Alvah Bessie
Encyclopedia
Alvah Cecil Bessie was an American
novelist, journalist and screenwriter
who was imprisoned for ten months and blacklisted by the movie studio
bosses for being one of the group known as the Hollywood Ten.
,Bessie became initially known for his translations of avant-garde
French literature,
including Songs of Bilitis
by Pierre Louÿs
and The Torture Garden
by Octave Mirbeau
.
No stranger to soldiering, through 1938 Bessie fought as a volunteer in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
of the International Brigades
during the Spanish Civil War
. Upon his return, he wrote a book about his experiences, Men in Battle. About the book, Ernest Hemingway
commented:
Bessie wrote screenplays for Warner Brothers and other studios during the mid and late 1940s. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Story for the patriotic Warner's film Objective Burma (1945).
His career came to a halt in 1947, when he was summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee
(HUAC). He refused to deny or confirm involvement in the Communist Party USA
, and in 1950, he became one of the Hollywood Ten when he was imprisoned and blacklisted. After his release from prison, he worked at the hungry i
nightclub in San Francisco, running the lights and sound board and frequently introducing performers.
In 1965, Bessie wrote a book about his experience with the HUAC, Inquisition in Eden. He wrote another book in 1975, Spain Again, which chronicled his experiences as a co-writer and actor in a Spanish movie of the same name (Spain Again
, 1969).
His screenwriting career was ruined by the blacklisting, and he never returned to Hollywood. Late in his life, however, he was involved in bringing his novel Bread and a Stone to the screen in the feature film "Hard Traveling" (1986) starring J.E. Freeman and Ellen Geer
. The screenplay for the film was written by one of Alvah's two sons, Dan Bessie, who has also spent his career working in the film industry. Dan Bessie has published some of his father's previously unpublished or uncollected works, notably his Spanish Civil War Notebooks (2001).
In his family biography Rare Birds: An American Family (University Press of Kentucky, 2001), Dan Bessie notes that Alvah was related to some highly successful entrepreneurs: he was father-in-law of well-known 1960s poster artist Wes Wilson
, husband of Alvah's daughter Eva, and a brother-in-law (through his first wife, Mary) of famous advertising executive Leo Burnett
.
Bessie died in Terra Linda, California, aged 81.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist, journalist and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
who was imprisoned for ten months and blacklisted by the movie studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
bosses for being one of the group known as the Hollywood Ten.
Life and career
Educated at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
,Bessie became initially known for his translations of avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
French literature,
including Songs of Bilitis
Songs of Bilitis
The Songs of Bilitis is a collection of erotic poetry by Pierre Louÿs and published in Paris in 1894 .The book's sensual poems are in the manner of Sappho; the introduction claims they were found on the walls of a tomb in Cyprus, written by a woman of Ancient Greece called Bilitis, a courtesan and...
by Pierre Louÿs
Pierre Louÿs
Pierre Louÿs was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection."-Life:...
and The Torture Garden
by Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau was a French journalist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, novelist, and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, while still appealing to the literary and artistic avant-garde...
.
No stranger to soldiering, through 1938 Bessie fought as a volunteer in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
Abraham Lincoln Brigade
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Spanish Nationalists....
of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. Upon his return, he wrote a book about his experiences, Men in Battle. About the book, Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
commented:
A true, honest, fine book. Bessie writes truly and finely of all that he could see ... and he saw enough.
Bessie wrote screenplays for Warner Brothers and other studios during the mid and late 1940s. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Story for the patriotic Warner's film Objective Burma (1945).
His career came to a halt in 1947, when he was summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
(HUAC). He refused to deny or confirm involvement in the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
, and in 1950, he became one of the Hollywood Ten when he was imprisoned and blacklisted. After his release from prison, he worked at the hungry i
Hungry i
The hungry i was originally a nightclub in North Beach, San Francisco. It was launched by Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, who sold it to Enrico Banducci in 1950.-The name:How the club's name came about is something of a mystery...
nightclub in San Francisco, running the lights and sound board and frequently introducing performers.
In 1965, Bessie wrote a book about his experience with the HUAC, Inquisition in Eden. He wrote another book in 1975, Spain Again, which chronicled his experiences as a co-writer and actor in a Spanish movie of the same name (Spain Again
Spain Again
Spain Again is a 1969 Spanish drama film directed by Jaime Camino. It was entered into the 1969 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 41st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.-Cast:* Manuela Vargas - María*...
, 1969).
His screenwriting career was ruined by the blacklisting, and he never returned to Hollywood. Late in his life, however, he was involved in bringing his novel Bread and a Stone to the screen in the feature film "Hard Traveling" (1986) starring J.E. Freeman and Ellen Geer
Ellen Geer
Ellen Ware Geer is an American actress, professor, screenwriter, film director and theatre director.-Personal life:Geer was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of actors Herta Ware and Will Geer. She is currently married to children's musician Peter Alsop, and was previously married to...
. The screenplay for the film was written by one of Alvah's two sons, Dan Bessie, who has also spent his career working in the film industry. Dan Bessie has published some of his father's previously unpublished or uncollected works, notably his Spanish Civil War Notebooks (2001).
In his family biography Rare Birds: An American Family (University Press of Kentucky, 2001), Dan Bessie notes that Alvah was related to some highly successful entrepreneurs: he was father-in-law of well-known 1960s poster artist Wes Wilson
Wes Wilson
Wes Wilson is an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters. Most well known for designing posters for Bill Graham of the The Fillmore in San Francisco, he invented a style that is now synonymous with the peace movement, psychedelic era and the 1960s...
, husband of Alvah's daughter Eva, and a brother-in-law (through his first wife, Mary) of famous advertising executive Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett was an advertising executive who created the Jolly Green Giant, the Marlboro Man, Toucan Sam, Charlie the Tuna, Morris the Cat, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the 7up "Spot", and Tony the Tiger....
.
Bessie died in Terra Linda, California, aged 81.
External links
- "Sneak Preview of a Hollywood Flashback" - Full scans of article by Alvah Bessie's on his experience as one of The Hollywood BlacklistHollywood blacklistThe Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
(The Realist No. 68, pgs 1, 19–23 August 1966)