Lenore J. Coffee
Encyclopedia
Lenore Jackson Coffee was an American
screenwriter
, playwright
and novelist.
and was awarded a one-year contract at $50 a week.
She was twice nominated for an Academy Award for best Adapted Screenplay
. The first time was for Street of Chance
in 1929/30, adapted from the story by Oliver H. P. Garrett, in collaboration with Howard Estabrook
; and the second was with Julius J. Epstein
in 1938 for Four Daughters
, based on Fannie Hurst
's novel, Sister Act. Of the studio system she is quoted as saying:
Coffee was married to writer and director William J. Cowen, and one of her ancestors was U.S. General John Coffee
, Chief of Staff to Andrew Jackson
at the Battle of New Orleans
in 1814.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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:...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and novelist.
Biography
Coffee began her career when she answered an ad requesting a screen story for the actress Clara Kimball YoungClara Kimball Young
Clara Kimball Young was an American film actress, who was highly regarded and publicly popular in the early silent film era.-Early life:...
and was awarded a one-year contract at $50 a week.
She was twice nominated for an Academy Award for best Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
. The first time was for Street of Chance
Street of Chance (1930 film)
Street of Chance is a 1930 film directed by John Cromwell and starring William Powell, Jean Arthur, Kay Francis and Regis Toomey.- Plot :...
in 1929/30, adapted from the story by Oliver H. P. Garrett, in collaboration with Howard Estabrook
Howard Estabrook
Howard Estabrook was an American actor, film director and producer, and screenwriter.-Biography:Born Howard Bolles in Detroit, Michigan, Estabrook began his career in 1904 as a stage actor in New York. He made his film debut in 1914 during the silent era, and would go on to appear in several...
; and the second was with Julius J. Epstein
Julius J. Epstein
Julius J. Epstein was an American screenwriter, who had a long career, best remembered for the adaptation - in partnership with his twin brother, Philip, and others - of the unproduced play Everybody Comes to Rick's that became the screenplay for the film Casablanca , for which its team of writers...
in 1938 for Four Daughters
Four Daughters
Four Daughters is a 1938 musical drama film that tells the story of a happy musical family whose lives and loves are disrupted by the arrival of a cynical young composer who interjects himself into the daughters' romantic lives...
, based on Fannie Hurst
Fannie Hurst
Fannie Hurst was an American novelist. Although her books are not well remembered today, during her lifetime some of her more famous novels were Stardust , Lummox , A President is Born , Back Street , and Imitation of Life...
's novel, Sister Act. Of the studio system she is quoted as saying:
"They pick your brains, break your heart, ruin your digestion – and what do you get for it? Nothing but a lousy fortune."
Coffee was married to writer and director William J. Cowen, and one of her ancestors was U.S. General John Coffee
John Coffee
John Coffee was an American planter and military leader. He was considered the most even-tempered and least selfish of Andrew Jackson's lifelong friends...
, Chief of Staff to Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
at the Battle of New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...
in 1814.
Published works
- Storyline: Reflections of a Hollywood Screenwriter. London: Cassell & Company Ltd., 1973. ISBN 0304292451. (autobiography)
- Weep No More. London: Cassell & Company Ltd., 1955. (novel)
- w/ Cowen, William Joyce. Family Portrait, 1939. (play)
Film credits
- The Better Wife (1919; screenplay)
- The Forbidden Woman (1920; story)
- For the Soul of Rafael (1920; uncredited)
- The Fighting Shepherdess (1920; uncredited)
- Alias Ladyfingers (1921; adaptation)
- Hush (1921; uncredited)
- The Right That Failed (1922; adaptation)
- Sherlock Brown (1922; writer)
- The Face Between (1922; writer)
- Thundering Dawn (1923; screenplay; story)
- Daytime Wives (1923; story)
- Temptation (1923; story)
- The Age of Desire (1923; titles)
- Wandering Daughters (1923; titles)
- The Six-Fifty (1923; unconfirmed)
- Strangers of the NightStrangers of the NightStrangers of the Night is a 1923 silent comedy film directed by Fred Niblo. Presumably this movie is a lost film.-Cast:* Matt Moore - Ambrose Applejohn* Enid Bennett - Poppy Faire* Barbara La Marr - Anna Valeska...
(1923; uncredited) - The Dangerous Age (1923; uncredited)
- The Rose of Paris (1924; adaptation)
- Bread (1924; writer)
- Fools' Highway (1924; writer)
- Hell's Highroad (1925; adaptation)
- GraustarkGraustarkGraustark is a fictional country in Eastern Europe used as a setting for several novels by George Barr McCutcheon. Graustark's neighbors, which also figure into the stories, are Axphain to the north and Dawsbergen to the south....
(1925; uncredited) - The SwanThe Swan (1925 film)The Swan is a 1925 silent film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on Melville Baker's 1923 Broadway play adaptation, The Swan, of Ferenc Molnar's play A Hattyu Vigjatek Harom Felvonasbarn. This film was directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki, a recent...
(1925; uncredited) - The Great DivideThe Great Divide (1925 film)The Great Divide is a silent 1925 drama film produced and distributed by MGM and directed by Reginald Barker. The film stars Alice Terry, Conway Tearle and Wallace Beery. It is based on the William Vaughn Moody play, being the second of three film adaptations...
(1925; uncredited) - East LynneEast LynneEast Lynne is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Ellen Wood. East Lynne was a Victorian bestseller. It is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centering on infidelity and double identities...
(1925; writer) - The Volga Boatman (1926; adaptation)
- For Alimony Only (1926; screenplay)
- The Winning of Barbara WorthThe Winning of Barbara WorthThe Winning of Barbara Worth is a silent western film, released by United Artists in 1926, and starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and Gary Cooper . The film is based on the novel of the same name by Harold Bell Wright and was filmed in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada...
(1926; uncredited) - The Night of Love (1927; adapted screenplay)
- ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(1927; screenplay) - The Angel of Broadway (1927; screenplay)
- Lonesome Ladies (1927; story)
- The Love of SunyaThe Love of SunyaThe Love of Sunya is a silent film directed by Albert Parker, and based on the play The Eyes of Youth by Max Marcin and Charles Guernon. Produced by and starring Gloria Swanson, it also stars John Boles and Pauline Garon. It premiered at the grand opening of the Roxy Theatre in New York City on...
(1927; uncredited) - Ned McCobb's Daughter (1928; uncredited)
- Desert NightsDesert NightsDesert Nights, also known as Thirst, is a 1929 drama film. It was the last silent film for star John Gilbert. Two thieves victimize a diamond mine and kidnap its manager, but he gains the upper hand when they flee into the hostile desert.The film is available for download or DVD purchase from...
(1929; continuity) - Mothers Cry (1930; screen version)
- Street of ChanceStreet of Chance (1930 film)Street of Chance is a 1930 film directed by John Cromwell and starring William Powell, Jean Arthur, Kay Francis and Regis Toomey.- Plot :...
(1930; writer) - The Bishop Murder CaseThe Bishop Murder CaseThe Bishop Murder Case is the fourth in a series of mystery novels by S. S. Van Dine about fictional detective Philo Vance. The detective solves a mystery built around a nursery rhyme. The Bishop Murder Case is believed to be the first nursery-rhyme mystery book.-Plot summary:The story involves a...
(1930; writer) - PossessedPossessed (1931 film)Possessed is a Pre-Code 1931 drama film directed by Clarence Brown, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is the story of Marian Martin, a factory worker who rises to the top as the mistress of a wealthy attorney. The screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee...
(1931; adaptation and dialogue continuity) - The Squaw ManThe Squaw Man (1931 film)The Squaw Man is a film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was the third version of the same play that he filmed, and the first in sound. It stars Warner Baxter in the leading role. The film lost $150,000 in its initial release...
(1931; screenplay) - Honor of the FamilyHonor of the FamilyHonor of the Family is a dramatic film released by First National Pictures, , starring Bebe Daniels and Warren William. It was based on the play by Emil Fabre, from a story by Honoré de Balzac....
(1931; writer) - Arsène LupinArsène LupinArsène Lupin is a fictional character who appears in a book series of detective fiction / crime fiction novels written by French writer Maurice Leblanc, as well as a number of non-canonical sequels and numerous film, television such as Night Hood, stage play and comic book adaptations.- Overview :A...
(1932; dialogue) - DownstairsDownstairs (film)Downstairs is a 1932 dramatic film. It stars John Gilbert as a charming but self-serving chauffeur who wreaks havoc on his new employer's household, romancing and fleecing the women on the staff, and blackmailing the employer's wife. Gilbert had written the story in 1928 for a proposed silent film...
(1932; screenplay)
- Rasputin and the EmpressRasputin and the EmpressRasputin and the Empress is a 1932 film about Imperial Russia starring the Barrymore siblings—John , Ethel , and Lionel Barrymore . It is the only film in which all three appeared together...
(1932; uncredited) - Night CourtNight CourtNight Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
(1932; writer) - Torch SingerTorch SingerTorch Singer is a 1933 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Alexander Hall and George Somnes, and starring Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez and David Manners and Lyda Roberti.The screenplay was written by Lenore J...
(1933; screenplay) - Such Women Are Dangerous (1934; additional dialogue)
- Evelyn PrenticeEvelyn PrenticeEvelyn Prentice is a 1934 film teaming William Powell and Myrna Loy, with Rosalind Russell in her film debut. The movie was based on the 1933 novel of the same name....
(1934; writer) - All Men Are Enemies (1934; writer)
- Four Frightened PeopleFour Frightened PeopleFour Frightened People is a film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Claudette Colbert, Herbert Marshall, Mary Boland, and William Gargan.-Plot:...
(1934; writer) - Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935; adaptated screenplay)
- Age of Indiscretion (1935; story)
- The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger (1935; uncredited)
- SuzySuzy (1936 film)Suzy is a 1936 drama film starring Jean Harlow, Franchot Tone, and Cary Grant. The film was partially written by Dorothy Parker and directed by George Fitzmaurice, based on a novel by Herman Gorman...
(1936; writer) - White BannersWhite BannersWhite Banners is a 1938 Warner Brothers drama film starring Claude Rains, Fay Bainter, Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Henry O'Neill, and Kay Johnson....
(1938; screenplay) - Four DaughtersFour DaughtersFour Daughters is a 1938 musical drama film that tells the story of a happy musical family whose lives and loves are disrupted by the arrival of a cynical young composer who interjects himself into the daughters' romantic lives...
(1938; writer) - Stronger Than Desire (1939; contributing writer; uncredited)
- Four WivesFour WivesFour Wives is a 1939 film starring Priscilla Lane and two of her sisters, features Gale Page, Claude Raines, Eddie Albert, and John Garfield, and was directed by Michael Curtiz...
(1939; contributor to treatment; uncredited) - Good Girls Go to Paris (1939 original story)
- My Son, My Son!My Son, My Son!My Son, My Son! is a 1940 drama film based on a novel by the same name written by Howard Spring and directed by Charles Vidor. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by John DuCasse Schulze.-Cast:* Madeleine Carroll - Livia Vaynol...
(1940; screenplay) - The Way of All FleshThe Way of All FleshThe Way of All Flesh is a semi-autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler which attacks Victorian-era hypocrisy. Written between 1873 and 1884, it traces four generations of the Pontifex family. It represents a relaxation from the religious outlook from a Calvinistic approach, which is presented as...
(1940; writer) - They Died with Their Boots OnThey Died with Their Boots OnThey Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Despite being rife with historical inaccuracies, the film was one of the top-grossing films of the year, being the last of eight Flynn–de Havilland collaborations.Like...
(1941; additional dialogue; uncredited) - The Great LieThe Great LieThe Great Lie is a 1941 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Bette Davis, George Brent, and Mary Astor. The screenplay by Lenore J...
(1941; writer) - We Were DancingWe Were DancingWe Were Dancing is a short play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed in alternating groups of three plays, across three evenings...
(1942; contributing writer; uncredited) - The Gay SistersThe Gay SistersThe Gay Sisters is a 1942 American drama film directed by Irving Rapper, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, Gig Young and Nancy Coleman. The Warner Bros. motion picture was based on a novel by Stephen Longstreet....
(1942; screenplay) - Old AcquaintanceOld AcquaintanceOld Acquaintance is a 1943 film drama made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Vincent Sherman and produced by Henry Blanke with Jack L. Warner as executive producer from a screenplay by John Van Druten, Lenore Coffee and Edmund Goulding based on Van Druten's play.The film starred Bette Davis and...
(1943; screenplay) - Till We Meet Again (1944; writer)
- Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944; writer)
- Tomorrow Is ForeverTomorrow Is ForeverTomorrow Is Forever is a 1946 black-and-white film distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Irving Pichel, starring Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles and George Brent. The music score is by Max Steiner...
(1946; writer) - The Guilt of Janet AmesThe Guilt of Janet AmesThe Guilt of Janet Ames is a 1947 drama film. A widow sets out to find the five men whose lives were saved by the sacrifice of her husband in World War II and judge whether they are worthy.-Plot:...
(1947; story) - Escape Me NeverEscape Me Never (1947 film)Escape Me Never is a 1947 American drama film directed by Peter Godfrey and starring Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino and Eleanor Parker. It was an adaptation of the play Escape Me Never by Margaret Kennedy which had previously been made into a film in 1935...
(1947; uncredited) - Beyond the ForestBeyond the ForestBeyond the Forest is a 1949 American film, representative of the film noir genre. It was nominated for an Academy Award for best score.-Plot:...
(1949; writer) - Lightning Strikes TwiceLightning Strikes TwiceLightning Strikes Twice is the seventh studio album by American southern rock band Molly Hatchet, released in 1989 . This is the first studio album released without founding member Dave Hlubek, who retired from the music scene to recover from his drug addiction...
(1951; writer) - Sudden FearSudden FearSudden Fear is a 1952 RKO Radio Pictures feature film starring Joan Crawford and Jack Palance in a noir-ish tale about a successful woman who marries a murderous man. The screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee and Robert Smith was based upon the novel by Edna Sherry. Sudden Fear was directed by David...
(1952; writer) - Young at HeartYoung at Heart (1954 film)Young at Heart is a 1954 film, directed by Gordon Douglas. It was a remake of the 1938 film Four Daughters, and it starred Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore, Alan Hale, Jr and Dorothy Malone and was the first of five films that Gordon Douglas directed with Frank...
(1954; writer) - Footsteps in the FogFootsteps in the FogFootsteps in the Fog is a 1955 British crime film starring Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger, with a screenplay co-written by Lenore Coffee and Dorothy Davenport, and released by Columbia Pictures. It is based on the short story "The Interruption" by W.W...
(1955; screenplay) - Lux Video TheatreLux Video TheatreLux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
"Lightning Strikes Twice" (1955; teleplay) - The End of the AffairThe End of the Affair (1955 film)The End of the Affair is a 1955 film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, Peter Cushing and John Mills. It is based on the novel The End of the Affair by Graham Greene....
(1955; writer) - Lux Video TheatreLux Video TheatreLux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
"Old Acquaintance" (1956; teleplay) - Lux Video TheatreLux Video TheatreLux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
"The Gay Sisters" (1956; teleplay) - The 20th Century-Fox Hour "Yacht on the High Sea episode" (1956; teleplay)
- Lux Video TheatreLux Video TheatreLux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
"The Great Lie" (1957; teleplay) - Another Time, Another Place (1958; novel)
- Invisible ManInvisible ManInvisible Man is a novel written by Ralph Ellison, and the only one that he published during his lifetime . It won him the National Book Award in 1953...
"the Mink Coat" (1959; teleplay) - Cash McCallCash McCallCash McCall is a 1960 movie starring James Garner and Natalie Wood, based upon the novel of the same name by Cameron Hawley about a man who buys businesses in order to sell them at a profit...
(1960; writer)