Six Screenplays (Screen Plays) by Robert Riskin

Riskin, Robert; edited by Pat McGilligan

ISBN 10: 0520205251 / ISBN 13: 9780520205253

Published by University of California Press, 1997

About this Item

Covers & Spine: front and back showing some minor scuffing & signs of handling, a pair of crease-lines across back, minor wear along edges and at corners, spine is intact and solid. Binding: firm throughout. Pages & Markings: unstained, no markings, clean throughout. PLEASE NOTE: Due to this item weighing more than 1 kg with packaging, postage cost for international orders (i.e. not Australian) may be more than what is shown here. Please email me if you would like a quote. All items are protectively packaged, and a postal tracking number will be sent to all customers whose current email address is registered with AbeBooks.

Seller Inventory # 009540

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Six Screenplays (Screen Plays) by Robert Riskin
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520205251
• ISBN 13: 9780520205253
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 1.02 kilograms
• Seller catalogs:
  • Cinema, Television & Theatre

About this title

Synopsis

Screenwriter Robert Riskin (1897-1955) was a towering figure even among the giants of Hollywood's Golden Age. Known for his unique blend of humor and romance, wisecracking and idealism, Riskin teamed with director Frank Capra to produce some of his most memorable films. Pat McGilligan has collected six of the best Riskin scripts: Platinum Blonde (1931), American Madness (1932), It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), and Meet John Doe (1941). All of them were directed by Capra, and although Capra's work has been amply chronicled and celebrated, Riskin's share in the collaboration has been overlooked since his death. McGilligan provides the "backstory" for the forgotten half of the team, indispensable counterpoint to the director's self-mythologizing autobiography―and incidentally the missing link in any study of Capra's career.

Riskin's own career, although interrupted by patriotic duty and cut short by personal tragedy, produced as consistent, entertaining, thoughtful, and enduring a body of work as any Hollywood writer's. Those who know and love these vintage films will treasure these scripts. McGilligan's introduction offers new information and insights for fans, scholars, and general readers.

About the Author

Robert Riskin, who arrived in Hollywood in 1930, was one of the industry's greatest screenwriters. He won an Academy Award for the screenplay of It Happened One Night and Oscar nominations for Lady for a Day, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, You Can't Take It with You, and Here Comes the Groom (story only). The Writers Guild honored him with its Laurel Award for Lifetime Achievement. Pat McGilligan, a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has written acclaimed biographies of James Cagney, Robert Altman, George Cukor, Jack Nicholson, and a new biography of director Fritz Lang called Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast. His Backstory series for the University of California Press, like the Nicholson biography, has been translated into several foreign languages.