Aeneas MacKenzie, or Æneas MacKenzie (August 15, 1889 in

Stornoway Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

– June 2, 1962 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

), was a Scottish-American screenwriter. MacKenzie wrote many notable

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

films, including: ''

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex ''The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'' is a 1939 American historical romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland. Based on the play '' Elizabeth the Queen'' by Maxwell Anders ...

'' (1939), ''

They Died with Their Boots On ''They Died with Their Boots On'' is a 1941 American black-and-white Western film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Hal B. Wallis and Robert Fellows, directed by Raoul Walsh, that stars Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film's sto ...

'' (1941), ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting ...

'' (1952), and ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

'' (1956).

Career

Maackenzie came from England to work on a film of '' East Lynne''. In January 1938, he was under contract to Warner Bros. to write what would become ''Juarez''. In February 1939, he was working on a biopic of

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

for James Cagney. He also wrote a biopic of

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

for

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Griffin (The Invisible Man), Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Ma ...

. Neither were made, but by July 1940, he was working on a biopic of George Custer which became ''They Died with Their Boots On''. MacKenzie wrote ''The Widow of Devil's Island'' for Bette Davis. In March 1942, he was working on a movie about "Sing Sing" prison. In October 1943, RKO announced they would make a film from his original story, ''The Spanish Main''. In July 1946, he wrote a script of ''Ivanhoe'' for Paramount. The project was postponed due to the Palestine Cris and instead MacKenzie was assigned to do a biopic on Ludwig II for producer Robert Fellows. A year later, his ''Ivanhoe'' script was sold to RKO. They sold it to MGM who filmed it several years later. He worked on the script for ''The Black Book'' (1949). In January 1950, he sold a script to Douglas Fairbanks Jr which became ''

Against All Flags ''Against All Flags'' is a 1952 American pirate film directed by George Sherman and Douglas Sirk and starring Errol Flynn as Brian Hawke, Maureen O'Hara as Prudence "Spitfire" Stevens and Anthony Quinn as Roc Brasiliano. The film's plot is set in ...

''. Several months later, MacKenzie sold this story to Universal, who hired him to write the script. Also at Universal, he did ''The Prince Who Was a Thief''. MacKenzie later headed the script team on ''The Ten Commandments''. In July 1957, he was writing ''Peter and Catherine'' about Russia in the 18th century for Ross Hunter at Universal. In late 1958, MacKenzie was reported to be working on a biopic of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

for Evyan Perfumes.

Filmography

*'' Juarez'' (1939) *''

'' (1939) *''

'' (1941) *''

The Navy Comes Through ''The Navy Comes Through'' is a 1942 American World War II film directed by A. Edward Sutherland. It stars Pat O'Brien, George Murphy and Jane Wyatt. Vernon L. Walker and James G. Stewart were nominated for an Oscar for Best Special Effects. ...

'' (1942) *''

The Woman of the Town ''The Woman of the Town'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by George Archainbaud and written by Aeneas MacKenzie. The film stars Claire Trevor, Albert Dekker, Barry Sullivan, Henry Hull, Porter Hall, Percy Kilbride and Clem Bevans. ...

'' (1943) *''

The Fighting Seabees ''The Fighting Seabees'' is a 1944 war film, directed by Edward Ludwig and starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward. The supporting cast includes Dennis O'Keefe, William Frawley, Leonid Kinsky, Addison Richards and Grant Withers. ''The Fighting Seab ...

'' (1944) *''

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years ...

'' (1944) *'' Back to Bataan'' (1945) *''

The Spanish Main ''The Spanish Main'' is a 1945 American adventure film starring Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak and Binnie Barnes, and directed by Frank Borzage. It was RKO's first all-Technicolor film since ''Becky Sharp'' ten years before. Cin ...

'' (1945) *''

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public Capital punishment, executions took pl ...

'' (1949) * '' The Avengers'' (1950) *''

Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. ''Captain Horatio Hornblower'' (a.k.a. ''Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.'' in the UK, "R.N." standing for "Royal Navy") is a 1951 British naval swashbuckling war film in Technicolor from Warner Bros., produced by Gerry Mitchell, directed by Rao ...

'' (1951) *'' The Prince Who Was a Thief'' (1951) *''

'' (1952) *'' Face to Face'' (1952) *''

'' (1952) *''L'amante di Paride'' (''

Loves of Three Queens ''Loves of Three Queens'' ( it, L'amante di Paride), also known as ''The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships'', is a 1954 Italian anthology film. It was directed by Marc Allégret and Edgar G. Ulmer and stars Hedy Lamarr. Plot A woman going to a ...

'') (1954) *''

'' (1956) *'' The King's Pirate'' (1967)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Aeneas Scottish screenwriters 1889 births 1962 deaths People from Stornoway 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British screenwriters British emigrants to the United States