PAUL JARRICO
American screenwriter who started his career in Hollywood in the late 30s. From
the late 1950s to the late 1960s Jarrico was blacklisted on both sides of the
Iron Curtain, in the United States and in the Soviet Union.
Paul Jarrico was born in Los Angeles, California. His father was a Russian
immigrant, lawyer, amateur poet, socialist and Zionist. Jarrico started to write
stories in his youth and while studying at the University of California, Los
Angeles, Jarrico joined the National Student League, and then the Young
Communist League. He was an active member of the Communist Party between the
years 1937 and 1951. In the 1930s Jarrico wrote scripts for the film No Time to
Marry (1937), and co-scripted I Am the Law (1938), The Little Adventures, (1938)
and Beauty for the Asking (1939).
During World War II Jericho served in the merchant marines in North Africa and
Italy. In the 1940s Jerrico worked in Hollywood for MGM, writing scripts for
such films as The Face Behind the Mask (1941), directed by Robert Florey and
starring Peter Lorre, Men of the Timberland (1941), and Thousand Cheer (1943).
Song of Russia (1943) was directed by Gregory Ratoff and produced by MGM under
pressure from President Roosevelt to create sympathy for the Soviets in their
wars against Nazi Germany. The Search (1948) was directed by Fred Zinneman and
depicted the fate of orphaned children in post-war Europe. Not Wanted (1949) was
directed by Ida Lupino and not the credited Elmer Clifton, who suffered a heart
attack on the third day of the production. Among Jarrico's best screenplays was
Tom, Dick, and Harry (1941), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for
his original screenplay.
In the 1950s a hearing of the House Of Un-American Activities Committee, at
which he refused to testify, blacklisted him. Jarrico's last major work in
Hollywood in the 1950s was the script for THE WHITE TOWER. It was Howard Hughes's
attempt at grandeur, produced by RKO. The film was based on a novel by James
Ramsay Ullman. In the pretentiously symbolic melodrama a group of people climbs
an Alpine mountain. Glenn Ford played a cynical ex-GI. And Lloyd Bridges was a
Nazi bigot. Howard Hughes fired Jarrico immediately when he heard that Jarrico
had received the subpoena for the hearings.
Jarrico's passport was confiscated after his journey to London in 1951. His most
important project in the following years was Salt of the Earth (1953), a union-sponsored
drama about the appalling conditions of striking coal miners in New Mexico. The
film was written by Michael Wilson and directed by Herbert J. Biberman - the
only independent production made by blacklisted people in the US film industry.
Salt of the Earth was subsequently blacklisted and its distribution was
prohibited, but later it has gained the status of a cult film. In 1958 Jarrico
left the US and worked in Europe for 20 years.
During the 1960s Jarrico used such pseudonyms as Peter Achilles and co-scripted
Jovanka e le altre (1960), directed by Martin Ritt, Call Me Bwana (1963),
directed by Gordon Douglas, Der Schatz der Azteken (1965), directed by Robert
Sidmark, Who killed Johnny Ringo (1966). He also worked for television
productions.
Jarrico returned to the United States in 1977 and settled in Santa Monica, Los
Angeles. He has taught at the University of California, at the University of San
Francisco and continued his career as a screenwriter. Among his later American
works is the screenplay for J. Lee Thompson's Messenger of Death (1988), and
scripts for television, including Ivan Passer's dramatized biography of Stalin (1992),
starring Robert Duvall. Jarrico died at the age of 82 in a car accident
returning from an event dedicated to victims of the black list.
For further reading: Salt of the Earth by Herbet Biberman (1965); The
Inquisition in Hollywood by Larry Ceplair & Steven Englund (1980, 1983),
Hiljaiset sankarit by Matti Salo (1994) - Other blacklisted screenwriters:
Dalton Trumbo, Michael Wilson, Hugo Butler, Abraham Polonsky (director,
screenwriter, novelist).
American screenwriter who started his career in Hollywood in the late 30s. From
the late 1950s to the late 1960s Jarrico was blacklisted on both sides of the
Iron Curtain, in the United States and in the Soviet Union.
Paul Jarrico was born in Los Angeles, California. His father was a Russian
immigrant, lawyer, amateur poet, socialist and Zionist. Jarrico started to write
stories in his youth and while studying at the University of California, Los
Angeles, Jarrico joined the National Student League, and then the Young
Communist League. He was an active member of the Communist Party between the
years 1937 and 1951. In the 1930s Jarrico wrote scripts for the film No Time to
Marry (1937), and co-scripted I Am the Law (1938), The Little Adventures, (1938)
and Beauty for the Asking (1939).
During World War II Jericho served in the merchant marines in North Africa and
Italy. In the 1940s Jerrico worked in Hollywood for MGM, writing scripts for
such films as The Face Behind the Mask (1941), directed by Robert Florey and
starring Peter Lorre, Men of the Timberland (1941), and Thousand Cheer (1943).
Song of Russia (1943) was directed by Gregory Ratoff and produced by MGM under
pressure from President Roosevelt to create sympathy for the Soviets in their
wars against Nazi Germany. The Search (1948) was directed by Fred Zinneman and
depicted the fate of orphaned children in post-war Europe. Not Wanted (1949) was
directed by Ida Lupino and not the credited Elmer Clifton, who suffered a heart
attack on the third day of the production. Among Jarrico's best screenplays was
Tom, Dick, and Harry (1941), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for
his original screenplay.
In the 1950s a hearing of the House Of Un-American Activities Committee, at
which he refused to testify, blacklisted him. Jarrico's last major work in
Hollywood in the 1950s was the script for THE WHITE TOWER. It was Howard Hughes's
attempt at grandeur, produced by RKO. The film was based on a novel by James
Ramsay Ullman. In the pretentiously symbolic melodrama a group of people climbs
an Alpine mountain. Glenn Ford played a cynical ex-GI. And Lloyd Bridges was a
Nazi bigot. Howard Hughes fired Jarrico immediately when he heard that Jarrico
had received the subpoena for the hearings.
Jarrico's passport was confiscated after his journey to London in 1951. His most
important project in the following years was Salt of the Earth (1953), a union-sponsored
drama about the appalling conditions of striking coal miners in New Mexico. The
film was written by Michael Wilson and directed by Herbert J. Biberman - the
only independent production made by blacklisted people in the US film industry.
Salt of the Earth was subsequently blacklisted and its distribution was
prohibited, but later it has gained the status of a cult film. In 1958 Jarrico
left the US and worked in Europe for 20 years.
During the 1960s Jarrico used such pseudonyms as Peter Achilles and co-scripted
Jovanka e le altre (1960), directed by Martin Ritt, Call Me Bwana (1963),
directed by Gordon Douglas, Der Schatz der Azteken (1965), directed by Robert
Sidmark, Who killed Johnny Ringo (1966). He also worked for television
productions.
Jarrico returned to the United States in 1977 and settled in Santa Monica, Los
Angeles. He has taught at the University of California, at the University of San
Francisco and continued his career as a screenwriter. Among his later American
works is the screenplay for J. Lee Thompson's Messenger of Death (1988), and
scripts for television, including Ivan Passer's dramatized biography of Stalin (1992),
starring Robert Duvall. Jarrico died at the age of 82 in a car accident
returning from an event dedicated to victims of the black list.
For further reading: Salt of the Earth by Herbet Biberman (1965); The
Inquisition in Hollywood by Larry Ceplair & Steven Englund (1980, 1983),
Hiljaiset sankarit by Matti Salo (1994) - Other blacklisted screenwriters:
Dalton Trumbo, Michael Wilson, Hugo Butler, Abraham Polonsky (director,
screenwriter, novelist).