John Wexley

John Wexley (1907 – February 4, 1985) was an American writer, best known for his play The Last Mile.

Early life and career

Wexley was born in New York City.[1] His early career involved acting as part of Eva Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory Theatre.[2]

Theatre

In 1930, Wexley wrote the play The Last Mile, one of the most prominent "prison dramas" of the 1930s.[1] Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times called it "a taut, searing drama" and "an evening of nerve-racking tension in the theatre".[2] A Pacific coast production was produced by Lillian Albertson at the Majestic Theatre in Los Angeles,[3] and it was adapted for the screen in 1932 and 1959.[1] In 1934, he wrote another play titled They Shall Not Die, a dramatization of the Scottsboro case and trials.[1] First performed at the Royale Theatre in March 1934,[4]: 83  Brooks Atkinson described it as "a play of terrifying and courageous bluntness of statement".[2] A film adaptation was planned in 1950 by Charles K. Feldman, with Wexley having written the screenplay.[5]

In 1937, his play Steel was performed at the Labor Stage by members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. It had a successful run in New York as well as national tours.[6][7] In 1945, Wexley wrote Tears Without Laughter, which focuses on Nazi plots to establish cartels in the United States. It was "aimed at" husband-wife duo Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.[8] In 1946, Wexley's play Carrot and Club was performed by the Theatre Guild.[9]

Film

During the 1930s and 1940s, he wrote several screenplays. These included Angels with Dirty Faces in 1938, the 1939 films Confessions of a Nazi Spy and The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, the 1943 film Hangmen Also Die!, and the 1947 film The Long Night.[1] In 1945, he wrote the story for Cornered.[8]

In 1943, Wexley wrote an original screenplay for a film titled Malta. It was due to be produced by Joe Pasternak and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[10] Philip Dorn and Donna Reed were cast to star in the film.[11] In the early 1940s, Wexley had written a screenplay about General Mark W. Clark.[12] The film, titled Advance Agent to Africa, was warned against by the State Department and War Department, apparently due to its accurate descriptions of army tactics. It was cancelled by Paramount Pictures in 1943.[13]

Wexley also worked on the script of Song of Russia for four weeks towards the end of the project.[14]

Other work

In 1955, he published a book about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg titled The Judgment of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.[1] He continued to write and lecture.[2]

Wexley also served in the military, but was discharged some time prior to December 1945.[15]

Wexley was named as a communist sympathiser multiple times throughout the 1950s in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). On April 25, 1951, Edward Dmytryk named him as one of several Hollywood stars who were members of the American Communist Party.[16] In March 1953, film writer David A. Lang testified that Wexley was one of several writers who had attended communist meetings.[17] In May 1953, he was one of 57 alleged communists named by Robert Rossen in front of the HUAC.[18]

Some of his works had previously been accused of being pro-communist: the theatre reviewer of the NAACP's magazine The Crisis referred to his play They Shall Not Die as "propaganda for the Communist party transferred to the stage".[4]: 84 

According to Graham Petrie, Wexley was a confirmed member of the American Communist Party.[19]

Personal life

After retiring, Wexley moved to Doylestown, Pennsylvania.[1] He was married to a woman named Katherine and had at least one child, a daughter named Thea.[2]

Wexley died of a heart attack on February 4, 1985, at the age of 77.[1]

Published works

Plays
  • The Last Mile (1930)
  • They Shall Not Die (1934)
  • Steel (c. 1937)
  • Tears Without Laughter (1945)
  • Carrot and Club (c. 1946)

Books
  • The Judgment of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (1955)

Filmography
Year Film Notes Ref.
1935Eight BellsScreenplay
1938Angels with Dirty FacesScreenplay[1]
1939Confessions of a Nazi SpyScreenplay[1]
1939The Amazing Dr. ClitterhouseScreenplay; with John Huston[1][2]
1940City for ConquestScreenplay[20]
1941Footsteps in the DarkScreenplay; with Lester Cole[21]
1943Hangmen Also Die!Screenplay[1]
1943The City That Stopped Hitler – Heroic StalingradScreenplay for English version[22]
1945CorneredStory[8]
1947The Long NightScreenplay[1]

References
  1. "John Wexley; Playwright, Screenwriter: His Prison Drama for Broadway, 'The Last Mile,' Inspired 2 Films". Los Angeles Times. February 14, 1985. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  2. Gussow, Mel (February 6, 1985). "John Wexley, 77, playwright, screenwriter and an author". The New York Times. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  3. ""Last Mile" Announced". Los Angeles Times. May 9, 1930. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  4. Murray, Hugh T. (1977). "Changing America and the Changing Image of Scottsboro". Phylon. 38 (1). doi:10.2307/274446. ISSN 0031-8906. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  5. Schallert, Edwin (May 11, 1950). "Lee J. Cobb Assignments Multiplying". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  6. "Applause Woos Needle Workers". Los Angeles Times. July 12, 1938. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  7. Kintz, Linda (1998). "Review: [Untitled]". Theatre Journal. 50 (2): 280. ISSN 0192-2882. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  8. Schallert, Edwin (May 22, 1945). "Wexley aims play at Lunt and Fontanne". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  9. Hopper, Hedda (March 30, 1946). "Harvey III". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  10. Schallert, Edwin (March 4, 1943). "Two 'Maltas' Planned; Lake, Tone Will Team". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  11. "Philip Dorn and Donna Reed to Appear in 'Malta'". The New York Times. March 4, 1943. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  12. Hopper, Hedda (February 4, 1943). "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  13. Schallert, Edwin (January 25, 1943). "Government Bans African War Adventure Subject". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  14. Mayhew, Robert (2004). "The Making of "Song of Russia"". Film History. 16 (4): 336. ISSN 0892-2160. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  15. "Film Writer Describes Beating at VJ-Day party". Los Angeles Times. December 4, 1945. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  16. Lewis, Jon (2000). ""We Do Not Ask You to Condone This": How the Blacklist Saved Hollywood". Cinema Journal. 39 (2): 16. ISSN 0009-7101. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  17. "Death Threat Bared by Ex-Party Member; Script Clinic Cited". Los Angeles Times. March 25, 1953. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  18. "Rossen Lists 50 Hollywood Figures as Reds". Los Angeles Times. May 9, 1953. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  19. Petrie, Graham (2004). "Bertolt Brecht and Béla Balázs: Paradoxes of Exile The Martin Walsh Memorial Lecture 2004". Canadian Journal of Film Studies. 13 (2): 7. ISSN 0847-5911. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  20. Schallert, Edwin (September 10, 1940). "'City for Conquest' Gains Luster Through Idealism". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  21. Crowther, Bosley (March 15, 1941). "THE SCREEN; Detective Flynn". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  22. Scheuer, Philip K. (October 21, 1943). "'City That Stopped Hitler' Exciting Factual Picture". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
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