Ernest Granville Booth

Ernest Granville Booth (August 12, 1898–June 14, 1959) was an American criminal and screenwriter who got his start in writing while an inmate of San Quentin Prison. Considered to be one of the "star writers ... of the California penal system", while incarcerated Booth became a protégé of H. L. Mencken,[1] and was responsible for the story or screenplay of several early crime drama movies, including the silent Ladies of the Mob, starring Clara Bow.[2]

Ernest Booth in 1917, from an arrest flier
(open image to see complete flier)

Biography

Booth was born in Oakland, California; his father Stuart W. Booth was a prominent area journalist.[3] He was sent to the Preston School of Industry reform school as an early adolescent following an arrest for burglary,[4] and went on to serve several years in prison for various crimes, at one point being dubbed the "ammonia bank bandit", for his holdups where he threatened tellers with a so-called ammonia bomb.[5] He gained notoriety for several escapes and attempted escapes,[6] and was described as "somewhat of a joker" after one episode where after escaping while being transported to California, he mailed a newspaper clipping describing his escape to his jailer in Milwaukee, where he had been originally captured.[7]

After being imprisoned in Folsom and San Quentin, where he eventually drew Mencken's attention, several of his stories were published before his parole in 1937. After his release, he eventually began writing crime-related story treatments for Hollywood.[1]

In 1947, he was arrested again when it was discovered that he had been responsible for a 1943 burglary and a recent series of robberies, returning him to prison until his death in 1959.[8][2]

Works

Film

Books

Stories

Published in American Mercury:[6]

  • "We Rob a Bank" (1927)
  • "A Texas Chain Gang" (1927)
  • "Ladies of the Mob" (1927)
  • "Ladies in Durance Vile" (1931)

See also

References
  1. "Convict Author to Leave Folsom, Broken in Health". San Bernardino Sun. 1937-08-23. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  2. Philippe Garnier (2020). Scoundrels & Spitballers: Writers and Hollywood in the 1930s. Black Pool Productions. ISBN 9780578653693. Excerpted: Philippe Garnier (2020-09-29). "Prison Made Me a Screenwriter!". Alta. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  3. "Thinks His Boy is in Stockton". Stockton Independent. 1910-05-10. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  4. Vince Keenan (January 16, 2020). "Golden Age Hollywood was Full of Ex-Cons". CrimeReads. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  5. "Two Escape Open Jail". Stockton Independent. 1924-10-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  6. Franklin, H. Bruce (1998). Prison Writing in 20th-Century America. Penguin. ISBN 9781440621284.
  7. "Booth Sends Jailer in East Clipping Telling of Escape". Chico Record. 1917-08-07. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  8. "Script Writer Held for Robbery". San Pedro News Pilot. 1947-03-24. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
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