John Lee Mahin
John Lee Mahin was an influential American screenwriter born in 1902 in Evanston, Illinois. Initially starting his career in advertising through his father's connections, Mahin transitioned to screenwriting after meeting notable screenwriter Ben Hecht in New York. His breakout role came in 1931 with the film *Scarface*, which established him in the industry, particularly in the crime genre. Over his career, Mahin produced significant works, including classic screenplays for *Treasure Island* and *Captains Courageous*, the latter earning him an Academy Award nomination. Additionally, Mahin's versatility was showcased in his collaborations and adaptations of literary works for the screen. His involvement in Hollywood politics included resigning from the Screen Writers Guild due to its perceived Communist ties, and he later co-founded Screen Playwrights, Incorporated. Mahin continued to work in the film industry until his last screenplay, *Moment to Moment*, released in 1966, before he passed away in 1984 in Los Angeles.
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Subject Terms
John Lee Mahin
Writer
- Born: August 23, 1902
- Birthplace: Evanston, Illinois
- Died: April 17, 1984
- Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Biography
Screenwriter John Lee Mahin more or less stumbled into his career. The son of John Mahin, a major figure in advertising, the younger Mahin was born in 1902 in Evanston, Illinois. He entered Harvard University upon his graduation from high school but failed to complete a degree there. Through his father’s connections, Mahin became a copywriter for the New York advertising agency of Kenyon and Ekhart.
In New York he met Ben Hecht, who had already achieved a solid reputation as a Hollywood screenwriter. At that time, Hecht was working with Charles MacArthur on a film for producer Sam Goldwyn. Hecht proposed that he and MacArthur hire Mahin, and Mahin accepted their offer, going to California in 1931 to work on The Unholy Garden. Although Mahin’s contribution to this film was not formally acknowledged in the credits, his work on the script led director Howard Hawks to invite him to complete the script for a film entitled Scarface that Hecht had begun to write but in which he had lost interest.
Working on Scarface paved the way for Mahin to write other screenplays that focused on the lives and activities of criminals, a genre that had become popular during the early 1930’s. His work on Scarface launched him on a career that resulted in his producing more than screenplays, either singly or in collaboration with John Meehan, Albert Hackett, Francis Goodrich, Laurence Stallings, S. N. Behrman, and John Huston. His screenplay Red Dust, produced in 1932, proved to be a superb vehicle for the acting skills of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, who played the leading roles. Gable was to appear in several other Mahin productions.
Two of Mahin’s classic screenplays are Treasure Island, released in 1934, and Captains Courageous, for which Mahin received an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay in 1937. He received a similar nomination in 1957 for his screenplay for Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. His collaboration with Goodrich and Hackett on the musical Naughty Marietta demonstrated Mahin’s versatility.
Mahin’s adaptations of works of literature for film, notably Treasure Island, Captains Courageous, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Tortilla Flat, and Quo Vadis, resulted in some excellent scripts that led to highly successful films. He was one of a large cadre of screenwriters who worked on Gone with the Wind in the late 1930’s but was not credited for his contribution.
Mahin became involved in the politics of Hollywood, resigning from the Screen Writers Guild (SWG) in the 1930’s because of its ties to Communism. He was among the founders of Screen Playwrights, Incorporated, which attracted more established and conservative screenwriters than SWG. Following World War II, Mahin returned to the more liberal SWG, although doing so probably did not enhance his career as fears of Communist influence began to cast their long shadow over the film industry in the late 1940’s.
Mahin’s last screenplay was for the film Moment to Moment, released in 1966. He tried writing for television, with limited success. Mahin died in Los Angeles in 1984.