Robert Adrian Scott (February 6, 1911 – December 25, 1972) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He was one of the

Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...

and later blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses.

Life and career

Early life

Scott was born in

Arlington, New Jersey Arlington is a neighborhood in Kearny in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Kearny Riverbank Park runs along the neighborhood's Passaic River shore. Arlington Memorial Park cemetery is located on Schuyler Avenue. The ...

, the son of successful Irish Catholic parents — his father worked in middle management for the New York Telephone Company. Arlington was one of the centers of the American textile industry, a key site in the history of industrial capitalism and a hotbed of radical labor agitation. Arlington is 12 miles south of Paterson, where the 1913 strike of 25,000 silk workers brought together socialists,

Wobblies The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

, and Greenwich Village intellectuals. In 1926, when Scott was 15, 20,000 textile workers in nearby Passaic, New Jersey, closed down the mills. Scott's older brother Allan was a playwright (and later screenwriter), whose comedy ''Goodbye Again'' ran on Broadway for most of 1933. Adrian's college yearbook in Amherst College described him: "Hat cocked back at a rakish angle, cigar in the corner of his mouth, his fingers playing nimbly over the typewriter keys, the inimitable R.A.L. Scott." Scott graduated from Amherst in 1934. He was a film critic and associate editor of ''Stage'' magazine from 1936 through 1938. He moved to Hollywood, California, in 1939.

Screenwriter

Scott broke into Hollywood as a screenwriter. He worked on the script for '' Keeping Company'' (1940) at

MGM 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 through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, '' We Go Fast'' (1941) 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 Dis ...

, and '' The Parson of Panamint'' (1941) at Paramount. Scott wrote '' Mr. Lucky'' (1943) at

RKO 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-Orpheu ...

, which was a hit.

Producer

RKO signed Scott to work as a producer. His first credit in that capacity was ''

My Pal Wolf ''My Pal Wolf'' is a 1944 American drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker from a screenplay by Lillie Hayward, Leonard Praskins and John Paxton based on a story by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, the fi ...

'' (1944). He went on to produce ''

Murder, My Sweet ''Murder, My Sweet'' (released as ''Farewell, My Lovely'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1944 American film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley (in her final film before retirement). The film ...

'' (1944), an adaption of ''

Farewell My Lovely ''Farewell, My Lovely'' is a novel by Raymond Chandler, published in 1940, the second novel he wrote featuring the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times and was also adapted for the stage and radio. ...

'' by Raymond Chandler by

John Paxton John Paxton (May 21, 1911, Kansas City, Missouri – January 5, 1985, Santa Monica, California) was an American screenwriter. Some of his films include ''Murder, My Sweet'' in 1944, '' Cornered'' in 1945, ''Crossfire'' in 1947 (an adaptation o ...

that was directed by

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s noir films and received an Oscar nomination for Best Director for '' Crossfire'' (1947). In 1947, he was named as one of the Hollywoo ...

. It was a critical and commercial success. The cast included Dick Powell, who revitalized his career in the role of

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe () is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler, who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The hardboiled crime fiction genre originated in the 1920s, notably in ''Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashie ...

, and

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 Ed ...

, whom Scott married. , Scott, Dmytryk, Powell, and Paxton reunited on '' Cornered'' (1945). Scott then produced ''

Deadline at Dawn ''Deadline at Dawn'' is a 1946 American film noir, the only film directed by stage director Harold Clurman. It was written by Clifford Odets and based on a novel of the same name by Cornell Woolrich (as William Irish). The RKO Pictures film rele ...

'' (1946), the only feature film directed by

Harold Clurman Harold Edgar Clurman (September 18, 1901 – September 9, 1980) was an American theatre director and drama critic. In 2003, he was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. theater by PBS.

. Dmytryk, Paxton, and he reunited on '' So Well Remembered'' (1947) shot in England. More successful was ''

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. S ...

'' (1947), another collaboration among the three men. ''Crossfire'' was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and was a popular success.Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', University of California, 2016 Scott produced ''

The Boy with Green Hair ''The Boy with Green Hair'' is a 1948 American fantasy-drama film in Technicolor directed by Joseph Losey in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Dean Stockwell as Peter, a young war orphan who is subject to ridicule after his hair myst ...

'' (1948), directed by Joseph Losey, which was a box-office flop.Scott Eyman, ''Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer'', Robson, 2005 p 420 He is credited on the script for '' Miss Susie Slagle's'' (1946) at Paramount.

Blacklisting

Scott joined the Communist Party USA in 1944. In October 1947, Scott was called to testify during the

House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

hearings on Hollywood, but as did nine others, refused to testify. RKO fired him on October 29, 1947, for refusing to answer questions. For the first year of the blacklist, he returned to journalism, contributing to the London journal ''Cine-Technician''. He was sentenced to prison along with the other members of the

. Edward Dmytryk, another of the Hollywood Ten, chose to become a 'friendly' witness and testified before the HUAC in 1951 that Scott pressured him to put communist propaganda in his films. In 1955, Scott published an essay titled "Blacklist: The Liberal's Straightjacket and Its Effect on Content" in ''Hollywood Review''. From 1954 to 1961, Scott made a living writing for television. These shows included ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia d ...

'' and ''

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot ''The Adventures of Sir Lancelot'' is a British television series first broadcast in 1956, produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and screened on the ITV network. The series starred William Russell as the eponymous Sir Lancelot, a ...

''. He provided the story for '' Conspiracy of Hearts'' (1960) under a pseudonym. He moved to England in 1961. In 1963, MGM-British hired Scott as a production executive, effectively ending his blacklisting.

Later career

Scott attempted to make a return to feature-film production in 1967 by producing a new adaption of ''

Monsieur Lecoq Monsieur Lecoq is the creation of Émile Gaboriau, a 19th-century French writer and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective employed by the French Sûreté. The character is one of the pioneers of the genre and a major influence on ...

''; the film was never finished. Film stills featuring the movie's actress

Julie Newmar Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer, August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real-estate mogul. She won the Tony ...

were featured in the September 1969 edition of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

''. Shortly before his death, Scott made a television adaption of ''

The Great Man's Whiskers ''The Great Man's Whiskers'' is a 1972 American made-for-television drama film about Abraham Lincoln, directed by Philip Leacock. It was based on a play by Adrian Scott. The film featured a number of well known theatre and television character ac ...

'' and was credited with his legal name.

Personal life

Scott was married to actress

, who subsequently married another screenwriter,

Charles Lederer Charles Davies Lederer (December 31, 1910 – March 5, 1976) was an American screenwriter and film director. He was born into a theatrical family in New York, and after his parents divorced, was raised in California by his aunt, Marion Davies, ...

, nephew of

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

. He later married Joan Scott (née LaCour), fellow screenwriter and producer. Joan sometimes served as Adrian's front when he was unable to publish under his own name, and later the surname LaCour was used by both when writing in Hollywood. Adrian was the brother of screenwriter Allan Scott, who is the father of actress Pippa Scott. Adrian Scott died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in 1972 in Sherman Oaks, California.

Papers

Joan and Adrian Scott's papers can be found at the American Heritage Center in Laramie, Wyoming.

References

External links

*
the Adrian Scott ArchiveAdrian and Joan Scott Papers
at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United ...

Adrian Scott Papers: A Look at the Hollywood Ten and McCarthyism
on th
AHC blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Adrian 1911 births 1972 deaths American communists American film producers American male screenwriters Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from lung cancer Hollywood blacklist Members of the Communist Party USA People from Kearny, New Jersey 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American screenwriters