has.}}

The following letter discusses ''[[Portrait of Jennie]]'' (1948):<ref name=Selznick/>{{rp|390–391}}
:Letter by Selznick to Hecht, November 24, 1948:

{{blockquote|Dear Ben: Very many thanks in advance for coming to the rescue again&nbsp;... the audience was enchanted&nbsp;... and it set the mood beautifully for the picture&nbsp;... It needs the type of cinematic forward journalese of which you are the only master I know&nbsp;... In any event, I shall be eagerly awaiting your redraft, which can take an entirely different form&nbsp;... either actual or Hechtian creations}}

;''Gone with the Wind'' (1939)
For original screenplay writer [[Sidney Howard]], film historian Joanne Yeck writes,

{{blockquote|reducing the intricacies of [[Gone with the Wind (film)|''Gone with the Wind'']]'s epic dimensions was a herculean task&nbsp;... and Howard's first submission was far too long, and would have required at least six hours of film;&nbsp;... [producer] Selznick wanted Howard to remain on the set to make revisions&nbsp;... but Howard refused to leave New England, [and] as a result, revisions were handled by a host of local writers, including Ben Hecht<ref>Yeck, Joanne, ''Dictionary of Literary Biography'' (1984) Gale Research</ref>}}

Producer [[David O. Selznick]] replaced the film's director three weeks into filming and then had the script rewritten. He sought out director [[Victor Fleming]], who, at the time, was directing [[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|''The Wizard of Oz'']]. Fleming was dissatisfied with the script, so Selznick brought in famed writer Ben Hecht to rewrite the entire screenplay within five days.<ref>{{cite news |last=Keelor |first=Josette |date=August 1, 2008 |url=http://www.nvdaily.com/lifestyle/292279470722734.bsp |title=A new play by Ron Hutchinson, 'Moonlight and Magnolias', depicts the five-day marathon by Hecht, Selznick, and director Victor Fleming to create the screenplay for 'Gone with the Wind' |work=[[The Northern Virginia Daily]] |access-date=August 1, 2008 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915072643/http://www.nvdaily.com/lifestyle/292279470722734.bsp |archive-date=September 15, 2008<!-- This archive link does not include the article above. -->}}</ref>

Hecht was not credited, however, for his contribution, and Sidney Howard received the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

In a letter from Selznick to film editor O'Shea [October 19, 1939], Selznick discussed how the writing credits should appear, taking into consideration that Sidney Howard had died a few months earlier after a farm-tractor accident at his home in Massachusetts:
 
{{blockquote|To Mr. O'Shea: Some time ago, it was my intention to have, in addition to the Sidney Howard credit on ''Gone With the Wind'', a list of contributing writers. I would rather now abandon this idea, first because, while it is true that Sidney Howard did only a portion of the script&nbsp;... [but] because I don't want to deprive Sidney Howard, and more particularly his widow, of any of the glory that may be attendant upon his last job.<ref name=Selznick/>{{rp|216}}}}

In a letter [September 25, 1939] from Selznick to Hecht, regarding writing introductory sequences and titles, which were used to set the scene and condense the narrative throughout the movie, Selznick wrote,

{{blockquote|Dear Ben: There are only seven titles needed for ''Gone With the Wind'' and I am certain you could bat them out in a few minutes, especially since a few of them can be based on titles you wrote while you were here. Will you do these for me in accordance with your promise?&nbsp;... Very anxious to get picture into laboratory at once and would appreciate it if you could tackle them immediately upon their receipt<ref name=Selznick/>{{rp|214}}}}

;''His Girl Friday'' (1940)
"''[[His Girl Friday]]'' remains not just the fastest-talking romantic comedy ever made, but a very tricky inquiry into love's need for a chase (or a dream) and the sharpest pointer to uncertain gender roles."<ref name=Thomson1/>{{rp|221}}

The ''D.C. Examiner'' writes,

{{blockquote|Director Howard Hawks' 1940 classic "His Girl Friday" is not just one of the funniest screwball comedies ever made, it is also one of the finest film adaptations of a stage play. "Hawks took Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's Broadway hit "The Front Page", the best play about newspapers ever written, and, by changing the gender of a major character, turned it into a romantic comedy. The new script was by Hecht (uncredited) and [[Charles Lederer]].}}

;''Casino Royale'' (1967)
Hecht wrote the first screenplay for [[Ian Fleming]]'s first novel, [[Casino Royale (1967 film)|''Casino Royale'']]. Although the final screenplay and film was made into a comedy spoof, Hecht's version was written as a straight Bond adventure, states spy novelist [[Jeremy Duns]], who recently discovered the original lost scripts. According to Duns, Hecht's version included elements hard to imagine in a film adaptation, adding that "these drafts are a master-class in thriller-writing, from the man who arguably perfected the form with ''Notorious''."<ref name=Duns>Duns, Jeremy. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/jamesbond/8345119/Casino-Royale-discovering-the-lost-script.html "Casino Royale: discovering the lost script"] ''The Telegraph'', U.K. March 2, 2011</ref> Hecht wrote that he has "never had more fun writing a movie", and felt the James Bond character was cinema's first "gentleman superman" in a long time, as opposed to Hammett and Chandler's "roughneck supermen".

A few days before the final screenplay was announced to the press, Hecht died of a heart attack at his home.<ref name=Duns/>

Duns compares Hecht's unpublished screenplay with the final rewritten film:

{{blockquote|All the pages in Hecht's papers are gripping, but the material from April 1964 is phenomenal, and it's easy to imagine it as the basis for a classic Bond adventure. Hecht's treatment of the romance element is powerful and convincing, even with the throwaway ending, but there is also a distinctly adult feel to the story. It has all the excitement and glamour you would expect from a Bond film, but is more suspenseful, and the violence is brutal rather than cartoonish.<ref name=Duns/>}}