W. Scott Darling
Encyclopedia
William Scott Darling was a Canadian
-born writer
and a pioneer screenwriter
and film director
in the Hollywood motion picture industry.
Born in Toronto
, Ontario
, Scott Darling embarked on a career as a writer, primarily doing humor stories for magazine
s. He married Eleanor Fried with whom he had a daughter Gretchen (1915–1994) who became a stage actress and playwright.
In 1914, Scott Darling was hired by the Kalem Company
of New York City
to work at their California
studios writing the scripts for the adventure film
serial
The Hazards of Helen
. So successful were the short films that the job would last more than two years with Darling writing 119 episodes of what became the longest serial ever made at 23.8 hours. When finished writing the exhausting serial he took a year off then in 1918 accepted an offer from fellow Ontarians
Charles
and Al Christie
to write short comedy film
s for their Christie Film Company
.
In 1921, Carl Laemmle
at Universal Studios
lured Scott Darling away from Christie Films with the promise of an opportunity to direct in addition to writing screenplays. While adaptations from other works was Darling's forte, between 1922 and 1928 at Universal he directed twenty-seven silent films and wrote forty screenplays.
With the advent of sound film
, he easily adapted to creating dialogue and wrote scripts for early "talkies" such as Fox's Trent's Last Case
(1929) based on the E. C. Bentley novel and directed by Howard Hawks
. Six years after directing his last silent film, Scott Darling tried his hand at directing a sound film in the United Kingdom
but was unable to devote the time necessary to attempt to develop the directorial skills required for the rapidly changing technology.
A prolific and diverse writer, during the 1930s and '40s, Scott Darling wrote more than seventy screenplays that were used for major films and popular B-movie
thrillers produced by American studios in Hollywood as well as in London
. Among these were Universal's The Ghost of Frankenstein
(1942) and Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
(1943) that received critical acclaim and were considerable box office
successes. Darling also wrote four scripts at Twentieth Century Fox for their Laurel & Hardy productions .
In 1950 and '51, five more of Darling's scripts were made into films. However, near the end of October, Scott Darling drowned in the Pacific Ocean
while out swimming. His final script, after 119 Hazards of Helen episodes and 167 other screenplays, was posthumously released on film in 1952.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and a pioneer 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:...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
in the Hollywood motion picture industry.
Born in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Scott Darling embarked on a career as a writer, primarily doing humor stories for magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s. He married Eleanor Fried with whom he had a daughter Gretchen (1915–1994) who became a stage actress and playwright.
In 1914, Scott Darling was hired by the Kalem Company
Kalem Company
The Kalem Company was an American film studio founded in New York City in 1907 by George Kleine, Samuel Long , and Frank J. Marion.The company immediately joined other studios in the Motion Picture Patents Company that held a monopoly on production and distribution...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to work at their California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
studios writing the scripts for the adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
The Hazards of Helen
The Hazards of Helen
The Hazards of Helen is an American adventure film serial of 119 twelve minute episodes released over a span of slightly more than two years by the Kalem Company between November 7, 1914 and February 24, 1917....
. So successful were the short films that the job would last more than two years with Darling writing 119 episodes of what became the longest serial ever made at 23.8 hours. When finished writing the exhausting serial he took a year off then in 1918 accepted an offer from fellow Ontarians
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
Charles
Charles Christie
Charles H. V. Christie was a motion picture studio owner.Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Charles and his brother Al left home to pursue a career in the fledgling motion picture industry...
and Al Christie
Al Christie
Al Christie was a Canadian-born motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Career:Born Alfred Ernest Christie, in London, Ontario, Canada, he was one of a number of Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood who made their way to Hollywood, California, attracted by the newly developing motion...
to write short comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
s for their Christie Film Company
Christie Film Company
Christie Film Company was an American pioneer motion picture company founded in Hollywood, California by Al Christie and Charles Christie, two brothers from London, Ontario, Canada....
.
In 1921, Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle , born in Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany, was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios - Universal...
at Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
lured Scott Darling away from Christie Films with the promise of an opportunity to direct in addition to writing screenplays. While adaptations from other works was Darling's forte, between 1922 and 1928 at Universal he directed twenty-seven silent films and wrote forty screenplays.
With the advent of sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
, he easily adapted to creating dialogue and wrote scripts for early "talkies" such as Fox's Trent's Last Case
Trent's Last Case (1929 film)
Trent's Last Case is an American detective film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Raymond Griffith, Marceline Day, Raymond Hatton, and Donald Crisp, and released by Fox Film Corporation...
(1929) based on the E. C. Bentley novel and directed by Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
. Six years after directing his last silent film, Scott Darling tried his hand at directing a sound film in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
but was unable to devote the time necessary to attempt to develop the directorial skills required for the rapidly changing technology.
A prolific and diverse writer, during the 1930s and '40s, Scott Darling wrote more than seventy screenplays that were used for major films and popular B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
thrillers produced by American studios in Hollywood as well as in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Among these were Universal's The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein, is an American monster horror film released in 1942. The movie is the fourth in a series of films produced by Universal Studios based upon characters in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and features Lon Chaney, Jr...
(1942) and Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon is the fourth in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes films.- Plot :Sherlock Holmes pretends to be a Nazi spy to aid scientist Dr. Franz Tobel and his new invention, a bombsight, in escaping a Gestapo trap in Switzerland...
(1943) that received critical acclaim and were considerable box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
successes. Darling also wrote four scripts at Twentieth Century Fox for their Laurel & Hardy productions .
In 1950 and '51, five more of Darling's scripts were made into films. However, near the end of October, Scott Darling drowned in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
while out swimming. His final script, after 119 Hazards of Helen episodes and 167 other screenplays, was posthumously released on film in 1952.