Aeneas MacKenzie, or Æneas MacKenzie (August 15, 1889 in

Stornoway Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well a ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

– June 2, 1962 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

), was a Scottish-American screenwriter. MacKenzie wrote many notable

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

films, including: '' The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'' (1939), '' They Died with Their Boots On'' (1941), ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...

'' (1952), and ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

'' (1956).

Career

Maackenzie came from England to work on a film of ''

East Lynne ''East Lynne'' is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Ellen Wood, writing as Mrs Henry Wood. A Victorian best-seller, it is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centring on infidelity and double identities. There have ...

''. In January 1938, he was under contract to Warner Bros. to write what would become ''Juarez''. In February 1939, he was working on a biopic of John Paul Jones for James Cagney. He also wrote a biopic of Disraeli for

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...

. Neither were made, but by July 1940, he was working on a biopic of

George Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

which became ''They Died with Their Boots On''. MacKenzie wrote ''The Widow of Devil's Island'' for Bette Davis. In March 1942, he was working on a movie about "Sing Sing" prison. In October 1943, RKO announced they would make a film from his original story, ''The Spanish Main''. In July 1946, he wrote a script of ''Ivanhoe'' for Paramount. The project was postponed due to the Palestine Cris and instead MacKenzie was assigned to do a biopic on Ludwig II for producer Robert Fellows. A year later, his ''Ivanhoe'' script was sold to RKO. They sold it to MGM who filmed it several years later. He worked on the script for ''The Black Book'' (1949). In January 1950, he sold a script to Douglas Fairbanks Jr which became '' Against All Flags''. Several months later, MacKenzie sold this story to Universal, who hired him to write the script. Also at Universal, he did ''The Prince Who Was a Thief''. MacKenzie later headed the script team on ''The Ten Commandments''. In July 1957, he was writing ''Peter and Catherine'' about Russia in the 18th century for Ross Hunter at Universal. In late 1958, MacKenzie was reported to be working on a biopic of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

for Evyan Perfumes.

Filmography

*'' Juarez'' (1939) *'' The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'' (1939) *'' They Died with Their Boots On'' (1941) *'' The Navy Comes Through'' (1942) *'' The Woman of the Town'' (1943) *''

The Fighting Seabees ''The Fighting Seabees'' is a 1944 war film, directed by Edward Ludwig and starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward. The supporting cast includes Dennis O'Keefe, William Frawley, Leonid Kinsky, Addison Richards and Grant Withers. ''The Fighting S ...

'' (1944) *''

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

'' (1944) *''

Back to Bataan ''Back to Bataan'' is a 1945 American black-and-white World War II war film drama from RKO Radio Pictures, produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk, that stars John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. The film depicts events (some fictionalize ...

'' (1945) *'' The Spanish Main'' (1945) *''

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

'' (1949) * ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

'' (1950) *'' Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.'' (1951) *''

The Prince Who Was a Thief ''The Prince Who Was a Thief'' is a 1951 American adventure film directed by Rudolph Mate and starring Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie. A technicolor swashbuckler, it was the first film Curtis featured in as a star. It was produced and distributed by ...

'' (1951) *''

'' (1952) *'' Face to Face'' (1952) *'' Against All Flags'' (1952) *''L'amante di Paride'' (''

Loves of Three Queens ''Loves of Three Queens'' ( it, L'amante di Paride), also known as ''The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships'', is a 1954 Italian anthology film. It was directed by Marc Allégret and Edgar G. Ulmer and stars Hedy Lamarr. Plot A woman going t ...

'') (1954) *''

'' (1956) *''

The King's Pirate ''The King's Pirate'' is a 1967 American pirate film directed by Don Weis and starring Doug McClure, Jill St. John and Guy Stockwell. It is a remake of the 1952 film ''Against All Flags''. Plot A British naval officer volunteers for a dangerous ...

'' (1967)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Aeneas Scottish screenwriters 1889 births 1962 deaths People from Stornoway 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British screenwriters British emigrants to the United States