Philip MacDonald
Encyclopedia
Philip MacDonald was an English
author
of thrillers.
and son of the author Ronald MacDonald and the actress Constance Robertson. During World War I
he served with the British cavalry in Mesopotamia
, later trained horses for the army, and was a show jumper. He also raised Great Dane
s. After marrying the writer F. Ruth Howard, he moved to Hollywood in 1931. He was one of the most popular mystery
writers of the 1930s, and between 1931 and 1963 wrote many screenplays along with a few radio and television scripts.
His detective novels, particularly those featuring his series detective
Anthony Gethryn
, are primarily "whodunnits" with the occasional locked room mystery
. His novel X v. Rex (1933), aka The Mystery of The Dead Police, is an early example of what has become known as a serial killer
novel (before the term "serial killer' was coined), in which an insane murderer is killing police officers one after the other. "Perhaps his best-known novel is The List of Adrian Messenger."
His work in screenwriting included not only screenplays based on his own works (such as The Mystery of Mr. X in 1934, Who Killed John Savage? in 1937, based on The Rynox Mystery, and many others) but also original stories and screenplays for series characters such as Charlie Chan
(Charlie Chan in London, 1934, and Charlie Chan in Paris, 1935) and Mr. Moto
(Mysterious Mr. Moto in 1938, Mr. Moto's Last Warning and Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation in 1939).
He did not receive any screen credit for his work in adapting Bride of Frankenstein
. He adapted a story written by Agatha Christie
for the movie Love From A Stranger (1947). MacDonald and Michael Hogan adapted the novel Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier
, from which Robert E. Sherwood
and Joan Harrison created the screenplay for Rebecca, the 1940 film. Sherwood and Harrison were nominated for an Academy Award.
In later years MacDonald wrote television scripts for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
("Malice Domestic", 1957) and Perry Mason
("The Case of the Terrified Typist", 1958).
His novel Patrol was issued as one of the first twenty Penguin Books
, and he wrote the novelisation of the film Forbidden Planet
(1956). He twice received an Edgar Award
for Best Short Story: in 1953, for Something to Hide, and in 1956, for Dream No More.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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:...
of thrillers.
Life and work
MacDonald was the grandson of the writer George MacDonaldGeorge MacDonald
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
and son of the author Ronald MacDonald and the actress Constance Robertson. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he served with the British cavalry in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, later trained horses for the army, and was a show jumper. He also raised Great Dane
Great Dane
The Great Dane , also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound , is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size...
s. After marrying the writer F. Ruth Howard, he moved to Hollywood in 1931. He was one of the most popular mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
writers of the 1930s, and between 1931 and 1963 wrote many screenplays along with a few radio and television scripts.
His detective novels, particularly those featuring his series detective
Anthony Gethryn
Anthony Gethryn
Anthony Ruthven Gethryn is character depicted in novels by Philip MacDonald and their cinematic counterparts.-History:Gethryn is the series detective for more than a dozen of Philip MacDonald's murder mysteries, written between 1924 and 1956....
, are primarily "whodunnits" with the occasional locked room mystery
Locked room mystery
The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room...
. His novel X v. Rex (1933), aka The Mystery of The Dead Police, is an early example of what has become known as a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
novel (before the term "serial killer' was coined), in which an insane murderer is killing police officers one after the other. "Perhaps his best-known novel is The List of Adrian Messenger."
His work in screenwriting included not only screenplays based on his own works (such as The Mystery of Mr. X in 1934, Who Killed John Savage? in 1937, based on The Rynox Mystery, and many others) but also original stories and screenplays for series characters such as Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
(Charlie Chan in London, 1934, and Charlie Chan in Paris, 1935) and Mr. Moto
Mr. Moto
Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the Saturday Evening Post, which was seeking stories with an Asian hero after the death...
(Mysterious Mr. Moto in 1938, Mr. Moto's Last Warning and Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation in 1939).
He did not receive any screen credit for his work in adapting Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to Frankenstein...
. He adapted a story written by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
for the movie Love From A Stranger (1947). MacDonald and Michael Hogan adapted the novel Rebecca
Rebecca (novel)
Rebecca is a novel by Daphne du Maurier. When Rebecca was published in 1938, du Maurier became – to her great surprise – one of the most popular authors of the day. Rebecca is considered to be one of her best works...
by Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
, from which Robert E. Sherwood
Robert E. Sherwood
Robert Emmet Sherwood was an American playwright, editor, and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in New Rochelle, New York, he was a son of Arthur Murray Sherwood, a rich stockbroker, and his wife, the former Rosina Emmet, a well-known illustrator and portrait painter known as Rosina E. Sherwood...
and Joan Harrison created the screenplay for Rebecca, the 1940 film. Sherwood and Harrison were nominated for an Academy Award.
In later years MacDonald wrote television scripts for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
("Malice Domestic", 1957) and Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
("The Case of the Terrified Typist", 1958).
His novel Patrol was issued as one of the first twenty Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
, and he wrote the novelisation of the film Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot contains certain...
(1956). He twice received an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for Best Short Story: in 1953, for Something to Hide, and in 1956, for Dream No More.
As Oliver Fleming
- Ambrotox and Limping Dick (1920), with Ronald MacDonald
- The Spandau Quid (1923), with Ronald MacDonald
As Martin Porlock
- Mystery at Friar's Pardon (a.k.a. Escape) (1931)
- Mystery in Kensington Gore (1932)
- X v. Rex (a.k.a. The Mystery of Mr. X and Mystery of the Dead Police) (1933) (Later republished as Mystery of the Dead Police by Philip MacDonald as Pocket BooksPocket BooksPocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
#70, 1940)
Films based on works by MacDonald
- 1929 - Lost Patrol (the novel Patrol), directed by Walter Summers
- 1932 - The Rasp, directed by Michael PowellMichael Powell (director)Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
- 1932 - RynoxRynoxRynox is a 1932 British crime film, directed by Michael Powell and starring Stewart Rome and John Longden. Rynox was adapted from a novel by popular thriller writer of the day Philip MacDonald....
, directed by Michael PowellMichael Powell (director)Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger... - 1934 - The Lost PatrolThe Lost Patrol (1934 film)The Lost Patrol is a 1934 war film made by RKO. It was directed and produced by John Ford, with Merian C. Cooper as executive producer and Cliff Reid as associate producer. The screenplay was by Dudley Nichols, adapted by Garrett Fort from the novel Patrol by Philip MacDonald. The music score was...
(the novel Patrol), directed by John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath... - 1937 - Who Killed John Savage?Who Killed John Savage?Who Killed John Savage? is a 1937 British mystery film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Nicholas Hannen, Barry MacKay, Kathleen Kelly, Henry Oscar and Edward Chapman. A businessman is found dead, leaving police detectives to work out if it was suicide or murder. The film is based on a novel...
(the novel Rynox), directed by Maurice ElveyMaurice ElveyMaurice Elvey was the most prolific film director in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year.... - 1939 - A Gentleman's Gentleman (the play), directed by Roy William Neill
- 1939 - Le Collier de Chanvre (the novel Rope to Spare), directed by Léon Mathot
- 1939 - The Nursemaid Who Disappeared (the novel Warrant for X), directed by Arthur B. Woods
- 1942 - Nightmare, directed by Tim WhelanTim WhelanTim Whelan was an American film director, writer, producer and actor.-Selected filmography:* Adam's Apple * When Knights Were Bold * It's a Boy * Aunt Sally...
- 1951 - Circle of Danger, directed by Jacques TourneurJacques TourneurJacques Tourneur was a French-American film director.-Life:Born in Paris, France, he was the son of film director Maurice Tourneur. At age 10, Jacques moved to the United States with his father. He started a career in cinema while still attending high school as an extra and later as a script clerk...
- 1952 - The Hour of 13 (the novel X v. Rex), directed by Harold FrenchHarold FrenchHarold French was an English director and actor of stage and screen. As an actor most of his roles occurred between 1912 and 1936. He did not garner as much attention as an actor as he would as a director. From 1940 to 1955 he had a several solid box-office successes...
- 1956 - 23 Paces to Baker Street23 Paces to Baker Street23 Paces to Baker Street is a 1956 American drama film released by 20th Century Fox. The Hitchcockian mystery thriller, filmed in Cinemascope on location in London, focuses on Philip Hannon, a blind playwright who overhears a partial conversation he believes is related to the planning of a kidnapping...
(the novel Warrant for X), directed by Henry HathawayHenry HathawayHenry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:... - 1963 - The List of Adrian MessengerThe List of Adrian MessengerThe List of Adrian Messenger is a 1963 black and white crime thriller about a retired British intelligence officer investigating a series of apparently unrelated deaths. It is directed by acclaimed film director John Huston...
, directed by John HustonJohn HustonJohn Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...