Wynyard Barry Browne (6 October 1911 – 19 February 1964) was an English dramatist, playwright and screenwriter

Biography

He was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1911, and educated at Marlborough and

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

. His plays include '' The Holly and the Ivy'', which was first produced at the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 sea ...

in London in 1950 and was adapted to become a film of the same title in 1952, for which he wrote the screenplay. His first play was ''Dark Summer'' and other works include '' A Question of Fact'' and ''The Ring of Truth''. A traditional dramatist, his work fell out of fashion as 'kitchen sink' dramas revolutionised the London stage. He also adapted the

Harold Brighouse Harold Brighouse (26 July 1882 – 25 July 1958) was an English playwright and author whose best known play is '' Hobson's Choice''. He was a prominent member, together with Allan Monkhouse and Stanley Houghton, of a group known as the Manches ...

play ''

Hobson's Choice A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one thing is actually offered. The term is often used to describe an illusion that multiple choices are available. The most well known Hobson's choice is "I'll give you a choice: take it or leav ...

'' for the screen in 1954. He died in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

on 19 February 1964.Obituary, The New York Times, Feb 20, 1964

Novels

* ''Sheldon's Way'' (1935) * ''The Fire and the Fiddle'' (1937)

Plays and film scripts

* ''Dark Summer'' (1947) * '' The Holly and the Ivy '' (1950) (also wrote the film version's screenplay, released in 1952) * '' A Question of Fact'' (1953) * ''The Ring of Truth'' (1959) * Screenwriter ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Wynyard 1911 births 1964 deaths 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights Writers from London 20th-century English male writers