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
Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
.
Career
While working in a pharmacy in
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
, 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
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
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
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
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
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
.
He worked for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
,
RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
,
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
,
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. 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
''Picture Snatcher'' is a 1933 American pre-code drama film starring James Cagney as a gangster who decides to quit to pursue his dream.
Plot
After getting out of prison, Danny Kean (James Cagney) shocks the gang he leads by quitting. He wants ...
'' by
Lloyd Bacon
Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director he made films in virtually all genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, an ...
with
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...
*1933: ''The Tourbillon Dance'' by
Robert Z. Leonard with
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
and
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
*1935: ''Reckless Youth'' by
Victor Fleming
Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best ...
with
Jean Harlow and
William Powell
*1935: ''The Mad Love of Hands'' by
Karl Freund
Karl W. Freund, A.S.C. (January 16, 1890 – May 3, 1969) was an Austrian cinematography, cinematographer and film director best known for photographing ''Metropolis (1927 film), Metropolis'' (1927), ''Dracula (1931 English-language film), Dracul ...
with
Peter Lorre and
Frances Drake
Frances Drake (born Frances Morgan Dean; October 22, 1912 – January 18, 2000) was an American actress best known for playing Eponine in ''Les Misérables'' (1935).
Early years
Drake was born in New York City as Frances Morgan Dean to a ...
*1936: ''Carolyn wants to Divorce'' by
Leigh Jason with
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
,
Gene Raymond and
Robert Young
*1937: ''The Enterprising Mr. Petrov'' by
Mark Sandrich
Mark Sandrich (born Mark Rex Goldstein; October 26, 1900 – March 4, 1945) was an American film director, writer, and producer.
Early life
Sandrich was born in New York City on October 26, 1900 into a American Jews, Jewish family. His siste ...
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
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
*1939: ''
Allegheny Uprising'' by
William A. Seiter
William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director.
Life and career
Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Senne ...
with
Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...
and
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
*1940: ''
Vigil in the Night
''Vigil in the Night'' is a 1940 RKO Pictures drama film based on the 1939 serialized novel ''Vigil in the Night'' by A. J. Cronin. The film was produced and directed by George Stevens and stars Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne and Anne Shirley.
Plo ...
'' by
George Stevens with
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 2 ...
and
Brian Aherne
*1940: ''
He Stayed for Breakfast'' by
Alexander Hall with
Loretta Young and
Melvyn Douglas
*1941: ''
Our Wife'' by
John M. Stahl
John Malcolm Stahl (January 21, 1886 – January 12, 1950) was an American film director and producer.
Life and work
He was born Jacob Morris Strelitsky in Baku (Azerbaijan) to a Russian Jewish family. When he was a child, his family le ...
with
Melvyn Douglas,
Ruth Hussey and
Ellen Drew
*1942: ''Embrace the Bride'' by
Alexander Hall with
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
and
Melvyn Douglas
*1947: ''
Suddenly, It's Spring
''Suddenly, It's Spring'' (some sources list the title without a comma) is a 1947 comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen. It stars Paulette Goddard and Fred MacMurray.
The story is set in 1945, at the end of World War II. Goddard and MacMurray ...
'' by
Mitchell Leisen with
Paulette Goddard and
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...
*1947: ''The Exploits of Pearl White'' by
George Marshall with
Betty Hutton and
John Lund
*1948: ''
Saigon
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
'' by
Leslie Fenton with
Alan Ladd
Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...
and
Veronica Lake
;Director
*1939: ''
Boy Slaves
''Boy Slaves'' is a 1939 drama film starring Roger Daniel and Anne Shirley. The film was directed by P.J. Wolfson and based upon an Albert Bein story. ''Boy Slaves'' is an exposé of child labor.
Plot
Runaway boy Jesse Thompson, hoping to earn ...
'' with
Anne Shirley
Anne Shirley is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel '' Anne of Green Gables'' by L. M. Montgomery. Shirley is featured throughout the classic book series, which revolve around her life and family in 19th and 20th-century Prince Edw ...
;Producer
*1938: ''
The Mad Miss Manton'' by
Leigh Jason with
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
and
Henry Fonda
*1939: ''
Boy Slaves
''Boy Slaves'' is a 1939 drama film starring Roger Daniel and Anne Shirley. The film was directed by P.J. Wolfson and based upon an Albert Bein story. ''Boy Slaves'' is an exposé of child labor.
Plot
Runaway boy Jesse Thompson, hoping to earn ...
''
*1939: ''
Allegheny Uprising'' by
William A. Seiter
William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director.
Life and career
Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Senne ...
with
Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...
and
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
*1943: ''
My Kingdom for a Cook
''My Kingdom for a Cook'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Richard Wallace, which stars Charles Coburn, Marguerite Chapman, and Bill Carter.
Synopsis
A visiting British emissary on a goodwill tour of the United States struggles to rep ...
'' by
Richard Wallace with
Charles Coburn,
Marguerite Chapman, and
Bill Carter
Bill Carter (born 1966) is a writer and director. He directed the documentary film '' Miss Sarajevo'', which consists of amateur video material he shot during his stay in the besieged city of Sarajevo. He is the author of ''Fools Rush In'', his ...
.
*1948: ''
Saigon
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
'' by
Leslie Fenton with
Alan Ladd
Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...
and
Veronica Lake
Further reading
*
*
*
Citations
External links
*
{{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