Viña Delmar
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Viña Delmar (born Alvina Louise Croter; January 29, 1903 – January 19, 1990) was an American short story writer, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter who worked from the 1920s to the 1970s. She rose to fame in the late 1920s with the publication of her suggestively titled novel, ''Bad Girl,'' which became a bestseller in 1928. Delmar also wrote the screenplay to the
screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a film subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1950s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary charact ...
''
The Awful Truth ''The Awful Truth'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1922 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts a distrustful rich couple who begin ...
'', for which she received an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nomination in 1937.


Early years

Viña Delmar was born Alvina Louise Croter on January 29, 1903, in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York, the daughter of
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
performers Isaac "Ike" Croter and Jennie A. Croter, née Guran or Guerin. Her parents were regulars on the vaudeville circuit as well as performers in the Yiddish theater in New York City and other major cities in the United States. Ike Croter went by the stage name of "Charlie Hoey" (or "Chas Hoey"), and formed half of the musical duo "Hoey and Lee," alongside partner Harry Lee. Jennie Croter was a chorus girl and singer who performed under the name "Jean Powell" (or "Jeanne Powell"). As a child, Delmar was taken along by her parents as they performed on the vaudeville circuit in the United States. At the age of three weeks, she was in San Francisco, with the top drawer of her mother's trunk used as a cradle. In 1911, when Delmar was eight, her mother retired from the stage, and the family settled in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. Not long afterwards, on September 13, 1916, her mother died, and with her father, Viña moved to the Bronx. She attended public schools only until the age of 13. By age 16, she was appearing on the vaudeville stage. With her stage career struggling—Delmar deemed herself "not a good actress"—she took on various employments in the 1920s, including theater usher, typist, switchboard operator, and assistant manager of a moving picture house in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
. Sardonically, playing off her failings on the stage, she noted "I was a notable success as an usher."Kunitz, Stanley J. ''Living Authors: A Book of Biographies'' edited by Dilly Tante seud.(New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1931), p. 102. In 1921, Viña married a man named Albert Zimmerman, a radio announcer and writer. Around the time of the marriage, Zimmerman was using the name Eugene Delmar or Gene Delmar, perhaps as a stage name. Viña readily assumed the Delmar surname as well, and it became her de facto name. Zimmerman, apparently, formally changed his name to Eugene Delmar in July 1929, though conclusive evidence of this action is lacking. The Delmars gained a brief moment of national attention in June 1921 when Viña, on a gag, placed an advertisement to "rent" her husband for a year. The stunt, apparently due to financial hardship, led to a story that quickly spread throughout the United States. The ad read: "FOR RENT One husband. Terms, $5,000 a year. Qualifications: Handsome, lovely disposition, great adaptability, stay home nights, beautiful singing voice, wonderful ballroom dancer, superior education VINA DELMAR (Mrs. Gene Delmar)"Rohe, Alice. "Rush to Rent Hubby at $5000 a Year" ''Arizona Republic''. (Sunday, June 26, 1921, p. 2
Article
Viña's explanation for the advertisement was reported in some accounts: "Gene is a writer," she said of her husband. "He writes lovely poems to me and wants to write other things. Of course, he couldn’t support us yet on writing." The publication that ran the original advertisement was not identified in the newspaper reports of 1928 and remains unidentified.


Writing career

As a child of nine years of age, Delmar showed an interest in writing and began to pen stories. Her first success with publication was achieved in 1922 with her short story "Tony Checks Out," which appeared in the risqué publication ''Snappy Stories''.


''Bad Girl'' and other early novels

Delmar's breakthrough as a writer occurred at age 25 with ''Bad Girl'', a popular fiction novel published in 1928 by Harcourt Brace and Co. Spinning a cautionary tale about
premarital sex Premarital sex is sex before marriage. It is an act of sex between two people who are not married to each other. Premarital sex is considered a sin by a number of religions and also considered a moral issue which is taboo in many cultures. S ...
, pregnancy, and childbirth, filtered through the lens of the
tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...
, working-class married life, ''Bad Girl'' was an unexpected and immediate sensation. The novel gained additional notoriety when it was initially
banned in Boston "Banned in Boston" is a phrase that was employed from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, to describe a literary work, song, motion picture, or play which had been prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston, Massachuse ...
. The success of the book induced the
Literary Guild The Literary Guild of America is a mail order book sales club, book club selling low-cost editions of selected current books to its members. Established in 1927 to compete with the Book of the Month Club, it is currently owned by Bookspan. It was a ...
to choose it as its April 1928 selection, which edged sales even higher. The book entered the Publishers Weekly fiction bestseller list at No. 9 on May 26, 1928, and peaked at No. 4 on June 30, 1928, holding that position for four weeks. Overall, for the year 1928, the book ranked fifth on the Publishers Weekly fiction bestseller list. In 1929, attempting to capitalize on the success of ''Bad Girl,'' Delmar wrote two other books in quick succession, each featuring a suggestive title. ''Kept Woman'' was a novel, while ''Loose Ladies'' presented eleven fictional portraits of modern American city women. Both books drew the attention of censors, but little came of it. As the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
took hold in the early 1930s, Delmar's gritty tenement stories began to slip out of favor with the reading public. ''Women Live Too Long'' and ''The Marriage Racket'' was published in 1932 and 1933, respectively, but neither book nor the quick follow-ups to ''Bad Girl'' managed to crack the bestseller lists, though all were later reissued in paperback by Avon in the 1940s. With the exception of "The End of the World," a short story that initially appeared in ''Cosmopolitan'', and which was reformatted and sold in paperback in 1934, Delmar didn't have a new book published until 1950.


The Delmar writing team

Viña Delmar wrote her stories, novels, and screenplays with the editorial assistance of her husband, Gene. Although he rarely received credit in the published works, the Delmars considered themselves a writing team. In a 1956 ''Times Book Review'' interview, she pointed out the collaborative nature of their working relationship: "When we're working, we discuss the plot a long time. I write up a draft in longhand. Then my husband puts it through the typewriter, changing as he goes."''The New York Times Book Review'' (March 25, 1956, p. 30.) In a 1928 interview, Delmar explained that she wrote four nights a week with a pencil. She wrote very quickly, and her husband would add missing words and correct grammatical errors while he typed. He also would argue with her and help refine her plots and characters. All the intellectual basis of her work was her own, but her husband helped substantially with her writing process.


Hollywood

The earlier success of ''Bad Girl'', which was adapted to the screen in 1931, gave Delmar entry to Hollywood. Sometime in the 1930s, Viña and Eugene Delmar moved from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
to Los Angeles. There, the Delmars nourished a connection to film director
Leo McCarey Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 films, including the critically acclaimed '' Duck Soup'', '' Make Way for Tomorrow'', '' The Awf ...
, which led to contracts for two screenplays, both of which were developed into McCarey-directed movies. The first was the drama ''
Make Way for Tomorrow ''Make Way for Tomorrow'' is a 1937 American tragedy film directed by Leo McCarey. The plot concerns an elderly couple (played by Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi) who are forced to separate when they lose their house and none of their five ch ...
'' (1937), the story of an elderly couple losing their home to foreclosure; the second, the romantic comedy ''
The Awful Truth ''The Awful Truth'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1922 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts a distrustful rich couple who begin ...
'' (1937), now considered among the top screwball comedy films ever produced. Both movies found success at the box office, especially ''The Awful Truth'', which starred
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...
and
Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during Classical Hollywood cinema, the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she perf ...
. Viña Delmar was honoured with an Academy Award nomination for her screenplay of ''The Awful Truth''. Soon thereafter, however, the Delmars chose to exit the screenplay business, even though they continued to live in Hollywood. "We used to do movie scenarios," Viña stated in a 1956 interview with ''The New York Times Book Review''. "There was ''The Awful Truth'' many years ago. That was good, and since we didn't like the work we decided to quit while we were winning."


Theater

During the 1930s and 40s, Delmar and her husband continued to churn out short stories, most of which were regularly featured in large-circulation magazines, such as ''Cosmopolitan'' and ''Liberty''. By the mid-1940s, the duo had switched gears to the theater, writing the drama ''The Rich Full Life: A Play in Three Acts'', which opened November 9, 1945, in New York City. However, the play failed to find an audience and closed after 27 performances (it was however filmed as an
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...
vehicle entitled '' Cynthia'' (1947)). The Delmars found more success with their second effort, ''Mid-Summer'', a comedy that opened at the Vanderbilt Theatre January 21, 1953. The play featured
Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Geraldine Page, numer ...
in her
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
debut. After a respectable run of 109 performances, ''Mid-Summer'' closed April 25, 1953. ''Warm Wednesday,'' another comedy, was published in book form by Samuel French, Inc. in 1959, but, evidently, was never produced on Broadway, as there is no reference to the work in the Internet Broadway Database.


Later books

While the Delmars made their initial bid for theatrical success, Viña returned to writing fiction, first with a novel set in antebellum New Orleans, serialized in 1947 in the ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' as ''I'll Take My Stand'' and published in softcover as ''New Orleans Lady'' in 1949. Soon thereafter, ''About Mrs. Leslie'' — publicized as the author's first new novel in many years — was published to moderate success in 1950. Detailing the life and love of a small-time
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
boarding house owner and the lives of her tenants, the novel's movie rights were purchased prior to its publication with its 1954 filmation proving a considerable success. Three other Delmar novels were published in 1950–51, after which the author again apparently took a sabbatical from writing fiction. In 1956, ''Beloved'', her first novel in five years, was published. As with ''New Orleans Lady'', ''Beloved'' was set in the 19th century
American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...
but was focused on actual historical personages, chiefly
Judah Benjamin Judah Philip Benjamin (August 6, 1811 – May 6, 1884) was a lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana, a member of the Confederate States Cabinet and, after his escape to Britain at the end of the American Ci ...
. Also appearing in ''Beloved'' was
John Slidell John Slidell (1793July 9, 1871) was an American politician, lawyer, slaveholder, and businessman. Database at A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man. He was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, U.S. House ...
who Delmar made the focus of her 1961 novel ''The Big Family''. On 14 December 1957, Viña Delmar's editorial partner and husband Eugene Delmar died. After his death, Delmar continued to write steadily, producing nine book-length works between 1959 and 1976, all but one of which were published by Harcourt, Brace and Co. Notable among these was ''The Becker Scandal'', which examined the life, trial and execution of New York City policeman Charles Becker. Some in academia consider the work to be autobiographical, while others are more questioning of Delmar's recollections. Delmar's last book, ''McKeever'', was published in 1976.


Themes

Growing up in New York as the daughter of theater actors and performers, Delmar was aware of class conflict and social issues. In her article for the Belles Lettres publication, a women’s literary journal, Carolyn Banks writes, “Her mother had pretensions and never quite accepted her father's ties to old neighbourhood friends, many of whom were involved in shady activities. Viña, an only child, was witness to their many steely battles about this and doubtless internalized the conflict.” Class conflicts manifested themselves in Delmar’s work later on, as many of her characters were working-class and her writing often portrayed tenement life. In fact, one of her novels was criticized for its “non-intellectual, petty-minded, restless, indolent, improvident, poverty-stricken” characters. Delmar’s characters were working-class women who cursed, had premarital sex, thought independently, and faced modern issues. Delmar dropped out of school as a teenager and described herself as poorly educated, but during the 1920s and 1930s, she was considered one of the best writers of the time with a unique and powerful understanding of the human condition. Her works were written with a high level of detail and explored complicated and controversial subjects of promiscuity, childbirth, and abortion. Critics of her novel ''Bad Girl'' complained that “A novel is not the place for obstetrics” and “Miss Delmar must learn to leave something to the reader’s imagination”. However, other critics praised it for its startling realism and style and heralded it as an example of literary freedom.


Celebrity

At the age of twenty-three, Viña Delmar was thrust into the public spotlight due to the tremendous, unexpected success of her first novel, ''Bad Girl''. With her bobbed hair, pixie smile, and slender, petite frame, she epitomized the image of the quintessential
flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...
. When several of her short stories and novels were later adapted to film, Delmar's name and face were often featured prominently on promotional posters and in newspaper advertising. Movie advertising sometimes even displayed her image and name above the actors starring in the films. While she could have been a major celebrity, Delmar maintained a more private image. She also avoided personal relationships with editors. Her fame lasted into the 1930s, and then fizzled out. However, she continued to write prolifically throughout her life in all different formats and mediums.


Personal life

On May 20, 1921, at age of 18, Viña married Albert Otto Zimmerman in New York City. The marriage record indicates that "Alvina L. Miller" was divorced. If the record is accurate, her marriage to Zimmerman (Eugene Delmar) was her second. Viña claimed she met her husband at a
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
rendezvous, that it was a case of "love at first sight," and they married the next day. After her marriage, Delmar and her husband initially resided for several years in the Inwood area of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. They then lived in
Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coterminous municipality, coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate ...
in the 1930s. By 1940, the duo, along with their teenage son, Gray (born 1924), had moved to Los Angeles and Hollywood. Viña and Eugene Delmar remained married until his death on December 14, 1957, in Los Angeles. Gray died in an automobile racing accident in 1966. Viña Delmar died January 19, 1990, at age 86 in a
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...
convalescent home. She is interred in
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery located at 10621 Victory Boulevard, straddling the border between the Los Angeles neighborhood of North Hollywood and Burbank, California. The cemetery's East entrance features the Portal of the Fo ...
in
North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...
, as is her husband, Eugene Delmar. Note: Official documents and published material reveal that Viña Delmar and her husband, Gene, were not always forthright when it came to providing personal information. Viña is quoted in a 1931 book of author biographies that she was "born in the winter of 1905." She was actually born January 29, 1903, per her New York birth certificate (Certificate No. 3137). The 1903 date of her birth is confirmed by the 1910 Census record of the "Charles" Croter family. Because of the 1905 date, Viña provided for her birth, it was reported in various publications that she had married Eugene Delmar at age 16.Kunitz, Stanley J. and Howard Haycraft, ed. Twentieth Century Authors, A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature (New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1942), p. 370. This was inaccurate, as she was 18; but she may have had a prior marriage. There also are two marriage records on file that document, to one degree or another, Viña and Gene Delmar as participants: (1) the aforementioned Zimmerman marriage record (Albert O. Zimmerman, age 21, married Alvina L. Miller, age 18, May 10, 1921, Manhattan, New York; others (present): Charles Croter, Jean Cariaga/Miller); and (2) a Gene Delmar marriage in Philadelphia (Gene Delmar married Hoey, 1922, Philadelphia, PA; Marriage License No. 457957). Considering that Viña Delmar's father went by the stage name Charlie or Chas. Hoey, the record possibly reflects that Viña and Gene Delmar married a second time, or perhaps renewed their vows, with Viña using the surname "Hoey."


Works


Novels

* ''Bad Girl'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1928) * ''Kept Woman'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1929) * ''Loose Ladies'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1929) Collection of short stories. * ''Women Live Too Long'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1932) * ''The Marriage Racket'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1933) * ''The End of the World'' (International Magazine Co., 1934) Reprint of the complete novel that was originally published in
Cosmopolitan Magazine ''Cosmopolitan'' (stylized in all caps) is an American quarterly fashion and entertainment magazine for women, first published based in New York City in March 1886 as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and, sinc ...
; 54 pages. * ''The Love Trap'' (New York: Avon #189, 1946) * ''The Restless Passion'' (New York: Avon Book Co., 1947); retitled reissue of ''Women Live Too Long'' (1932). * ''New Orleans Lady'' (New York: Avon #209, 1949) * ''About Mrs. Leslie'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1950) * ''The Laughing Stranger'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1950) * ''Strangers in Love'' (New York: Dell Pub. Co., 1951) * ''Marcaboth Women'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1951) * ''Beloved'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1956) * ''The Breeze From Camelot'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1959) * ''The Big Family'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1961) * ''The Enchanted'' (Harcourt Brace & Co., 1965) * ''Grandmère'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & World, 1967) * ''The Becker Scandal: A Time Remembered'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & World, 1968) The ''Becker Scandal'' deals with the events surrounding the arrest, trial and execution of New York City policeman Charles Becker. The book is considered by some scholars and readers autobiographical and by others historical fiction. The actual disposition of the book, whether factual, quasi-factual, or embellished fiction, may be impossible to determine. * ''The Freeways'' (New York: Harcourt Brace & World, 1971) * ''Anatomy of Spanish'' (privately printed, 1973) * ''A Time for Titans'' (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974) * ''McKeever'' (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976)


Plays

* ''The Rich Full Life: A Play in Three Acts'' (New York: Samuel French, 1946) * ''Mid-Summer: A Comedy in Three Acts'' (New York: Samuel French, 1954) * ''Warm Wednesday: A Comedy in Three Acts'' (New York: Samuel French, 1959)


Screenplays

* ''
Make Way for Tomorrow ''Make Way for Tomorrow'' is a 1937 American tragedy film directed by Leo McCarey. The plot concerns an elderly couple (played by Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi) who are forced to separate when they lose their house and none of their five ch ...
'' (1937) * ''
The Awful Truth ''The Awful Truth'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1922 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts a distrustful rich couple who begin ...
'' (1937)


Filmography

* 1929 ''
Dance Hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...
'' (story) * 1930 ''
Playing Around ''Playing Around'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film with songs, starring Alice White, Chester Morris and William Bakewell. It was adapted from the story "Sheba", written by Viña Delmar. The film was produced and distributed by First Na ...
'' (story "Sheba" as Vina Delmar) * 1930 '' A Soldier's Plaything'' (story) * 1931 '' Bad Girl'' (novel and play) * 1932 ''Marido y mujer'' (The Spanish language version of ''Bad Girl''.) * 1932 ''
Uptown New York ''Uptown New York'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Jack Oakie, Shirley Grey and Leon Ames. It is based on the story by Vina Delmar. Plot summary Pat and Max are in love and sh ...
'' (based on a story) * 1933 ''
The Woman Accused ''The Woman Accused'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Paul Sloane and starring Nancy Carroll and Cary Grant as a young engaged couple on a sea cruise, with the woman being implicated in the death of her former lover. The su ...
'' (''Liberty Magazine'' serial chapter) * 1933 '' Pick-up'' (story) * 1933 '' Chance at Heaven'' (story "A Chance at Heaven" as Vina Delmar) * 1934 '' Sadie McKee'' (story "Pretty Sadie McKee" as Vina Delmar) * 1935 ''
Hands Across the Table ''Hands Across the Table'' is a 1935 American romantic screwball comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and released by Paramount Pictures. It stars Carole Lombard as a manicurist looking for a rich husband and Fred MacMurray as a poor playboy, ...
'' (story "Bracelets") * 1935 '' Bad Boy'' (story as Vina Delmar) * 1936 '' King of Burlesque'' (story as Vina Delmar) * 1937 ''
Make Way for Tomorrow ''Make Way for Tomorrow'' is a 1937 American tragedy film directed by Leo McCarey. The plot concerns an elderly couple (played by Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi) who are forced to separate when they lose their house and none of their five ch ...
'' (screenplay) * 1937 ''
The Awful Truth ''The Awful Truth'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1922 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts a distrustful rich couple who begin ...
'' (screenplay) * 1940 '' Manhattan Heartbeat'' (play as Vina Delmar) * 1942 '' The Great Man's Lady'' (short story) * 1947 '' Cynthia'' (play) * 1954 '' About Mrs. Leslie'' (novel) * 1955 ''Make Way for Tomorrow'' (story and original screenplay for ''Lux Video Theatre'' TV series) * 1956 ''Hands Across the Table'' (story for ''Lux Video Theatre'' TV series)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delmar, Vina American women dramatists and playwrights 1903 births 1990 deaths Screenwriters from New York (state) American women screenwriters American women novelists Writers from Manhattan American people of Polish-Jewish descent 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Novelists from New York (state) People from Inwood, Manhattan 20th-century American screenwriters