Abraham Polonsky
Abraham Polonsky was an influential American screenwriter, director, and author, born on December 5, 1910, in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrant parents. He pursued a diverse educational background, earning a Bachelor of Arts from the City College of New York and a law degree from Columbia University. Polonsky initially practiced law but soon shifted his focus to writing, becoming involved with the American Communist Party and union activism. His early works included a mystery novel and radio plays, but he gained significant recognition in Hollywood with the success of his screenplay for the boxing film *Body and Soul*, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.
Despite achieving success, Polonsky faced challenges during the McCarthy era, including a blacklist for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He continued to work in film under pseudonyms and produced notable screenplays, including *Odds Against Tomorrow*. In his later years, he returned to directing with films like *Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here* and continued to publish novels until his passing on October 26, 1999. Polonsky's contributions to cinema and literature were recognized with various accolades, including a Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in 1999.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Abraham Polonsky
Writer
- Born: December 5, 1910
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: October 26, 1999
- Place of death: Beverly Hills, California
Biography
Abraham Lincoln Polonsky was born on December 5, 1910, in New York City, the eldest son of Russian Jewish immigrants. His father, Henry, a college-educated pharmacist, linguist, and socialist, was married to Rebecca Rosoff Polonsky. The young Polonsky was an avid reader and at an early age decided to become a writer.
Polonsky received his B.A. in 1932 at the City College of New York (now the City University of New York), where he taught English from 1932 to 1942. He also earned a law degree at Columbia University in 1935. He practiced law until 1937, when he dedicated himself to writing. In the late 1930’s, he joined the American Communist Party, was a union activist, and founded and edited a local newspaper, The Home Front.
In 1940, Polonsky collaborated with Mitchell A. Wilson on a mystery novel, The Goose Is Cooked, under the joint pseudonym Emmett Hogarth. He afterward wrote a serial for American magazine, which became his novel The Enemy Sea and which led to a contract to write screenplays for Paramount Studios. However, before he began his screenwriting career, he served from 1943 to 1945 with the Office of Strategic Services, assisting the French Resistance.
After World War II, Polonsky wrote radio plays for the series The Goldbergs and Mercury Theater on the Air and short stories before heading for Hollywood. His first project, the cowritten and oft-revised Golden Earrings, was not successful. His second, Body and Soul, a boxing vehicle starring John Garfield, was a hit, and he was nominated for an Academy Award. The success led to Polonsky’s first film as a director, the politically charged noir crime drama Force of Evil, which he adapted from Ira Wolfert’s novel, Tucker’s People. It was to be Polonsky’s last directorial effort for a long time.
In the late 1940’s, Polonsky and his wife, Sylvia Marrow, and their two children, Susan and Henry Victor, moved to France to complete his third novel, The World Above, a story about a psychologist who discovers real people behind objective scientific research. He returned to the United States to write the screenplay for I Can Get It for You Wholesale, released in 1951. The same year, Polonsky was called before the anti-Communist House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), where he refused to testify and was promptly blacklisted.
Polonsky nonetheless continued to work in the film industry, producing screenplays and doctoring scripts. He anonymously or pseudonymously wrote episodes for such television series as Danger and You Are There and wrote the screenplay for the crime drama Odds Against Tomorrow, using John O. Killens as a front. He also wrote essays, published the novel A Season of Fear, and codirected the film Oedipus Rex in 1957, without credit.
In the 1960’s, Polonsky served as story editor for the Canadian television series Seaway and the American series Kraft Suspense Theater. He finally was able to use his name again when he cowrote the screenplay for Madigan, released in 1968. He returned to Hollywood to write and direct Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, released in 1969, and he later directed Romance of a Horsethief, released in 1971, and wrote screenplays for the films Avalanche Express and Monsignor. However, many of his other screenplays were never produced. He published his last novel, Zenia’s Way: A Novel, in 1980.
Recognized late in life for his indomitable spirit as well as for his outstanding contributions to the industry, Polonsky in 1999 received the Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. He died on October 26, 1999.