Janet Green (1908–1993) was a British screenwriter and playwright best known for the scripts for the BAFTA nominated films Sapphire and Victim, and for the play Murder Mistaken[1][2] (made into the film Cast a Dark Shadow).[3]
Janet Green | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ethel Victoria Green 4 July 1908 Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England |
| Died | 30 May 1993 (aged 84) Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, playwright, actress |
| Spouse | John McCormick |
Biography
editShe was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire on 4 July 1908.[1]
Originally an actress, on stage from 1931, she made appearances in the Aldwych Farces (1930–34) and was involved with entertainment for the armed forces in WW II.[4][5] She gave up acting in 1945 to focus on writing.[6]
Her second husband was the scriptwriter John McCormick, with whom she collaborated on several screenplays.[7][8] They were both under contract to the Rank Organisation from 1956 to 1959.[6]
Green wrote and collaborated with her husband on screenplays for three of the "social issue" films of producer Michael Relph and director Basil Dearden: Sapphire (dealing with racial tension in 1950s London), Victim (the first mainstream examination of homosexuality) and Life for Ruth (religious intolerance).[4][9] They have been described as "three of the finest films in British cinema."[10] Of Sapphire, the New York Post wrote in 1959, "Perhaps the screenplay writer, one Janet Green, deserves her own special notice for a picture that is so special."[10]
She and her husband wrote John Ford's final film 7 Women (1966).[11]
Green died in Beaconsfield on 30 May 1993.[1]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | The Clouded Yellow | original story and screenplay |
| 1953 | The Good Beginning | story and screenplay |
| 1955 | Cast a Dark Shadow | based on her play Murder Mistaken |
| 1956 | Lost | original screenplay |
| 1956 | The Long Arm | screenplay by Janet Green and Robert Barr |
| 1956 | Eyewitness | original story and screenplay |
| 1958 | The Gypsy and the Gentleman | screenplay by Janet Green based on novel by Nina Warner Hooke |
| 1959 | Sapphire | original screenplay - nominated for a BAFTA award for best British screenplay in 1960 [12] |
| 1960 | Midnight Lace | based on her 1958 play Matilda Shouted Fire[13] |
| 1961 | Victim | screenplay by Janet Green and John McCormick - nominated for a BAFTA award for best British screenplay in 1962 [14] |
| 1962 | Life for Ruth | screenplay by Janet Green and John McCormick |
| 1966 | 7 Women | screenplay by Janet Green and John McCormick |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Murder Mistaken | produced in the UK and the USA / adapted for television and for film (as Cast a Dark Shadow) |
| 1958 | Matilda Shouted Fire | adapted for film as Midnight Lace |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Janet Green". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Murder Mistaken". Samuel French. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ "Cast a Dark Shadow (1955)". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016.
- ^ a b McFarlane, Brian; Slide, Anthony (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526111968 – via Google Books.
- ^ Wearing, J. P. (15 May 2014). The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893047 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk › download › GB 1456 JGREEN
- ^ "Janet Green." Times [London, England] 18 June 1993: 21. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 31 October 2018.
- ^ "Janet Green | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Dearden, Basil (1911-1971) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ a b Nelmes, Jill; Selbo, Jule (29 September 2015). Women Screenwriters: An International Guide. Springer. ISBN 9781137312372 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Seven Women". Time Out London.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ "Midnight Lace". Variety. 1 January 1960.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
External links
edit- Janet Green at IMDb
- Janet Green at the Internet Broadway Database
- Janet Green Collection at the British Film Institute (link opens PDF).