P. J. Wolfson

Pincus Jacob Wolfson (May 22, 1903 – April 16, 1979s) was an American pharmacist, novelist, screenwriter, film producer, and film director.

Early life

Pincus Jacob Wolfson was born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in New York City. His father worked as a plumber. Pincus studied pharmacy at Fordham University.

Career

While working in a pharmacy in Madison Square Garden, he wrote his first novels.

Wolfson published his first novel, ''Bodies Are Dust'', in 1931, and later, published twice, under two different titles, in French. It was called a "masterpiece" by Jean-Patrick Manchette.Mesplède, Claude (2007). ''Dictionnaire des littératures policières'', vol. 2 : J – Z, p. 1086. Joseph K, Nantes. .

Allen Rivkin, an advertising copy writer, who went to Hollywood and joined the RKO Pictures publicity department, formed a film writing team with Wolfson, who got a writer’s contract on the strength of "Bodies Are Dust". They started at Universal Pictures the same day. Through a luncheon conversation that day decided to collaborate on a story. In less than two years the pair wrote ten screen plays. They later wrote for the B. P. Schulberg company at Paramount Pictures.

He worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, RKO Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures. He wrote numerous scripts for film and television. He produced 30 episodes of the television series '' I Married Joan'' between 1952 and 1955.

Works

Novels
*''Bodies Are Dust'' (1931)
*''Summer Hotel'' (1932)
*''All Women Die'' (1933)
*''My Flesh of Brass'' (1934)
*''How Sharp the Point'' (1959)

Partial filmography

;Writer
*1933: ''Picture Snatcher'' by Lloyd Bacon with James Cagney
*1933: ''The Tourbillon Dance'' by Robert Z. Leonard with Joan Crawford and Clark Gable
*1935: ''Reckless Youth'' by Victor Fleming with Jean Harlow and William Powell
*1935: ''The Mad Love of Hands'' by Karl Freund with Peter Lorre and Frances Drake
*1936: ''Carolyn wants to Divorce'' by Leigh Jason with Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Raymond and Robert Young
*1937: ''The Enterprising Mr. Petrov'' by Mark Sandrich with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
*1937: '' Sea Devils'' by Benjamin Stoloff with Victor McLaglen and Preston Foster
*1938: ''Marriage Incognito'' by George Stevens with Ginger Rogers and James Stewart
*1939: '' Allegheny Uprising'' by William A. Seiter with Claire Trevor and John Wayne
*1940: ''Vigil in the Night'' by George Stevens with Carole Lombard and Brian Aherne
*1940: '' He Stayed for Breakfast'' by Alexander Hall with Loretta Young and Melvyn Douglas
*1941: '' Our Wife'' by John M. Stahl with Melvyn Douglas, Ruth Hussey and Ellen Drew
*1942: ''Embrace the Bride'' by Alexander Hall with Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas
*1947: ''Suddenly, It's Spring'' by Mitchell Leisen with Paulette Goddard and Fred MacMurray
*1947: ''The Exploits of Pearl White'' by George Marshall with Betty Hutton and John Lund
*1948: ''Saigon'' by Leslie Fenton with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake

;Director
*1939: ''Boy Slaves'' with Anne Shirley

;Producer
*1938: '' The Mad Miss Manton'' by Leigh Jason with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
*1939: ''Boy Slaves''
*1939: '' Allegheny Uprising'' by William A. Seiter with Claire Trevor and John Wayne
*1943: ''My Kingdom for a Cook'' by Richard Wallace with Charles Coburn, Marguerite Chapman, and Bill Carter.
*1948: ''Saigon'' by Leslie Fenton with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake

Further reading

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Citations

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfson, P.J.
20th-century American novelists
American crime fiction writers
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Jewish American novelists
Screenwriters from New York (state)
American producers
Novelists from New York (state)
1903 births
1979 deaths
20th-century American screenwriters
20th-century American Jews