Louis Stevens (December 25, 1896 – September 29, 1963) was an American screenwriter of the silent and

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

eras. Born on Christmas Day 1896 in Riga,

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

, Russian Empire, Stevens entered the film industry in 1920 when he co-wrote the silent film ''A World of Folly'', with Jane Grogan. In his over 30-year career he worked on over 40 screenplays, as well as several film shorts and two television series. Among his more notable films were: contributing to the script of the 1931 version of '' Dracula'', starring

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

; co-writing the story for

What Price Hollywood? ''What Price Hollywood?'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring Constance Bennett with Lowell Sherman. The screenplay by Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, Jane Murfin and Ben Markson is based on a story by A ...

(1932); the screenplay for the 1940 western, ''

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'', directed by

Joseph Kane Jasper Joseph Inman Kane (March 19, 1894, San Diego – August 25, 1975, Santa Monica, California) was an American film director, film producer, film editor and screenwriter. He is best known for his extensive directorship and focus on Western f ...

, and starring

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

; the story for '' Streets of Laredo'' (1949), starring

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

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and

William Bendix William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. He is best remembered for his role in ''Wake Island'', which earned him an Academy ...

; 1951's ''

The Cimarron Kid ''The Cimarron Kid'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Audie Murphy and Beverly Tyler. Plot Bill Doolin (Audie Murphy) is released from jail and is going home on the train when it is held up by his boyhoo ...

'', starring

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

; and ''

Horizons West ''Horizons West'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Robert Ryan, Julie Adams and Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One ...

'' (1952), starring

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, and

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

. Stevens' final screenplay was for '' Flaming Frontier'' in 1958, although he did some work on additional dialogue for the 1959 film, ''

Desert Desperadoes ''Desert Desperadoes'' ( it, La peccatrice del deserto) is a 1959 American/Italian Biblical drama film directed by Steve Sekely from an original screenplay by Victor Stoloff and Robert Hill. Co-produced by the Italian company Venturini Express a ...

''. Stevens also wrote several television episodes, one for ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

'', and two for ''

Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans'', later retitled ''Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans'' is a 1957 historical drama television series made for syndication by ITC Entertainment and Normandie Productions. It ran for one season of 39 half-hour monochro ...

'', all in 1957. Stevens died on September 29, 1963, at the age of 66, in Hollywood, California. He was buried in Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood.

Filmography

(Per

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

database) * ''A World of Folly'', screenplay (1920) * '' The Bronze Bell'', screenplay (1921) * ''

The Home Stretch ''The Home Stretch'' is a surviving 1921 American silent drama film directed by Jack Nelson and written by Louis Stevens. The film stars Douglas MacLean, Beatrice Burnham, Walt Whitman, Margaret Livingston, Wade Boteler, Mary Jane Irving, an ...

'', screenplay (1921) * ''Dollar Devils'', screenplay (1923) * ''

The Ne'er-Do-Well ''The Ne'er-Do-Well'' is a 1923 American comedy silent film directed by Alfred E. Green. The film stars Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, Gertrude Astor, John Miltern, Gus Weinberg, and Sidney Smith. The screenplay by Rex Beach and Louis Stevens is ...

'', screenplay (1923) * '' Babe Comes Home'', screenplay (1927) * '' Easy Pickings'', screenplay (1927) *'' United States Smith'', scenario (1928) * ''

Burning Daylight ''Burning Daylight'' is a novel by Jack London, published in 1910, one of the best-selling books of that year and London's best-selling book in his lifetime. The novel has been adapted for film. Plot The first part of the novel takes place in ...

'', screenplay (1928) * ''Hell Ship Bronson'', screenplay (1928) * ''Hot Stuff'', scenario (1929) * ''

Scarlet Seas ''Scarlet Seas'' is a surviving 1929 American silent romantic adventure film produced by Richard A. Rowland and distributed by First National Pictures. The picture was directed by John Francis Dillon. It starred Richard Barthelmess, Betty Comps ...

'', titles (1929) * '' Heads Up'', continuity (1930) * '' Dracula'', screenplay (1932) * ''

Girl of the Rio ''Girl of the Rio'' is a 1932 American pre-Code RKO musical film starred Dolores del Río and Leo Carrillo. Directed by Herbert Brenon, the screenplay was written by Elizabeth Meehan and Louis Stevens, based on the play, ''The Dove'' by Will ...

'', screenplay (1932) * ''

Men of Chance ''Men of Chance'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Archainbaud, starring Ricardo Cortez, Mary Astor, and John Halliday. Plot A destitute Marthe Preston is in dire straits in Paris until gambler Richard Dorval comes to ...

'', screenplay (1932) * '' State's Attorney'', story (1932) * ''

'', story (1932) * '' Flying Devils'', story & screenplay (1933) * ''

Gridiron Flash ''Gridiron Flash'' is a 1934 American sports film directed by Glenn Tryon and starring Eddie Quillan, Betty Furness and Grant Mitchell. It was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures. It made a profit of $43,000. Plot Belford College's football ...

'' (1934) * ''Hot Tip'' (1935) * ''

Mary Burns, Fugitive ''Mary Burns, Fugitive'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by William K. Howard. Sylvia Sidney plays a small-town coffee-shop owner who falls for a gangster, ends up in prison and then released in a scheme to trap him. Plot Mary Burns (S ...

'', continuity (1935) * '' The Texas Rangers'', screenplay (1936) * '' Special Investigator'', screenplay (1936) * '' Criminal Lawyer'', story (1937) * ''

The Last Train from Madrid ''The Last Train from Madrid'' is a 1937 American war drama film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Dorothy Lamour, Lew Ayres and Gilbert Roland. It is set during the Spanish Civil War. The film was one of the few contemporary Hollywood film ...

'', screenplay (1937) * ''

Sinners in Paradise ''Sinners in Paradise'' is a 1938 American south seas adventure film directed by James Whale and starring Madge Evans, John Boles, Bruce Cabot, Marion Martin and Gene Lockhart. In 1966, the film entered the public domain in the United States b ...

'', screenplay (1938) * '' The Border Legion'', screenplay (1940) * ''

'', screenplay (1940) * ''Amazon Quest'', dialogue (1949) * '' Massacre River'', screenplay (1949) * '' Streets of Laredo'', story (1949) * '' Santa Fe'', story (1951) * ''

'', story & screenplay (1952) * ''

Border River ''Border River'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Joel McCrea, Yvonne De Carlo and Pedro Armendáriz. Plot During the US Civil War, Clete Mattson arrives in Zona Libre, a small territory across the river ...

'',story & screenplay (1954) * '' Gun Duel in Durango'', screenplay (1957) * ''The Beast of Budapest'', story (1958) * ''

Wolf Dog ''Wolf Dog'', also known as ''A Boy and His Dog'', is a 1958 Western film directed and produced by Sam Newfield and produced by Regal Films. The film stars Jim Davis and Allison Hayes. Cast *Jim Davis Production In August 1957, Newfield and a ...

'', screenplay (1958) * '' Flaming Frontier'', screenplay (1958) * ''

'', dialogue (1959)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Louis 1896 births 1963 deaths Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery American male screenwriters Film people from Riga Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters