Jack Whittingham
Encyclopedia
Jack Whittingham was a British playwright, film critic, and screenwriter. He was educated at Charterhouse
and Christ Church, Oxford
.
Beginning with the film Q Planes
, Whittingham was a prolific screenwriter. He is particularly famous for having collaborated with Ian Fleming
and Kevin McClory
on a James Bond
screenplay for a film. When these plans were scrapped, Fleming novelised the work into his ninth official novel, Thunderball; however, the novel only credited Fleming. McClory and Whittingham then sued Fleming, which led to a settlement in 1963 that gave McClory the film rights to the novel. During the lawsuit, Jack Whittingham stepped down as 'co-plaintiff' and stood by Kevin as 'principal witness', having previously signed away all his rights "of whatsoever nature" entirely when the screenplay was presumed finished. As a result of the settlement, future versions of the novel were forced to credit, based on the screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming (in that order). Two adaptations of Thunderball were subsequently made, the first being Thunderball in 1965 as part of the official series of films from EON Productions
. The second adaptation was the unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again
in 1983. Further adaptations had been planned at one point or another by McClory, but were scrapped due to lawsuits from MGM and United Artists
.
In the actual film Thunderball, credits are somewhat complex. Like a good number of James Bond films, it was promoted as "Ian Fleming's Thunderball." The screenplay was credited to Richard Maibaum
and John Hopkins
, but was credited as having been "Based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham," which also was credited as being "Based on the original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming." Jack's sole original screenplay credit has been omitted from posters and other promotional materials.
Whittingham died in 1972, eleven years before McClory's Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again, was released in cinemas.
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
and Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
.
Beginning with the film Q Planes
Q Planes
Q Planes, released in the United States by Columbia Pictures as Clouds Over Europe, is a 1939 British spy film directed by Tim Whelan and Arthur B. Woods, starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. It was produced by Irving Asher with Alexander Korda as executive producer...
, Whittingham was a prolific screenwriter. He is particularly famous for having collaborated with Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
and Kevin McClory
Kevin McClory
Kevin O'Donovan McClory was an Irish screenwriter, producer, and director. McClory was best known for the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again, which was the result of a long legal battle between McClory and Ian Fleming over the writing credits and later the film rights to...
on a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
screenplay for a film. When these plans were scrapped, Fleming novelised the work into his ninth official novel, Thunderball; however, the novel only credited Fleming. McClory and Whittingham then sued Fleming, which led to a settlement in 1963 that gave McClory the film rights to the novel. During the lawsuit, Jack Whittingham stepped down as 'co-plaintiff' and stood by Kevin as 'principal witness', having previously signed away all his rights "of whatsoever nature" entirely when the screenplay was presumed finished. As a result of the settlement, future versions of the novel were forced to credit, based on the screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming (in that order). Two adaptations of Thunderball were subsequently made, the first being Thunderball in 1965 as part of the official series of films from EON Productions
EON Productions
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom...
. The second adaptation was the unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...
in 1983. Further adaptations had been planned at one point or another by McClory, but were scrapped due to lawsuits from MGM and United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
.
In the actual film Thunderball, credits are somewhat complex. Like a good number of James Bond films, it was promoted as "Ian Fleming's Thunderball." The screenplay was credited to Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum was an American film producer, playwright and screenwriter best known for his adaptations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels....
and John Hopkins
John Hopkins (writer)
John Richard Hopkins was an English film, stage, and television writer.Born in southwest London, he graduated from St Catharine's College, Cambridge...
, but was credited as having been "Based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham," which also was credited as being "Based on the original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming." Jack's sole original screenplay credit has been omitted from posters and other promotional materials.
Whittingham died in 1972, eleven years before McClory's Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again, was released in cinemas.