Julius J. Epstein
Julius J. Epstein was a prominent American screenwriter known for his impactful collaborations, particularly with his twin brother, Philip G. Epstein. Hailing from a family with roots in the livery business in New York City, Julius embarked on a successful writing career in Hollywood during the early 1930s. His most notable work includes the legendary film "Casablanca," celebrated for its sharp dialogue and compelling storytelling. Throughout his career, which spanned over fifty years, Epstein wrote or collaborated on more than forty screenplays, contributing to classics like "The Man Who Came to Dinner" and "Mr. Skeffington."
Before entering the film industry, Epstein excelled in boxing at Pennsylvania State College, where he earned the Intercollegiate Boxing Championship. His Hollywood journey began with uncredited work for Warner Bros. and evolved into significant projects that garnered both Academy Award nominations and critical acclaim. Despite some setbacks, such as the unsuccessful adaptation of J.D. Salinger's "My Foolish Heart," Epstein's legacy in American cinema remains influential, underscored by his ability to craft memorable characters and dialogue. His later works, including the successful "House Calls," showcase his versatility and enduring appeal in the film industry.
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Julius J. Epstein
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- Born: August 22, 1909
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: December 30, 2000
- Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Biography
Julius J. Epstein was the son of the owner of a New York City livery stable, Henry Epstein, and his wife Sarah Gronenberg Epstein. He and his twin brother, Philip G. Epstein, were frequent collaborators on screenplays from shortly after they arrived in Hollywood in the early 1930’s until Philip’s death in 1952. They were known for their direct, uncluttered dialogue that distinguished their screenplays, including their most famous production, Casablanca, and such other collaborations as The Man Who Came to Dinner, Mr. Skeffington, and The Last Time I Saw Paris.
Much of Epstein’s early work was not credited, but more than forty screenplays bore his name either as author or collaborator in a career that spanned fifty years. Before he embarked on his career as a screenwriter, he attended Pennsylvania State College (now University) from 1928 until 1931, where he distinguished himself as a boxer and was captain of the boxing team. He received his first major award, the Intercollegiate Boxing Championship, in 1929.
Upon finishing college, Julius wrote radio publicity. In 1933, he moved to Hollywood. Warner Bros. studios recruited him to work on Twenty Million Sweethearts, a film for which he was not credited. He then worked on several detective films, a genre popular at that time, before collaborating with Lenore Coffee on Four Daughters, for which he and Coffee received an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay in 1938. He then collaborated with his brother Philip on Daughters Courageous and Four Wives, which marked the onset of their long collaboration as film writers.
Curiously, the brothers’ most celebrated collaboration, Casablanca, was an adaptation of Murray Bennet and Joan Allison’s Everyone Comes to Rick’s, a play that flopped on Broadway. Audiences loved Casablanca, which had some of the best dialogue ever written. The critics were less enthusiastic, but their reservations did not dissuade those bestowing the Academy Awards, and Casablanca won an award for Best Screenplay in 1943. Besides its sparkling dialogue and memorable lines, Casablanca was extraordinarily well acted, with Humphrey Bogart delivering a flawless performance as Rick Blaine. Most audiences found the film both thrilling and exotic, a winning combination.
The brothers last collaborated on four films, Young at Heart, Forever Female, The Last Time I Saw Paris, and The Brothers Karamazov, all of which were released after Philip’s death. Julius continued to write, producing Fanny, which was released by Warner Bros. in 1961. He also adapted Peter De Vries’s Witch’s Milk, a novel that he much respected, into the film Pete ’n’ Tillie. His characterization of Pete was particularly well received in this touching story of two people whose nine-year-old son dies of leukemia.
Epstein’s greatest box office success was his collaboration in 1978 with Alan Mandel, Max Shulman, and Charles Shyer on House Calls, a romance about a lecherous physician, played by Walter Matthau, and a conniving divorcee, played by Glenda Jackson. Epstein’s screenplays, however, were not all successful. His adaptation of J. D. Salinger’s “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut,” filmed as My Foolish Heart, was such a failure that Salinger would never again permit one of his stories to be adapted for the screen.