John Paxton (May 21, 1911,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

– January 5, 1985, Santa Monica, California) was an American

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. ...

. Some of his films include '' Murder, My Sweet'' in 1944, ''

Cornered Cornered may refer to: * ''Cornered'' (1924 film), a 1924 silent film * ''Cornered'' (1932 film), a 1932 Pre Code western film * ''Cornered'' (1945 film), a 1945 ''film noir'' starring Dick Powell * ''Cornered!'' (film), a 2010 horror film star ...

'' in 1945, '' Crossfire'' in 1947 (an adaptation of the controversial novel ''The Brick Foxhole'' that earned him his only Oscar nomination). He helped adapt the screenplay for the controversial film '' The Wild One'' in 1953, starring

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

. Paxton's work twice received the Mystery Writers of America's

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for Best Motion Picture Screenplay, for ''Murder, My Sweet'' and ''Crossfire''.

Biography

Paxton was born in Kansas City in 1911. He attended the University of Missouri where he studied journalism and was involved in college plays. He went to New York. A cousin of Paxton's father did publicity for

Katherine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...

and got him a job organising a play-writing contest for the Theatre Guild. He went to work at ''Stage'' magazine as an assistant and ended up doing reviews . He became friends with a fellow reviewer, Adrian Scott with whom Paxton would later work in Hollywood. When ''Stage'' magazine folded in 1943 Paxton moved to Hollywood and did a variety of jobs, including ghost writing. In 1943 Scott became established at RKO as a producer and got Paxton a job there was a writer.

RKO

Paxton's first credit was for ''

My Pal Wolf ''My Pal Wolf'' is a 1944 American drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker from a screenplay by Lillie Hayward, Leonard Praskins and John Paxton based on a story by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, the fi ...

'' (1944), a girl-and-dog film. Paxton gained critical praise for his adaptation of

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

's ''

Farewell, My Lovely ''Farewell, My Lovely'' is a novel by Raymond Chandler, published in 1940, the second novel he wrote featuring the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times and was also adapted for the stage and radio. ...

'', '' Murder, My Sweet'' (1944). This was produced by Adrian Scott and directed by Edward Dmytryk, and starred

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

. Paxton was reunited with Powell, Dmytryk and Scott on a film noir ''

'' (1945). He worked on another noir, '' Crack-Up'' (1946) with Pat O'Brien, then made a third film with Scott and Dmytryk, '' So Well Remembered'' (1947). The three men combined for a fourth time on '' Crossfire'' (1947), a thriller about anti-Semitism that was a huge critical and commercial success. The team broke up, however, when Dmytryk and Scott were

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

and fired from RKO. Paxton took over from Scott as producer of an adaptation of Scott's play ''The Great Man's Whiskers'' but it was not made. '' The Boy with Green Hair'' which Paxton and Scott were going to make was made by others. Paxton quit RKO in July 1948. Paxton did some work on the script for ''

Rope of Sand ''Rope of Sand'' is a 1949 adventure-suspense film noir directed by William Dieterle, produced by Hal Wallis, and starring Burt Lancaster and three stars from Wallis's '' Casablanca'' - Paul Henreid, Claude Rains and Peter Lorre. The film intro ...

'' (1948) for Hal Wallis and worked on the documentary '' Of Men and Music'' (1951). Paxton went to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

where he wrote '' Fourteen Hours'' (1951).

Columbia

Paxton was hired by

Stanley Kramer Stanley Earl Kramer (September 29, 1913February 19, 2001) was an American film director and producer, responsible for making many of Hollywood's most famous "message picture, message films" (he would call his movies ''heavy dramas'') and a libera ...

, who released through Columbia, to adapt the story for '' The Wild One'' (1953). He went to MGM to write '' The Cobweb'' (1955) then re-wrote

R.C. Sheriff Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA, FRSL (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer best known for his play ''Journey's End'', which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many nove ...

's script for ''

A Prize of Gold ''A Prize of Gold'' is a 1955 Technicolor film noir crime film directed by Mark Robson partly filmed in West Berlin. The film stars Richard Widmark as a United States Air Force Air Police Master Sergeant motivated by love and compassion to ...

'' (1955) for Warwick Films who released through Columbia. Warwick liked Paxton's work and hired him to write '' Interpol'' (1957). He went on to write and produce ''

How to Murder a Rich Uncle ''How to Murder a Rich Uncle'' is a 1957 British black comedy film directed by Nigel Patrick and starring Patrick, Wendy Hiller, Charles Coburn and Anthony Newley. It follows a man who plans to kill his wealthy Uncle George. It was based on the ...

'' (1957) for Warwick. Kramer hired Paxton to adapt the Nevil Shute novel '' On the Beach'' (1959) as a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

. Paxton went into television writing "Aftermath" for '' General Electric Theater''.

Later career

Paxton had no feature film credits for the 1960s. However he won a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

and an award from the Writers Guild of America in 1971 for his screenplay to the

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), ''King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

film '' Kotch''. Paxton adapted a play by Adrian Scott for television, '' The Great Man's Whiskers'' (1972). He worked on the cartoon series '' I Am the Greatest!: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali'' (1977).

Personal life

Paxton married Sarah Jane Miles Dec. 4, 1948. She worked in public relations for

.Truitt, Brian (August 19, 2014),
'Fade Out' stars melodramatic noir of '40s Hollywood
, '' USA Today'' (accessed June 7, 2016) They had no children. He died of complications from emphysema. Paxton was an uncle of comic book writer Ed Brubaker. Paxton's life inspired Brubaker's 2013 series '' The Fade Out''.Sims, Chris (January 6, 2016),
The Real Tragedy Is That He'll Never Leave: Ed Brubaker On 'The Fade Out,' Part One
", Comics Alliance (accessed May 28, 2016)

References

* *

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paxton, John 1911 births 1985 deaths American male screenwriters Deaths from emphysema Edgar Award winners 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters