Oliver H. P. Garrett (May 6, 1894 – February 22, 1952) was an American film director, writer, newspaperman, and rifleman.

Biography

Oliver H. P. Garrett was born in

Laurens County, South Carolina Laurens County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 67,539. Its county seat is Laurens. Laurens County is included in the Greenville- Anderson- Mauldin, SC Metropolitan Statistic ...

. By the fall of 1917 he was a rifleman who fought against the Germans, but he was wounded and won the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

. He interviewed Al Capone and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

in 1923 after the failed Pusch and in the early 1930s. He was a newspaperman for '' The Sun'' in the 1920s, and he was the only on board of the SS ''Morro Castle'' until his burning and sinking. He was hired by David O. Selznick after writing the final script of ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' (1939) because

Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

wanted a film of conventional length. Garrett was a close friend and next-door neighbour to Hollywood producer

Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...

. When Thalberg married movie star

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...

, Oliver was the usher of the wedding.

Career

He directed and wrote the screenplay for '' Careful, Soft Shoulder'' (1942). The script employs a

first-person narrative A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-telle ...

and his direction is not imaginative and uses a first-person camera. He wrote the story and dialogue for '' Street of Chance'' (1942), based on the life of the gangster

Arthur Rothstein Arthur Rothstein (July 17, 1915 – November 11, 1985) was an American photographer. Rothstein is recognized as one of America's premier photojournalists. During a career that spanned five decades, he provoked, entertained and informed the Americ ...

and it is a remake of the 1930 film. According to Louella O. Parsons, "Oliver H. P. Garrett has written a thriling story, but even so, much of the credit must go to John Cromwell, who directed the story with finesse and with a fine regard for detail. He wrote the story for the crime drama ''

Her Husband Lies ''Her Husband Lies'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Edward Ludwig and written by Wallace Smith and Eve Greene. The film stars Gail Patrick, Ricardo Cortez, Akim Tamiroff, Tom Brown, Louis Calhern and June Martel. The film was release ...

'' (1937), which was adapted and was also a remake of ''Street of Chance'', starring

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...

and

Kay Francis Kay Francis (born Katharine Edwina Gibbs; January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 an ...

. He wrote the screenplay and the dialogue of '' For the Defense'' (1930), and ''

Scandal Sheet Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism (usually dramatized and sometimes unverifiable or even blatantly false), which takes its name from the tabloid newspaper format: a small-sized newspaper also known as ...

'' (1931). '' The Texan'' (1930) was based on an adaption of the story ''The Double-Eyed Deceiver''. '' City Streets'' (1931), directed by

Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director. Early life Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. ...

, was adapted by

Max Marcin Max Marcin (5 May 1879 – 30 March 1948) was a Polish-born American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and film director. He wrote for 47 films between 1916 and 1949. He also directed six films between 1931 and 1936. His stage work inclu ...

and Garrett wrote the script. He wrote the screenplay for ''

The Man I Married ''The Man I Married'' (alternative title ''I Married a Nazi'') is an American 1940 drama film starring Joan Bennett, Francis Lederer, Lloyd Nolan and Anna Sten. Plot A successful, and yet naive American woman, art critic Carol Cabbott (Joan Benn ...

'' (1940).

Filmography

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, Oliver H.P. 1894 births 1952 deaths American film directors American newspaper writers American male screenwriters American television writers Screenwriters from South Carolina 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American journalists American male journalists United States Army personnel of World War II American male non-fiction writers American male television writers 20th-century American screenwriters