Sonya Levien
Encyclopedia
Sonya Levien was a Russia
n screenwriter
. She wrote for 72 films between 1921
and 1962
. She won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay in 1955
for the film Interrupted Melody
.
She was born in Russia
and died in Hollywood, California.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n 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:...
. She wrote for 72 films between 1921
1921 in film
-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1921:U.S.A. unless stated*$10,000 Under a Pillow, silent film directed by Frank Moser*The Ace of Hearts, silent film directed by Wallace Worsley*Across the Divide, silent film directed by John Holloway...
and 1962
1962 in film
The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
. She won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay in 1955
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
for the film Interrupted Melody
Interrupted Melody
Interrupted Melody is a 1955 biographical film which tells the story of Australian opera singer Marjorie Lawrence's struggle with polio. The film was made by MGM, directed by Curtis Bernhardt and produced by Jack Cummings from a screenplay by Marjorie Lawrence, Sonya Levien, and William Ludwig.The...
.
She was born in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and died in Hollywood, California.
Selected filmography
- Salome of the TenementsSalome of the TenementsSalome of the Tenements is a 1925 silent film adapted to the screen by Sonya Levien from the Anzia Yezierska novel. Made by Jesse L. Lasky and Adolph Zukor's Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, a division of Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Sidney Olcott and starred Jetta Goudal and Godfrey...
(19251925 in film-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...
) - The Princess from HobokenThe Princess from HobokenThe Princess from Hoboken is a 1927 comedy film directed by Allen Dale and featuring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Edmund Burns - Terence O'Brien* Blanche Mehaffey - Sheila O'Toole* Ethel Clayton - Mrs. O'Brien* Lou Tellegen - Prince Anton Balakrieff...
(19271927 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...
) - A Ship Comes InA Ship Comes InA Ship Comes In is a 1928 silent film which tells the story of immigrants coming to the United States. It stars Rudolph Schildkraut, Louise Dresser, Milton Holmes, Linda Landi, and Fritz Feld....
(1928) - The Power of the PressThe Power of the PressThe Power of the Press is a 1928 silent film directed by Frank Capra and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr as an aspiring newspaper reporter and Jobyna Ralston as a young woman suspected of murder....
(19281928 in film-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...
) - Behind That CurtainBehind That Curtain (film)Behind That Curtain is a 1929 mystery film directed by Irving Cummings, starring Warner Baxter and featuring Boris Karloff. It was the first Charlie Chan film to be made at Fox Studios. It was based on the novel of the same name. Charlie Chan is played by Korean American actor E. L...
(1929) - Lucky StarLucky Star (film)Lucky Star is a romantic drama film starring Janet Gaynor and directed by Frank Borzage. The plot involves the impact of World War I upon a farm girl and a returning soldier . The movie was produced by William Fox with cinematography by Chester A. Lyons and William Cooper Smith, and the...
(19291929 in film-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
) - The BratThe BratThe Brat is a 1931 comedy film directed by John Ford. It is based on the 1917 play by Maude Fulton. A previous silent film had been made in 1919 with Alla Nazimova. This 1931 screen version has been updated to then contemporary standards i.e...
(1931) - DeliciousDelicious (1931 film)Delicious is a Gershwin musical romantic comedy film starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, directed by David Butler, with color sequences in Multicolor . The film featured music by George and Ira Gershwin, including the introduction of "New York Rhapsody" ; an imaginative and elaborate set...
(19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - Cavalcade (1933)
- State Fair (19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - Change of HeartChange of Heart (1934 film)Change of Heart is a 1934 American drama film starring Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, James Dunn, and Ginger Rogers. The movie, about a quartet of college chums who all move to 1934 New York City, was written by James Gleason and Sonya Levien from Kathleen Norris's novel, Manhattan Love Song and...
(1934) - The White ParadeThe White ParadeThe White Parade is a 1934 film that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was written by Rian James, Jesse Lasky Jr., Sonya Levien and Ernest Pascal, from the novel by Rian James. The film was directed by Irving Cummings....
(19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - In Old ChicagoIn Old ChicagoIn Old Chicago is a 1937 American drama film directed by Henry King. The screenplay by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti was based on the Niven Busch story, "We the O'Learys." The film is a fictionalized account about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and stars Alice Brady as Mrs. O'Leary, the owner of...
(19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - Four Men and a PrayerFour Men and a Prayer-Cast:* Loretta Young - Miss Lynn Cherrington* Richard Greene - Geoffrey Leigh* George Sanders - Wyatt Leigh* David Niven - Christopher Leigh* C. Aubrey Smith - Col. Loring Leigh* J. Edward Bromberg - Gen. Torres* William Henry - Rodney Leigh...
(1938) - The Cowboy and the LadyThe Cowboy and the Lady (1938 film)The Cowboy and the Lady is a 1938 American western romantic comedy film directed by H.C. Potter, and starring Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon. The film was written by S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, based on a story by Frank R. Adams and veteran film director Leo McCarey...
(19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) - Drums Along the MohawkDrums Along the MohawkDrums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 historical Technicolor film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author, Walter D. Edmonds. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John Ford. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert portray settlers on the New York frontier during the...
(19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - The Valley of DecisionThe Valley of DecisionThe Valley of Decision is a film set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA in the late 19th century. It tells the story of a young Irish house maid who falls in love with the son of her employer, a local steel mill owner...
(1945) - State FairState Fair (1945 film)State Fair is a 1945 film directed by Walter Lang. The film a musical adaptation of the 1933 film of the same name, with original music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The film starred Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Fay Bainter and Charles Winninger...
(19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) - The Green YearsThe Green Years (film)The Green Years is a 1946 American comedy-drama film featuring Charles Coburn, Tom Drake, Hume Cronyn, Gladys Cooper, Dean Stockwell, and Jessica Tandy, based on A. J. Cronin's novel of the same title...
(19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
) - Quo VadisQuo Vadis (1951 film)Quo Vadis is a 1951 epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic 1896 novel Quo Vadis. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - The Merry WidowThe Merry Widow (1952 film)The Merry Widow is a 1952 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It starred Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas.The film received two Academy Award nominations: for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color and Best Costume Design, Color...
(19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - The Student PrinceThe Student Prince (film)The Student Prince is a 1954 CinemaScope color film musical featuring, as the credits read, "the singing voice of Mario Lanza". Lanza had become embroiled in a bitter dispute with MGM during production and the studio dismissed him. Under the terms of the settlement with Lanza, MGM retained the...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - Interrupted MelodyInterrupted MelodyInterrupted Melody is a 1955 biographical film which tells the story of Australian opera singer Marjorie Lawrence's struggle with polio. The film was made by MGM, directed by Curtis Bernhardt and produced by Jack Cummings from a screenplay by Marjorie Lawrence, Sonya Levien, and William Ludwig.The...
(1955) - Oklahoma! (19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - Bhowani JunctionBhowani Junction (film)Bhowani Junction is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1952 novel Bhowani Junction by John Masters made by MGM. The film was directed by George Cukor and produced by Pandro S...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - Jeanne EagelsJeanne Eagels (film)Jeanne Eagels is a 1957 fictionalized biographical film of the life of stage star Jeanne Eagels, made by Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by George Sidney from a screenplay by John Fante, Daniel Fuchs and Sonya Levien, based on a story by Fuchs...
(19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - State FairState Fair (1962 film)State Fair is a 1962 film directed by José Ferrer. The film is a remake of the 1933 and 1945 films of the same name.It was considered to be a financially and critically unsuccessful film. It starred Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Ann-Margret, Tom Ewell, Pamela Tiffin and Alice Faye.Richard Rodgers wrote...
(19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
)