Mary McCarthy (not to be confused with another screenwriter—
Mary Eunice McCarthy
Mary Eunice McCarthy (March 4, 1899 – August 7, 1969) was an American screenwriter, playwright, journalist and author, perhaps best known today as the screenwriter of, and driving force behind, the biopic ''Sister Kenny'' (1946).Cohn, Victor ( ...
) 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.
...
active in the 1930s and 1940s.
["Irish Mary McCarthy Does Unpredictable Things"](_blank)
''The Tampa Tribune''. July 30, 1939. p. 36. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
Biography
Born and raised in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, to Irish parents (just like the similarly named screenwriter), McCarthy pursued a career as a schoolteacher in
San Mateo, California
San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...
, before giving it all up to run a nonprofit sandwich stand. She then became a political activist, stumping the state for the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
and going toe-to-toe with the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
.
Eventually she headed to
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, ...
to pursue a career as a
scenarist
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.
T ...
in the mid-1930s; her first big credit was on ''
Theodora Goes Wild
''Theodora Goes Wild'' is a 1936 American screwball comedy film that tells the story of the residents in a small town who are incensed by a risqué novel, unaware that the book was written under a pseudonym by a member of the town's leading fami ...
'', a 1936 comedy starring
Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...
.
Selected filmography
*''
Curley
Curley is a surname, given name, nickname or stage name. It may refer to:
Surname
* August Curley (born 1960), American football player
* Arthur Curley (1938 – 1998), American librarian
* Barney Curley (1939 – 2021), Irish racehorse traine ...
'' (1947)
*''
Sister Kenny
''Sister Kenny'' is a 1946 American biographical film about Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an Australian bush nurse, who fought to help people who suffered from polio, despite opposition from the medical establishment. The film stars Rosalind Russell, A ...
'' (1946)
*''
Amateur Detective'' (1939)
*''
Life Returns
''Life Returns'' is an American film directed by Eugene Frenke. The film stars Onslow Stevens, George P. Breakston and Lois Wilson with a plot that involves a doctor who is convinced that the dead can be brought back to life gets the chance to pr ...
'' (1935)
References
Further reading
Articles
* Bennett, Buford Gordon (April 20, 1925)
"Two Sketches Top This Week's Bill at the Orpheum; Mary Carr Stars in Playlet by S.F. Writer"''The San Francisco Examiner''. p. 11
"With Universal" ''Hollywood Filmograph''. September 3, 1932. p. 3
"'Theodora' to Swerling" ''The Hollywood Reporter''. May 1, 1935. p. 4
* Special to the Times (November 28, 1936)
"Screen Writer Arrives at Mills" ''The San Mateo Times''. p. 2
* Safford, Virginia (November 2, 1943)
"Names Make News" ''The Minneapolis Star''. p. 17
* Coons, Robbin (January 13, 1944)
"Sister Kenny Gets Movie Treatment; Film Will Portray Her Work With Infantile Paralysis" ''Macon Chronicle-Herald''. p. 2
"Indian's Love on 'Matinee'" ''The Paducah Sun''. August 25, 1957. p. 38
Books
* Masterson, James; Eberly, Joyce E., editors (1959)
Writings on American History, 1957; Volume II of the Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1959'. Washington, DC : U.S. Government Printing Office. 1959. p. 529
Year of birth missing
Place of birth missing
Year of death missing
Place of death missing
American women screenwriters
Screenwriters from California
Writers from San Francisco
20th-century American screenwriters
20th-century American women writers
{{US-screen-writer-stub