John L. Balderston

Personal Info

Known For Writer

Gender Male

Birthday 1889-10-22

Deathday 1954-03-08 (64 years old)

John L. Balderston

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. John L. Balderston (October 22, 1889 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - March 8, 1954 Los Angeles, California) was an American playwright and screenwriter best known for his horror and fantasy scripts. Balderston began his career as a journalist. He worked as European war correspondent during World War I. He was the editor of Outlook magazine and a correspondent for the New York World. In 1927, he was retained by Horace Liveright to revise Hamilton Deane's stage adaptation of Dracula for its American production. His 1929 play Berkeley Square later formed the basis of the musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. His Dracula subsequently formed the basis of the 1931 film version, leading Balderston into a screenwriting career, initially for Universal Pictures horror films: in addition to Dracula, he contributed to Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, and Dracula's Daughter. He spent much of his career adapting novels for the screen, including The Prisoner of Zenda in 1937 and 1944's Gaslight, which earned him his second Academy Award nomination (the first was for 1935's The Lives of a Bengal Lancer). He was also one of the team of writers who collaborated on the 1939 film adaptation of Gone with the Wind. His 1932 play Red Planet was filmed as Red Planet Mars in 1952. Description above from the Wikipedia article John L. Balderston, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Writer

1992
1979
Dracula

as Theatre Play

1952
The Prisoner of Zenda

as Screenplay

1952
Red Planet Mars

as Writer

1951
The House in the Square

as Theatre Play

1944
Gaslight

as Screenplay

1942
Tennessee Johnson

as Screenplay

1942
Stand by for Action

as Screenplay

1941
Smilin' Through

as Screenplay

1941
Scotland Yard

as Writer

1940
1940
Victory

as Screenplay

1937
The Prisoner of Zenda

as Screenplay

1936
1936
1936
Beloved Enemy

as Screenplay

1935
Mad Love

as Screenplay

1935
1935
1935
Bride of Frankenstein

as Adaptation

1933
Berkeley Square

as Theatre Play

1933
Berkeley Square

as Screenplay

1932
The Mummy

as Screenplay

1931
Dracula

as Theatre Play