Maurine Dallas Watkins
Encyclopedia
Maurine Dallas Watkins (July 27, 1896 - August 10, 1969) was an American
journalist
and playwright
.
She was born in Louisville
, Kentucky
, and attended Crawfordsville High School, followed by five colleges (including Hamilton College, Transylvania University
, Butler College (Indianapolis, IN), and Radcliffe College
). While at Butler, Watkins joined the Gamma chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta
Women's Fraternity and was initiated in 1919. After these colleges, she took a job as a reporter with the Chicago Tribune
. After her Tribune tenure—which lasted less than seven months—she enrolled at Yale in the 47 Workshop (see below).
She covered two 1924 murders and the subsequent trials of Belva Gaertner
, a twice-divorced cabaret
singer, and Beulah Sheriff Annan
. Watkins focused on the sensational aspects of the two cases, two "jazz babies" corrupted by men and liquor, characterizing Beulah as "beauty of the cell block" and Belva as "most stylish of Murderess Row."
Watkins also reported on the famous Leopold and Loeb
case, which quickly overshadowed the coverage of the Belvah Gaertner verdict. Soon after, she left journalism to take up writing plays, studying under George Pierce Baker
at Yale University
. As a class assignment in his famous 47 Workshop course, she wrote a marginally fictionalized account of the two murders, calling it first The Brave Little Woman, then Chicago, or Play Ball (first copyrighted version: pre-production manuscript), and finally Chicago (second copyrighted version: post-production script). Beulah Annan became "Roxie Hart"; Belva Gaertner, "Velma Kelly"; Albert Annan, "Amos Hart"; and the two lawyers, William Scott Stewart and W. W. O'Brien, were combined in a composite character, "Billy Flynn" (O'Brien seems to have been the closest direct match).
Director Sam Forrest was replaced by George Abbott
at the request of Jeanne Eagels
(Roxie Hart); but Eagels quit the show within a few days, and Francine Larrimore
replaced Eagels. Chicago opened on Broadway
on 30 December 1926 (though the run is listed as 1927). The play ran for a respectable 172 performances, then toured for 2 years (with a then-unknown Clark Gable
appearing in a Los Angeles production as Amos Hart). A 1927
silent film version
produced and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille
and starring former Mack Sennett
bathing beauty Phyllis Haver
as Roxie Hart, was remade as Roxie Hart
in 1942
with Ginger Rogers
in the title role. This 1942 film version eliminated all the murderesses except the unnamed Velma Kelly, while the stage and screen musical version eliminated Jake, Babe, and several others.
Watkins wrote about twenty plays, but Chicago was her most successful. She journeyed to Hollywood to write screenplay
s, including the 1936
comedy Libeled Lady
with William Powell
, Myrna Loy
, Jean Harlow
, and Spencer Tracy
.
Her 1929 play, "So Help Me God", a Broadway back-stage comedy, is being produced in Fall 2009 at the Lortel Theatre in New York, directed by Martin Platt and starring Kristen Johnston as Lily Darnley, a Broadway star. The Mint Theatre Company is producing. Under the title "An Old Fashioned Girl", it was produced on what was called the Subway Circuit (theatres in Queens and Brooklyn) prior to Broadway - but Broadway never happened for this play, as the stock market crash in October 1929 intervened. This is the first production of the play in 80 years.
Watkins faded into obscurity in the 1940s. She developed a disfiguring facial cancer and, by 1968, was reclusive, leaving her apartment only when heavily veiled. She had been a lifelong Christian
and left her fortune of over $2,300,000 to found contests and chairs in Biblical studies
at some 20 universities, including Princeton.
In the 1960s, Watkins was approached by Bob Fosse
, who sought the rights to Chicago for a musical adaptation, but she resisted his offers. Following her death in 1969, her estate sold him the rights, leading to the development of Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville
with a score by John Kander
and Fred Ebb
. It was first produced in 1975, revived in 1997, and filmed in 2002.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and 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...
.
She was born in Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and attended Crawfordsville High School, followed by five colleges (including Hamilton College, Transylvania University
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Christian Church . The school was founded in 1780. It offers 38 majors, and pre-professional degrees in engineering and accounting...
, Butler College (Indianapolis, IN), and Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
). While at Butler, Watkins joined the Gamma chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
Women's Fraternity and was initiated in 1919. After these colleges, she took a job as a reporter with the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
. After her Tribune tenure—which lasted less than seven months—she enrolled at Yale in the 47 Workshop (see below).
She covered two 1924 murders and the subsequent trials of Belva Gaertner
Belva Gaertner
Belva Gaertner , acquitted in a 1924 murder trial, inspired the fictional character Velma Kelly/Velma Wall created by Maurine Dallas Watkins, who reported on her trial for the Chicago Tribune...
, a twice-divorced cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
singer, and Beulah Sheriff Annan
Beulah Annan
Beulah May Annan was a suspected American murderess.She is one of the subjects of Maurine Dallas Watkins's play Chicago in 1924...
. Watkins focused on the sensational aspects of the two cases, two "jazz babies" corrupted by men and liquor, characterizing Beulah as "beauty of the cell block" and Belva as "most stylish of Murderess Row."
Watkins also reported on the famous Leopold and Loeb
Leopold and Loeb
Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. and Richard Albert Loeb , more commonly known as "Leopold and Loeb", were two wealthy University of Michigan alumni and University of Chicago students who murdered 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks in 1924 and were sentenced to life imprisonment.The duo were...
case, which quickly overshadowed the coverage of the Belvah Gaertner verdict. Soon after, she left journalism to take up writing plays, studying under George Pierce Baker
George Pierce Baker
George Pierce Baker was an American educator in the field of drama.Baker graduated in the Harvard University class of 1887, and taught in the English Department at Harvard from 1888 until 1924. He started his "47 workshop" class in playwrighting in 1905. He was instrumental in creating the Harvard...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. As a class assignment in his famous 47 Workshop course, she wrote a marginally fictionalized account of the two murders, calling it first The Brave Little Woman, then Chicago, or Play Ball (first copyrighted version: pre-production manuscript), and finally Chicago (second copyrighted version: post-production script). Beulah Annan became "Roxie Hart"; Belva Gaertner, "Velma Kelly"; Albert Annan, "Amos Hart"; and the two lawyers, William Scott Stewart and W. W. O'Brien, were combined in a composite character, "Billy Flynn" (O'Brien seems to have been the closest direct match).
Director Sam Forrest was replaced by George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
at the request of Jeanne Eagels
Jeanne Eagels
Jeanne Eagels was an American actress on Broadway and in several motion pictures. She was a former Ziegfeld Follies Girl who went on to greater fame on Broadway and in the emerging medium of sound films....
(Roxie Hart); but Eagels quit the show within a few days, and Francine Larrimore
Francine Larrimore
Francine Larrimore Francine Larrimore Francine Larrimore (August 22, 1898 – March 7, 1975 was a stage and screen actress. Born in France she came to the United States when a child. Her parents were J. Louis La Remee and Sarah Adler, a sister of the Yiddish stage star Jacob Adler and not to be...
replaced Eagels. Chicago opened on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
on 30 December 1926 (though the run is listed as 1927). The play ran for a respectable 172 performances, then toured for 2 years (with a then-unknown Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
appearing in a Los Angeles production as Amos Hart). A 1927
1927 in film
-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 7 - Abel Gance's Napoleon often considered his best known and greatest masterpiece, premiers at the Paris Opéra and would demonstrate techniques and equipment that would not be used for years to...
silent film version
Chicago (1927 film)
Chicago is a 1927 comedy-drama silent film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Frank Urson.-Plot:Drawn from the play of the same name by Maurine Dallas Watkins which was in turn based on the true story of Beulah Annan, fictionalized as Roxie Hart , and her spectacular murder of her boyfriend...
produced and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
and starring former Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
bathing beauty Phyllis Haver
Phyllis Haver
Phyllis Haver was an American actress of the silent film era.-Early life:She was born Phyllis Haver in Douglass, Kansas. When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, then a city of less than half a million people. Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High...
as Roxie Hart, was remade as Roxie Hart
Roxie Hart (film)
Roxie Hart is a 1942 film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, George Montgomery, Nigel Bruce, Phil Silvers, William Frawley, and Spring Byington....
in 1942
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
with Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
in the title role. This 1942 film version eliminated all the murderesses except the unnamed Velma Kelly, while the stage and screen musical version eliminated Jake, Babe, and several others.
Watkins wrote about twenty plays, but Chicago was her most successful. She journeyed to Hollywood to write screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s, including the 1936
1936 in film
The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
comedy Libeled Lady
Libeled Lady
Libeled Lady is a 1936 screwball comedy film starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy, written by George Oppenheimer, Howard Emmett Rogers, Wallace Sullivan and Maurine Dallas Watkins, and directed by Jack Conway....
with William Powell
William Powell
William Horatio Powell was an American actor.A major star at MGM, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the popular Thin Man series in which Powell and Loy played Nick and Nora Charles...
, Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
, 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 Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
.
Her 1929 play, "So Help Me God", a Broadway back-stage comedy, is being produced in Fall 2009 at the Lortel Theatre in New York, directed by Martin Platt and starring Kristen Johnston as Lily Darnley, a Broadway star. The Mint Theatre Company is producing. Under the title "An Old Fashioned Girl", it was produced on what was called the Subway Circuit (theatres in Queens and Brooklyn) prior to Broadway - but Broadway never happened for this play, as the stock market crash in October 1929 intervened. This is the first production of the play in 80 years.
Watkins faded into obscurity in the 1940s. She developed a disfiguring facial cancer and, by 1968, was reclusive, leaving her apartment only when heavily veiled. She had been a lifelong Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and left her fortune of over $2,300,000 to found contests and chairs in Biblical studies
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament and Old Testament, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures." Judaism recognizes as scripture only the Hebrew Bible, also known as...
at some 20 universities, including Princeton.
In the 1960s, Watkins was approached by Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
, who sought the rights to Chicago for a musical adaptation, but she resisted his offers. Following her death in 1969, her estate sold him the rights, leading to the development of Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville
Chicago (musical)
Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...
with a score by John Kander
John Kander
John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander...
and Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera....
. It was first produced in 1975, revived in 1997, and filmed in 2002.
Filmography
- ChicagoChicago (1927 film)Chicago is a 1927 comedy-drama silent film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Frank Urson.-Plot:Drawn from the play of the same name by Maurine Dallas Watkins which was in turn based on the true story of Beulah Annan, fictionalized as Roxie Hart , and her spectacular murder of her boyfriend...
(1927) (play) - Up the RiverUp the RiverUp the River is a Pre-Code comedy film about escaped convicts, directed by John Ford and featuring Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart in their feature film debuts.-Plot:...
(1930) - Doctors' WivesDoctors' Wives (1931 film)Doctors' Wives is a 1931 romantic drama film made by Fox Film Corporation, directed by Frank Borzage. The film stars Warner Baxter and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Maurine Dallas Watkins, based on a novel by Henry Lieferant and Sylvia Lieferant.-Cast:*Warner Baxter as Dr. Judson...
(1931) - Play-GirlPlay-GirlPlay-Girl is a 1932 romantic drama film starring Winnie Lightner, Loretta Young, and Norman Foster. A young woman marries a professional gambler.-Cast:*Winnie Lightner as Georgine Hicks*Loretta Young as Buster Green Dennis...
(1932) - The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932) (play Tinsel Girl)
- No Man of Her OwnNo Man of Her Own (1932 film)No Man of Her Own is a 1932 light comedy film starring Clark Gable and Carole Lombard as a married couple in their only film together, several years before their own legendary marriage in real life...
(1932) - Child of Manhattan (1933)
- Hello Sister (1933) (uncredited)
- The Story of Temple DrakeThe Story of Temple DrakeThe Story of Temple Drake is a 1933 Pre-Code drama film adapted from the highly controversial novel Sanctuary by William Faulkner. Though watered down, the movie was still so scandalous, it was one of reasons for the introduction of the Hays Code...
(1933) (uncredited) - Professional Sweetheart (1933)
- Search for Beauty (1934)
- Strictly Dynamite (1934) (story)
- A Wicked Woman (1934) (dialogue)
- Libeled LadyLibeled LadyLibeled Lady is a 1936 screwball comedy film starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy, written by George Oppenheimer, Howard Emmett Rogers, Wallace Sullivan and Maurine Dallas Watkins, and directed by Jack Conway....
(1936) - Up the River (1938) (story)
- I Love You AgainI Love You AgainI Love You Again is a comedy film released in 1940. It was directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starred William Powell and Myrna Loy; all three were prominently involved in the The Thin Man series...
(1940) (story) - Roxie HartRoxie Hart (film)Roxie Hart is a 1942 film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, George Montgomery, Nigel Bruce, Phil Silvers, William Frawley, and Spring Byington....
(1942) - Easy to Wed (1946)
- ChicagoChicago (2002 film)Chicago is a 2002 musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz-age Chicago....
(2002) (play)
Further reading
- Thomas H. Pauly (Ed.): Chicago: With the Chicago Tribune Articles that Inspired It. Southern Illinois University 1997. ISBN 0809321297, ISBN 978-0809321292