Elizabeth Meehan (22 August 1894 – 24 April 1967) was a British

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. ...

who worked in both Britain and

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, ...

Early life

Meehan was born on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, and lived in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Career

As a young woman, Betty Meehan was a model, a professional swimmer, and a chorus girl with the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

, in the same sextet of dancers as

Billie Dove Lillian Bohny (born Bertha Eugenie Bohny; May 14, 1903 – December 31, 1997), known professionally as Billie Dove, was an American actress. Early life and career Dove was born Bertha Eugenie Bohny in New York City in 1903 to Charles and Ber ...

and

Alta King Alta L. King (March 21, 1899 – March 1981) was an American dancer, singer, and Ziegfeld girl in musical theatre. Early life King was born in Barnesville, Minnesota, the daughter of John F. King (1866–1939) and Alta Mae Kimpton King (18 ...

. "Oh yes, I know that chorines have the reputation of being beautiful but dumb," she explained in a 1928 interview, "And, perhaps, some of them are. But you'd be surprised at the girls you'll find in the choruses." Meehan credited

James M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

with helping her transition into screenwriting. During the late 1930s Meehan was employed by the studio head

Walter C. Mycroft Walter Charles Mycroft (1890 – 14 June 1959) was a British journalist, screenwriter, film producer and director. In the 1920s he was film critic of the London ''Evening Standard'', and a founder of the LondoFilm Society before joining the film ...

to work for

British International Pictures Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appro ...

. Meehan frequently collaborated with the Irish director

Herbert Brenon Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of silent films through the 1930s. Brenon was among the early film ...

. Later in her career, Meehan worked in television, writing episodes of ''

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vid ...

Fireside Theatre ''Fireside Theatre'' (also known as ''Jane Wyman Presents'') is an American anthology drama series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Productions were low-budget and often based ...

'', and ''Mama''.

Personal life

Meehan had a daughter, Frances Meehan Williams (1930-2006), who became an actress and later a psychotherapist. Elizabeth Meehan died in 1967, in New York, aged 72 years. Her daughter donated some of her original scripts and screenplays to the Special Collections library at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Selected filmography

* ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts First-person narrative, first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious mil ...

'' (1926) * '' Sorrell and Son'' (1927) * ''

The Telephone Girl ''The Telephone Girl'' is a farce musical comedy by C. M. S. McLellan (as Hugh Morton), with music by composer Gustave Kerker. The play made its New York debut at the Casino Theatre under the direction of George W. Lederer on December 27, 1897. ...

'' (1927) * ''

Laugh, Clown, Laugh ''Laugh, Clown, Laugh'' is a 1928 American silent drama film starring Lon Chaney and Loretta Young (her film debut). The movie was directed by Herbert Brenon and produced by Irving G. Thalberg for MGM Pictures. The film was written by Elizabet ...

'' (1928) * '' The Rescue'' (1929) * ''

The Case of Sergeant Grischa ''The Case of Sergeant Grischa'' (1927) is a war novel by the German writer Arnold Zweig. Its original German title is ''Der Streit um den Sergeanten Grischa''. It is part of Zweig's hexalogy ''Der große Krieg der weißen Männer'' (The great wa ...

'' (1930) * '' Lummox'' (1930) * ''

Beau Ideal ''Beau Ideal'' is a 1931 American pre-Code adventure film directed by Herbert Brenon and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was based on the 1927 adventure novel ''Beau Ideal'' by P. C. Wren, the third novel in a series of five novels base ...

'' (1931) * ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'' (1933) * ''

West of Singapore ''West of Singapore'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Albert Ray and starring Betty Compson, Weldon Heyburn and Margaret Lindsay.Doherty, p. 255 Cast * Betty Compson as Lou * Weldon Heyburn as Dan Manton * Margaret Linds ...

'' (1933) * ''

Harmony Lane ''Harmony Lane'' is a 1935 low-budget American film directed by Joseph Santley, based upon the life of Stephen Foster, released by Mascot Pictures. This was the first sound film based on the life of the famous composer. Two others would follow, ...

'' (1935) * ''

Spring Handicap ''Spring Handicap'' is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Will Fyffe, Maire O'Neill and Billy Milton. The film was made by the Associated British Picture Corporation at their Elstree Studios and based on the pla ...

'' (1937) * ''

Over She Goes ''Over She Goes'' is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Stanley Lupino, Claire Luce, Laddie Cliff, Gina Malo and Max Baer. It was based on a successful London stage play by Lupino, with music by Billy Maye ...

'' (1938) * ''

Star of the Circus ''Star of the Circus'' is a 1938 British drama film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Otto Kruger, Gertrude Michael and John Clements. It is a remake of the 1937 German circus film ''Truxa'', itself based on a novel by Heinrich Seil ...

'' (1938) * ''

Housemaster {{refimprove, date=September 2018 In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care o ...

'' (1938) * ''

A Gentleman's Gentleman ''A Gentleman's Gentleman'' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Eric Blore, Marie Lohr and Peter Coke. It was made at Teddington Studios and was based on a play by Philip MacDonald. Cast * Eric Blore as Hep ...

'' (1939) * ''

Parachute Nurse ''Parachute Nurse'' is a 1942 Columbia Pictures film about the Aerial Nurse Corps. The film was directed by Charles Barton. Plot Inspired by a visit from their old friend Lieutenant Mullins, an officer in the Aerial Nurse Corps, nurses Glenda W ...

'' (1942) * ''

Storm Over Lisbon ''Storm Over Lisbon'' is a 1944 American thriller film produced and directed by George Sherman and starring Vera Ralston. The screenplay concerns a nightclub owner who attempts to gain secret information. The film's sets were designed by the ...

'' (1944) * ''

Northwest Outpost ''Northwest Outpost'' (also known as ''End of the Rainbow'') is a 1947 American musical film, Musical Western (genre), Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey. The film was Eddy's last, and is an operetta film ...

'' (1947)

References

Bibliography

* Harper, Sue. ''Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know''. Continuum International, 2000. * Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film: Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meehan, Elizabeth 1894 births 1967 deaths Ziegfeld girls 20th-century British screenwriters British emigrants to the United States