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Joan Harrison

 
Writer: Joan Harrison
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: 1911 in Guileford, England
  • Died: Aug 19, 1994 in England
  • Occupation: Writer
  • Active: '40s-'60s
  • Major Genres: Thriller, Mystery
  • Career Highlights: Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Ride the Pink Horse
  • First Major Screen Credit: Jamaica Inn (1939)

Biography

Educated at the Sorbonne and Oxford, Joan Harrison was 21 when she secured a job as secretary to British film director Alfred Hitchcock. Harrison rapidly became one of the director's most trusted associates -- if not the most trusted. She collaborated on the screenplays of Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn (1939), Rebecca (1940), Foreign Correspondent (1941), Suspicion (1941) and Saboteur (1942), and also functioned as associate producer. In 1944, Harrison became a full producer at Universal Pictures; true to her Hitchcock heritage, she was responsible for such thrillers as Phantom Lady (1944) and Uncle Harry (1945). She also nurtured the directorial ambitions of actor Robert Montgomery, producing Montgomery's Ride the Pink Horse (1947), Once More My Darling (1949) and Eye Witness (1950). In 1954, Harrison went into partnership with actress Ella Raines to produce the popular syndicated television series Janet Dean, Registered Nurse. She returned to the Hitchcock fold in 1955, producing her mentor's long-running (1955-65) TV anthology series. Joan Harrison's last major project was the British-produced occult series Journey to the Unknown (1968). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Joan Harrison
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Joan Harrison
Born June 26, 1907(1907-06-26)
Guildford, Surrey, England
Died August 14, 1994 (aged 87)
London, England
Occupation Film producer
Screenwriter

Joan Harrison (June 26, 1907 - August 14, 1994) was an English film producer and screenwriter.

Contents

Biography

Born in Guildford, Surrey, Harrison studied at St Hugh's College, Oxford and reviewed films for the student newspaper. She also studied at the Sorbonne. In 1933 Harrison became the secretary of Alfred Hitchcock. Eventually she began reading books and scripts for him and became one of Hitchcock's most trusted associates. When Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in March 1939 to begin his contract with David O. Selznick to direct films, Harrison went with him as an assistant and writer.[1]

She gained the title of screenwriter when she wrote the film Jamaica Inn (1939) based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier. Harrison continued writing screenplays for films Rebecca (1940), also adapted from a du Maurier novel, Foreign Correspondent (1940), Suspicion (1941), Saboteur (1942), Dark Waters (1944), and Nocturne (1946).

Harrison was an uncredited screenwriter for Ride the Pink Horse (1947) and Your Witness (1950). She became a film producer in 1944 with Phantom Lady [2], producing such films as Nocturne, Ride the Pink Horse (1947), and They Won't Believe Me (1947). Harrison worked in television with Hitchcock together with Norman Lloyd when she produced his TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

In 1958 she married Eric Ambler.

Award nominations

Year Result Award Category Film or series Notes
1941 Nominated Academy Award Best Writing, Screenplay Rebecca Shared with Robert E. Sherwood
Nominated Academy Award Best Writing, Original Screenplay Foreign Correspondent Shared with Charles Bennett

References

  1. ^ Grimes, William (1994-08-24). "Joan Harrison, a Screenwriter And Producer, Is Dead at 83". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807EFDA1339F936A1575BC0A962958260. Retrieved 2008-07-11. 
  2. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,796483-1,00.html

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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