Oliver H. P. Garrett (May 6, 1894 – February 22, 1952) was an American film director, writer, newspaperman, and rifleman.

Oliver H. P. Garrett
Born(1894-05-06)May 6, 1894
New Bedford, Massachusetts, US
DiedFebruary 22, 1952(1952-02-22) (aged 57)
New York City, US
Occupation(s)Film director, writer, newspaperman, rifleman

Biography

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Oliver H. P. Garrett was born in Laurens County, South Carolina.[1]

By the fall of 1917 he was a rifleman who fought against the Germans, but he was wounded and won the Distinguished Service Cross.[2] He interviewed Al Capone and Adolf Hitler in 1923 after the failed Pusch and in the early 1930s.[2] He was a newspaperman for The Sun in the 1920s,[2] and he was the only on board of the SS Morro Castle until his burning and sinking[clarification needed].[2] He was hired by David O. Selznick after writing the final script of Gone with the Wind (1939) because Scott Fitzgerald wanted a film[clarification needed] of conventional length.[3]

Garrett was a close friend and next-door neighbour to Hollywood producer Irving Thalberg.[3] When Thalberg married movie star Norma Shearer, Oliver was the usher of the wedding.[3]

Career

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He directed and wrote the screenplay for Careful, Soft Shoulder (1942).[4] The script employs a first-person narrative and his direction is not imaginative and uses a first-person camera.[5]

He wrote the story and dialogue for Street of Chance (1942),[6] based on the life of the gangster Arthur Rothstein and it is a remake of the 1930 film.[7] According to Louella O. Parsons, "Oliver H. P. Garrett has written a thriling story, but even so, much of the credit must go to John Cromwell, who directed the story with finesse and with a fine regard for detail.[8]

He wrote the story for the crime drama Her Husband Lies (1937), which was adapted and was also a remake of Street of Chance, starring William Powell and Kay Francis.[7] He wrote the screenplay and the dialogue of For the Defense (1930),[6] and Scandal Sheet (1931).[9] The Texan (1930) was based on an adaption of the story The Double-Eyed Deceiver.[10] City Streets (1931), directed by Rouben Mamoulian, was adapted by Max Marcin and Garrett wrote the script.[11][12] He wrote the screenplay for The Man I Married (1940).[13]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Garrett, Edward Ray (1989). Garrett: 1000 years from Normandy. E.R. Garrett. p. 39.
  2. ^ a b c d Bryer, Margolies & Prigozy 2012, p. 33.
  3. ^ a b c Bryer, Margolies & Prigozy 2012, p. 34.
  4. ^ Reid, John (2004). Memorable Films of the Forties. Lulu.com. p. 40. ISBN 9781411614635.
  5. ^ Reid, John Howard (2004). Hollywood's Classic Comedies Featuring Slapstick, Romance, Music, Glamour Or Screwball Fun!. Lulu.com. p. 49. ISBN 9781430314875.
  6. ^ a b Kear & Rossman 2012, p. 38.
  7. ^ a b Neste 2017, p. 152.
  8. ^ Parsons, Louella O., Los Angeles Examiner, February 21, 1930
  9. ^ Kear & Rossman 2012, p. 51.
  10. ^ Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (January 7, 2013). The Films of Fay Wray. McFarland Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 9781476604152.
  11. ^ Thomson, David (October 14, 2008). "Have You Seen . . . ?". Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 171. ISBN 9780307270528.
  12. ^ Hammett, Dashiell (November 4, 2013). Rivett, Julie; Layman, Richard (eds.). The Hunter and Other Stories. Grove/Atlantic, Inc. p. 187. ISBN 9780802121585.
  13. ^ Alpers, Benjamin L. (October 16, 2003). Dictators, Democracy, and American Public Culture: Envisioning the Totalitarian Enemy, 1920s–1950s. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 368. ISBN 9780807861226.

Bibliography

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