Arnaud d'Usseau
Encyclopedia
Arnaud d'Usseau was a playwright and B-movie
screenwriter who is perhaps best remembered today for his collaboration with Dorothy Parker
on the play The Ladies of the Corridor.
and was the son of Leon d'Usseau, also a screenwriter and director of some repute during the silent era. He first came to notice as the co-writer (with James Gow) of Tomorrow the World, a 1943 drama about a German boy adopted by an American couple who then have to struggle with his Nazi upbringing. In 1945, he followed with another controversial play, Deep Are the Roots, about a black army officer who falls in love with a former Senator's daughter.
In late 1950, his name appeared on the Hollywood blacklist
as a Communist sympathizer. He was forced to appear before Senator Joe McCarthy's
investigative subcommittee in 1953, but declined to answer any questions, declaring that he would be glad to discuss Communism
with the Senator in a forum where the cards weren't stacked against him. Afterwards, he moved to Europe and continued to write screenplays under various pseudonyms. Upon returning to the United States, he taught writing at New York University
.
He died in 1990 at his home in New York, following surgery for stomach cancer.
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
screenwriter who is perhaps best remembered today for his collaboration with Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
on the play The Ladies of the Corridor.
Career
D'Usseau was born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and was the son of Leon d'Usseau, also a screenwriter and director of some repute during the silent era. He first came to notice as the co-writer (with James Gow) of Tomorrow the World, a 1943 drama about a German boy adopted by an American couple who then have to struggle with his Nazi upbringing. In 1945, he followed with another controversial play, Deep Are the Roots, about a black army officer who falls in love with a former Senator's daughter.
In late 1950, his name appeared on the Hollywood blacklist
Hollywood blacklist
The 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...
as a Communist sympathizer. He was forced to appear before Senator Joe McCarthy's
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
investigative subcommittee in 1953, but declined to answer any questions, declaring that he would be glad to discuss Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
with the Senator in a forum where the cards weren't stacked against him. Afterwards, he moved to Europe and continued to write screenplays under various pseudonyms. Upon returning to the United States, he taught writing at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
He died in 1990 at his home in New York, following surgery for stomach cancer.
Selected filmography
- One Crowded Night (1940) dir. Irving ReisIrving ReisIrving Reis, born May 7, 1906, in New York City – died July 3, 1953, in Woodland Hills, California, was a radio program producer & director, and a film director.Reis was the creator of the experimental anthology program on the radio, Columbia Workshop...
: Billie SewardBillie SewardBillie Seward was a 1930s motion picture actress from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Marriage:In 1934 Seward was linked romantically to actor Lyle Talbot. She married William Wilkerson, owner of the Trocadero and Ciro's, on September 30, 1935. Wilkerson was also the owner and publisher of the...
, Gale StormGale StormGale Storm was an American actress and singer who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show.-Early life:... - Lady Scarface (1941) dir. Frank Woodruff: Dennis O'KeefeDennis O'KeefeDennis O'Keefe was an American actor. Born as Edward Vance Flanagan he was the son of Irish vaudevillians working in the United States...
, Frances Neal - Repent at Leisure (1941) dir. Frank Woodruff: Kent TaylorKent TaylorKent Taylor was an American actor.Born Louis William Weiss in Nashua, Iowa, Taylor appeared in more than 110 films, the bulk of them B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s, although he also had roles in more prestigious studio releases, including I'm No Angel , Death Takes a Holiday , Payment on Demand ,...
, Wendy BarrieWendy BarrieWendy Barrie was a British actress who worked in British and American films.-Early life:Marguerite Wendy Jenkins was born in Hong Kong to British parents... - The Man Who Wouldn't DieThe Man Who Wouldn't DieThe Man Who Wouldn't Die is the title of a 1995 action mystery film by director Bill Condon. The film, which aired as a movie of the week during the May Sweeps in 1995, stars Roger Moore, Nancy Allen and Malcolm McDowell...
(1942) dir. Herbert Leeds: Lloyd NolanLloyd NolanLloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...
, Marjorie WeaverMarjorie WeaverMarjorie Weaver was an American film actress of the 1930s through the early 1950s.-Early life, entrance into acting:... - Who Is Hope Schuyler? (1942) dir. Thomas Loring: Joseph Allen, jr., Mary HowardMary Howard de LiagreMary Howard de Liagre, née Rogers was an American actress usually credited as Mary Howard....
- Just Off Broadway (1942) dir. Herbert Leeds: Lloyd NolanLloyd NolanLloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...
, Marjorie WeaverMarjorie WeaverMarjorie Weaver was an American film actress of the 1930s through the early 1950s.-Early life, entrance into acting:... - Horror ExpressHorror ExpressHorror Express, also known as Pánico en el Transiberiano/Panic on the Trans-Siberian Express, is a 1972 Spanish horror film directed by Eugenio Martin, produced by Bernard Gordon written by Arnaud d'Usseau and Julian Zimet , and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Telly Savalas.The film is...
(1972) dir. Eugenio Martin: Peter CushingPeter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
, Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
, Telly SavalasTelly SavalasAristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz... - PsychomaniaPsychomaniaPsychomania is a British horror film and cult film starring Nicky Henson as a devil worshipping gang leader and Robert Hardy as the detective in charge of bringing them in.It is also known as Death Wheelers Are.....
(1973) dir. Don SharpDon SharpDonald Sharp is a British film director.His most famous films were made for Hammer Studios in the sixties, and included The Kiss of the Vampire and Rasputin, the Mad Monk . Also in 1965 he directed The Face of Fu Manchu, based on the character created by Sax Rohmer, here played by Christopher Lee...
: Nicky HensonNicky HensonNicholas Victor Leslie "Nicky" Henson is an English actor who has portrayed many roles since 1963. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1977. He was born in London.-Early life:...
, George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
, Beryl ReidBeryl ReidBeryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...