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Sidney Buchman

 
Writer: Sidney Buchman
  • Born: Mar 27, 1902 in Duluth, Minnesota
  • Died: 1975
  • Occupation: Writer
  • Active: '30s-'40s, '60s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Romance
  • Career Highlights: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Holiday, The Jolson Story
  • First Major Screen Credit: Daughter of the Dragon (1931)

Biography

Screenwriter and producer Sidney Buchman is notable for his sophisticated comedies such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Here Comes Mister Jordan. Born in Duluth, Minnesota and educated at the University of Minnesota and Columbia, Buchman began his career working at London's Old Vic theater as an assistant stage director. He later returned stateside to write a number of unsuccessful plays before heading to Hollywood in 1930 to work as a contract screenwriter for Paramount. Four years later he switched to Columbia where he became one of studio head Harry Cohn's favorite writers. During that time, he also produced several films, until 1942 when Buchman became a production supervisor. Eventually he rose to become vice president and assistant production chief at Columbia. His high-flying career abruptly crashed when in 1951, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee and admitted being a former member of the communist party. His refusal to provide other names led to the charge of contempt of Congress, a $150 fine, a year's suspended sentence, and subsequent blacklisting until the early 1960s when he began working as a writer and producer in 20th Century-Fox's European branch. He remained in Cannes, France until his death in 1975. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
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Sidney Robert Buchman (March 27, 1902August 23, 1975) was a film writer and producer who worked on 38 films from the late 1920s to the early 1970s.

Born in Duluth, Minnesota and educated at Columbia University, he served as President of the Writers Guild of America in 1941–1942. Buchman was one of the most successful Hollywood screenwriters of the 1930s and 1940s. His scripts from this period include She Married Her Boss (1935), Theodora Goes Wild (1936) and Holiday (1938). He would go on to receive Academy Award nominations for his writing on Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), and Jolson Sings Again (1949), winning an Oscar for Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). He also did much uncredited work on various films during this period.

Buchman's refusal to provide the names of American Communist Party members to the House Un-American Activities Committee led to a charge of contempt of Congress. Buchman was fined, given a year's suspended sentence, and was then blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses.

Buchman would return to screenwriting in Hollywood in the 1960s, working on Cleopatra (1963) and The Group (1966].

He is also sometimes credited as Sydney Buchman.

He died in Cannes, France.

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Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sidney Buchman" Read more