Robert Buckner (May 28, 1906 – August 18, 1989) was an American film screenwriter, producer and short story writer.

Biography

Buckner studied at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in ...

. He began his professional writing career at age 20, as London correspondent for the ''New York World''. He wrote a play ''An Affair of the State''; the novels ''Sigrid and Sergeant'' (1959), ''Tiger By the Tail'' (1960) and ''Starfire'' (1960); and the short story " The Man Who Won the War" (1936).

Screenwriter

Bucker joined Warner Bros as a writer. His first credit was '' Gold Is Where You Find It'' (1938). He did some uncredited work on ''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

'' (1938) and wrote '' Love, Honor and Behave'' (1938), ''

Comet Over Broadway ''Comet over Broadway'' (1938) is an American film starring Kay Francis and released by Warner Brothers. John Farrow stepped in as director when Busby Berkeley became ill, but Farrow was uncredited on the film. Plot Eve Appleton (Francis), wife ...

'' (1939), '' The Oklahoma Kid'' (1939), and '' You Can't Get Away with Murder'' (1939). Bucker had a big hit with '' Dodge City'' (1939) starring Errol Flynn, based on his original screenplay. He was credited on '' Angels Wash Their Faces'' (1939), and '' Espionage Agent'' (1939) was based on his story. Bucker wrote a follow up to ''Dodge City'', '' Virginia City'' (1940) with Flynn, and worked on the script for ''

My Love Came Back ''My Love Came Back'' is a 1940 American comedy-drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Olivia de Havilland, Jeffrey Lynn, Eddie Albert, and Jane Wyman. Based on the 1935 Austrian film ''Episode'' written and directed by Walter Reis ...

'' (1940). Bucker received acclaim for a biopic, '' Knute Rockne All American'' (1940). He did a third Western for Flynn, ''

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, t ...

'' (1940) and was put on a war film for Flynn, '' Dive Bomber'' (1941). Bucker had a huge success with his script for '' Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942) a biopic of

George M Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

. This resulted in Bucker being promoted to producer at Warners.

Producer

Buckner's first film as producer was '' Gentleman Jim'' (1943) a biopic of Jim Corbett starring Flynn. He produced ''

Mission to Moscow ''Mission to Moscow'' is a 1943 film directed by Michael Curtiz, based on the 1941 book by the former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, Joseph E. Davies. The movie chronicles the experiences of the second American ambassador to the Soviet ...

'' (1943) a biopic of Joseph E Davies and wrote and produced ''

The Desert Song ''The Desert Song'' is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel. It was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riffs, a group of Moroccan fighters, against French colon ...

'' (1943). Bucker made another movie with Flynn, '' Uncertain Glory'' (1944). He made '' God Is My Co-Pilot'' (1945), and wrote and produced ''

Confidential Agent ''Confidential Agent'' is a 1945 American spy film starring Charles Boyer and Lauren Bacall which was a Warner Brothers production. The movie was directed by Herman Shumlin and produced by Robert Buckner with Jack L. Warner as executive produc ...

'' (1945) with

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

. Buckner produced a popular Western with Flynn, ''

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'' (1945). He did a biopic of the

Brontë family The Brontës () were a nineteenth-century literary family, born in the village of Thornton and later associated with the village of Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte (1816–1855), Emily (1818–1848) ...

, ''

Devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * C ...

'' (1946), and did a crime drama, '' Nobody Lives Forever'' (1946). Buckner produced a Western, '' Cheyenne'' (1947), and the prestigious stage hit '' Life with Father'' (1947). In June 1947 Buckner left Warner Bros for Universal.

Universal

Buckner's first film at Universal was '' Rogues' Regiment'' (1948), which he wrote and produced, from a story by Buckner and director Robert Florey. He went on to wrote and produce '' Sword in the Desert'' (1948), based on an old story of Buckner's which he had turned into a novel called ''Night Watch''. It helped make a star of Jeff Chandler. He wrote and produced '' Free for All'' (1949), ''

Deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

'' (1950), shot in Italy with Chandler, and ''

Bright Victory ''Bright Victory'' is a 1951 American drama romance war film directed by Mark Robson and starring Arthur Kennedy and Peggy Dow. Plot During World War II, American sergeant Larry Nevins is blinded by a German sniper while fighting in North Afr ...

'' (1951).

Freelance writer

Buckner provided the story for '' When in Rome'' (1952) and ''

The Man Behind the Gun ''The Man Behind the Gun'' is a 1953 American Western film about the establishment of the city of Los Angeles. It was directed by Felix Feist and stars Randolph Scott.To Paris with Love'' (1955), '' House of Secrets'' (1956) and two for Warwick Films, '' A Prize of Gold'' (1956) and ''

Safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...

'' (1956). Buckner began writing for TV, adapting '' Twentieth Century'' and ''

A Bell for Adano ''A Bell for Adano'' (1945) is a film directed by Henry King and starring John Hodiak and Gene Tierney. It was adapted from the 1944 novel of the same title by John Hersey, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1945. In his review of the ...

'' for '' Ford Star Jubilee''.

20th Century Fox

Back in Hollywood Buckner wrote '' Love Me Tender'' (1956) at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

, a film best remembered as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's debut movie. In 1957 he wrote ''Sigrid and the Sergeant'', his first prose in almost twenty years. The following year he wrote and produced '' From Hell to Texas'' (1958) directed by Henry Hathaway at Fox. Also for Fox Bucker created a TV series ''

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

'' (1960–61) starring

Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and '' I ...

. It only lasted a season, Bucker produced the pilot for a follow up, ''Dateline: San Francisco'' but it did not result in a regular series. At Disney he provided the story for '' Moon Pilot'' (1962). Buckner went on to write episodes of '' The Rogues'', '' Burke's Law'', '' The Wackiest Ship in the Army'', '' The Name of the Game'' and ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

''. He also wrote the features '' Return of the Gunfighter'' (1967).

Later life

In his later life, Buckner lived in

San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the city lies from Mexico City, 86 km (53 mi) from Quer ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Gua ...

. He was a fine artist and recognized leader in the art community there. He died and was buried in San Miguel in 1989.

Works

*" The Man Who Won the War", 1936 (short story) *'' Gold Is Where You Find It'' (1938) – writer *''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

'' (1938) – uncredited writer *'' Love, Honor and Behave'' (1938) – writer *''

'' (1938) – writer *'' The Oklahoma Kid'' (1939) – writer *'' Espionage Agent'' (1939) – writer *'' The Angels Wash Their Faces'' (1939) – writer *'' Dodge City'' (1939) – writer *'' You Can't Get Away with Murder'' (1939) – writer *''

'' (1940) – writer *'' Knute Rockne All American'' (1940) – writer *''

'' (1940) – writer *'' Virginia City'' (1940) – writer *'' Dive Bomber'' (1941) – writer *'' Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942) – writer *'' Gentleman Jim'' (1942) – producer *''

'' (1943) – producer *''

'' (1943) – writer, producer *'' Roaring Guns'' (1944) (short) – writer *'' Uncertain Glory'' (1944) – producer *'' God is My Co-Pilot'' (1945) – producer *''

'' (1945) – producer *''

'' (1945) – writer, producer *''

'' (1946) – producer *'' Nobody Lives Forever'' (1946) – producer *''Night Watch'' (1947) (novel) – writer – became '' Sword in the Desert'' *'' Cheyenne'' (1947) – producer *'' Life with Father'' (1947) – producer *'' Rogues' Regiment'' (1948) – writer, producer, co-story *''Portrait of a Lady'' (1949) (play) – writer *'' Sword in the Desert'' (1949) – writer, producer *'' Free for All'' (1949) – writer, producer *''

'' (1950) – writer, producer *''

'' (1951) – writer, producer *'' When in Rome'' (1952) – writer *''

The Man Behind the Gun ''The Man Behind the Gun'' is a 1953 American Western film about the establishment of the city of Los Angeles. It was directed by Felix Feist and stars Randolph Scott.A Prize of Gold'' (1955) – writer *'' To Paris with Love'' (1955) – writer *'' Ford Star Jubilee'' (1956) – various episodes – writer *''

'' (1956) – writer *'' Love Me Tender'' (1956) – writer *'' Triple Deception'' (1956) – writer *''Sigrid and the Sergeant'' (1957) (novel) – writer *'' From Hell to Texas'' (1958) – writer, producer *''

'' (1960–61) – creator, writer, producer *'' Dateline San Francisco'' (1962) (TV pilot) – writer *'' Moon Pilot'' (1962) – writer, based on his 1960 novel ''Starfire'' *'' The Rogues'' (1965) – various episodes – writer *'' Burke's Law'' (1965) (TV series) – various episodes – writer *'' The Wackiest Ship in the Army'' (1966) – episode "The Lamb Who Hunted Wolves" – writer *'' Return of the Gunfighter'' (1967) – writer *'' The Name of the Game'' (1969) – episode "The Suntan Mob" – writer *''

'' (1970) – episode "The Gold Mine" - writer

References

External links

*
Robert Buckner
at BFI {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckner, Robert 1906 births 1989 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh University of Virginia alumni People from Crewe, Virginia American male screenwriters New York World American male short story writers American film producers American emigrants to Mexico 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Virginia Robert Meltzer Award winners 20th-century American screenwriters