Irving Shulman
Encyclopedia
Irving Shulman was an American
author
and screenwriter
whose works were adapted into movies. His books included The Amboy Dukes, Cry Tough and The Square Trap, all of which were adapted into movies.
Shulman wrote the early film treatment for Rebel Without a Cause
. Stewart Stern did the screenplay based on the story concepts of Shulman and director Nicholas Ray
. Later, Shulman used his treatment as the basis for his 1956 novel Children of the Dark.
Published in 1947, The Amboy Dukes examined the grim and sometimes short lives of teenage street criminals in Brooklyn
during World War II. It sold five million copies and led to his being hired as a screenwriter by Warner Bros.
Two subsequent novels, Cry Tough! and The Big Brokers, followed the equally grim experiences of the some of the characters who survived The Amboy Dukes, but with somewhat less emphasis on their Jewishness. In The Amboy Dukes two members of the gang accidentally shoot and kill one of their teachers—a third member of the Dukes kills one of them before the story is over. In Cry Tough, another member of the Dukes, Mitchell Wolf, returns from prison and after trying to "go straight" becomes a member of an organized crime family. In The Big Brokers, Wolf and two other alumnae of the Dukes are sent to Nevada to run one of the crime family's casinos in Las Vegas. Shulman's message in all three books is that crime does not pay.
In the 1960s, Shulman wrote biographies of Jean Harlow
and Rudolph Valentino
, and a novelization
of the film West Side Story
.
Shulman died of Alzheimer's disease
in 1995.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
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:...
whose works were adapted into movies. His books included The Amboy Dukes, Cry Tough and The Square Trap, all of which were adapted into movies.
Shulman wrote the early film treatment for Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
. Stewart Stern did the screenplay based on the story concepts of Shulman and director Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray was an American film director best known for the movie Rebel Without a Cause....
. Later, Shulman used his treatment as the basis for his 1956 novel Children of the Dark.
Published in 1947, The Amboy Dukes examined the grim and sometimes short lives of teenage street criminals in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
during World War II. It sold five million copies and led to his being hired as a screenwriter by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Two subsequent novels, Cry Tough! and The Big Brokers, followed the equally grim experiences of the some of the characters who survived The Amboy Dukes, but with somewhat less emphasis on their Jewishness. In The Amboy Dukes two members of the gang accidentally shoot and kill one of their teachers—a third member of the Dukes kills one of them before the story is over. In Cry Tough, another member of the Dukes, Mitchell Wolf, returns from prison and after trying to "go straight" becomes a member of an organized crime family. In The Big Brokers, Wolf and two other alumnae of the Dukes are sent to Nevada to run one of the crime family's casinos in Las Vegas. Shulman's message in all three books is that crime does not pay.
In the 1960s, Shulman wrote biographies of Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
and Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
, and a novelization
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of the film West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
.
Shulman died of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
in 1995.