Philip Dunne
Philip Dunne was a prominent American screenwriter, producer, and director, born in New York City to a notable Irish American family. His father, Finley Peter Dunne, was a well-known humorist, and Philip's upbringing was marked by a strong educational background, including attendance at Harvard University. Dunne's career in the film industry began with Twentieth Century Fox in 1933, where he became known for his work on influential films such as "How Green Was My Valley," which earned him an Academy Award nomination. His career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the Motion Picture Bureau, but he returned to the industry and co-founded the Screen Writers Guild.
Dunne was an ardent civil libertarian and opposed the anti-Communist sentiments of the McCarthy era, standing up for his peers in the film industry who were targeted during the Red Scare. He continued to create significant works, including "The Robe" and "The Agony and the Ecstasy." Dunne's contributions to cinema were recognized with multiple accolades, and he also chronicled his experiences in his autobiography, "Take Two: A Life in Movies and Politics." His legacy remains influential in both the film industry and the context of American civil liberties.
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Philip Dunne
Playwright
- Born: February 11, 1908
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: June 2, 1992
- Place of death: Malibu, California
Biography
Philip Dunne’s Irish American father, Finley Peter Dunne, was a noted humorist of the early twentieth century whose wife, Margaret Abbott Dunne, was a shrewd and intelligent woman. Philip, born and raised in New York City, attended the Middlesex School from 1920 to 1925 and, upon graduation, enrolled in Harvard University, where he remained until 1929. His long professional association with Twentieth Century Fox began in 1933 and included a variety of jobs: producer, director, and writer of screenplays. Between 1933 and 1942, Dunne was author or coauthor of thirteen screenplays, including such notable productions as The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), The Last of the Mohicans (1936), Suez (1938), Stanley and Livingston (1939), The Rains Came (1939), Johnny Apollo (1940), and How Green Was My Valley (1941). In 1942, the last of these received Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay.
World War II interrupted Dunne’s promising career in film. Married to Amanda Duff in 1939, Dunne served from 1942 until 1945 as chief of production of the Motion Picture Bureau of the overseas branch of the Office of War Information until the end of the war.
A dedicated humanist with strong liberal leanings, Dunne, back from the war, became a cofounder of the Screen Writers Guild. He also served at various times as governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and as vice president of the western wing of the Writers Guild of America. His work continued to receive recognition, including Academy Award nominations for David and Bathsheba (1951) for Best Story and Best Screenplay in 1952.
At about that time, Senator Joseph McCarthy was launching his hysterical, anti-Communist witch hunts against many facets of American society, including, of course, the film industry, which produced a blacklist of those suspected of being soft on Communism. Dunne attempted to thwart McCarthyism, appearing before congressional committees as a character witness for screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, Jr., and finding ways for those vilified by McCarthy and his minions to continue their careers as screenwriters by using assumed names. A civil libertarian who staunchly defended the constitutional guarantees of free speech and association, Dunne courageously locked horns with many executives in the film industry during the height of the McCarthy attacks upon screenwriters and actors.
Remarkably, through this difficult period, Dunne continued to turn out notable screenplays that included such important productions as The Robe (1953), The View from Pompey’s Head (1955), Hilda Crane (1956), Three Brave Men (1957), and Ten North Frederick (1958). A great deal of the history of this period is included in Dunne’s autobiography, Take Two: A Life in Movies and Politics (1980), an analytical look at the most troubling days of his life written from the vantage point of a twenty- five-year separation from the disturbing period during which the film industry generally declined to stand up to the political pressures of a ruthless, unethical politician attempting to make a name for himself.
In 1963, Dunne also edited, provided commentary, and wrote the introduction for his father’s Mr. Dooley Remembers (pb. 1976), which provided the basis for Philip Dunne’s stage production, Mr. Dooley’s America (pb. 1976). Many critics considered his film The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), based on the Irving Stone novel, his most noteworthy work.