Claude Binyon (October 17, 1905

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

– February 14, 1978

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

) was a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. His genres were

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

, musicals, and romances. As a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

for the ''

Examiner Examiner or The Examiner may refer to: Occupations * Bank examiner, a kind of auditor * Examiner (Roman Catholicism), a type of office in the Roman Catholic Church * Examinership, a concept in Irish law * Medical examiner * Patent examiner * Tr ...

'' newspaper, he became city editor of the show business trade magazine ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' in the late 1920s. According to Robert Landry, who worked at ''Variety'' for 50 years including as managing editor, Binyon came up with the famous 1929

stock market crash A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especia ...

headline, "

Wall Street Lays An Egg Wall Street Lays An Egg was a headline printed in ''Variety'', a newspaper covering Hollywood and the entertainment industry, on October 30, 1929, over an article describing Black Tuesday, the height of the panic known as the Wall Street Crash of 1 ...

." (However, writer Ken Bloom ascribes the headline to ''Variety'' publisher

Sime Silverman Simon J. Silverman (May 19, 1873 – September 22, 1933) was an American journalist and newspaper publisher. He was the founder of the weekly newspaper ''Variety'' in New York City in 1905, which gave theatre and vaudeville reviews and the Hol ...

.) He switched from writing about movies for ''Variety'' to screenwriting for the Paramount Studio with 1932's ''

If I Had A Million ''If I Had a Million'' is a 1932 American pre-Code Paramount Studios anthology film starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, Charles Laughton, W.C. Fields, Jack Oakie, Frances Dee and Charlie Ruggles, among others. There were seven directors: Ernst L ...

''; his later

screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...

credits included '' The Gilded Lily'' (1935), '' Sing You Sinners'' (1938), and ''

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

'' (1940). Throughout the 1930s, Binyon's screenplays were often directed by

Wesley Ruggles Wesley Ruggles (June 11, 1889 – January 8, 1972) was an American film director. Life and work He was born in Los Angeles, California, younger brother of actor Charlie Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a doz ...

, including the "classic" ''

True Confession ''True Confession'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, and John Barrymore. It was based on the 1934 play ''Mon Crime'', written by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil. I ...

'' (1938). Fourteen feature films by Ruggles had screenplays by Binyon. Claude Binyon was also the scriptwriter for the second series of the Bing Crosby Entertains radio show (1934-1935). In 1948, Binyon made his directorial bow with ''

The Saxon Charm ''The Saxon Charm'' is a 1948 American film noir drama film written and directed by Claude Binyon based on the novel of the same name by Frederic Wakeman Sr. and starring Robert Montgomery (actor), Robert Montgomery, Susan Hayward, John Payne (ac ...

'' (1948), for which he also wrote the screenplay. He went on to write and direct the low-key comedy noir '' Stella'' (1950), ''

Mother Didn't Tell Me ''Mother Didn't Tell Me'' is a 1950 American comedy film written and directed by Claude Binyon. It is based on the 1949 book ''The Doctor Wears Three Faces'' by Mary Bard. The film stars Dorothy McGuire, William Lundigan, June Havoc, Gary Merri ...

'' (1950), '' Aaron Slick of Pun'kin Crick'' (1952), and the

Clifton Webb Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966), known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He worked extensively and was known for his stage appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, in ...

farce ''

Dreamboat "Dreamboat" is a popular music song, the words and music to which were written by Jack Hoffman, (sometimes incorrectly attributed to Al Hoffman). A version produced by Walter Ridley, and performed by Alma Cogan, reached number 1 in the UK Sing ...

'' (1952). He directed, but didn't write, ''

Family Honeymoon ''Family Honeymoon'' is a 1949 domestic comedy film made by Universal International, directed by Claude Binyon, and written by Dane Lussier, based on novel by Homer Croy. It was shot in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Plot Katie Armstrong ...

'' (1949) as well as

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

's sole venture into 3-D, '' Here Come the Girls'' (1953). After his death on February 14, 1978, he was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Selected filmography

* '' Cross My Heart'' (1946) * ''

'' (1950)

References

External links

* Variety (magazine) people American male screenwriters 1905 births 1978 deaths Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Writers from Palm Springs, California Film directors from California Screenwriters from California 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-screen-writer-stub

Selected filmography

References

Further reading

External links