Elizabeth Meehan
Elizabeth Meehan | |
|---|---|
 Elizabeth Meehan, from a 1928 publication. | |
| Born | 22 August 1894 |
| Died | 24 April 1967 (aged 72) |
| Other names | Betty Meehan, Betty Williams, Elizabeth Meehan Williams |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
Elizabeth Meehan (22 August 1894 – 24 April 1967) was a British screenwriter who worked in both Britain and Hollywood.
Early life[edit]
Meehan was born on the Isle of Wight, and lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2]
Career[edit]
As a young woman, Betty Meehan was a model, a professional swimmer,[2] and a chorus girl with the Ziegfeld Follies, in the same sextet of dancers as Billie Dove and Alta King. "Oh yes, I know that chorines have the reputation of being beautiful but dumb," she explained in a 1928 interview, "And, perhaps, some of them are. But you'd be surprised at the girls you'll find in the choruses."[3]
Meehan credited James M. Barrie with helping her transition into screenwriting.[4] During the late 1930s Meehan was employed by the studio head Walter C. Mycroft to work for British International Pictures.[5] Meehan frequently collaborated with the Irish director Herbert Brenon.
Later in her career, Meehan worked in television, writing episodes of Lux Video Theatre, Fireside Theatre, and Mama.
Personal life[edit]
Meehan had a daughter, Frances Meehan Williams (1930-2006),[6] who became an actress and later a psychotherapist.[7][8] Elizabeth Meehan died in 1967, in New York, aged 72 years.[9] Her daughter donated some of her original scripts and screenplays to the Special Collections library at UCLA.[10]
Selected filmography[edit]
- The Great Gatsby (1926)
- Sorrell and Son (1927)
- The Telephone Girl (1927)
- Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)
- The Rescue (1929)
- The Case of Sergeant Grischa (1930)
- Lummox (1930)
- Beau Ideal (1931)
- Oliver Twist (1933)
- West of Singapore (1933)
- Harmony Lane (1935)
- Spring Handicap (1937)
- Over She Goes (1938)
- Star of the Circus (1938)
- Housemaster (1938)
- A Gentleman's Gentleman (1939)
- Parachute Nurse (1942)
- Storm Over Lisbon (1944)
- Northwest Outpost (1947)
References[edit]
- ^ "Letters to 'Ye Ed'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 6 October 1935. p. 58. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Jordan, Anne (8 January 1929). "Another Chorus Girl Makes Good". The Daily News. p. 2. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cohn, Gene (14 December 1928). "Extra-Girl Writes Way to Fame". Bismarck Tribune. p. 29. Retrieved 23 August 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.
- ^ "From Chorus Girl to Script Writer". Star-Phoenix. 14 January 1937. p. 8. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harper, Sue. Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. Continuum International, 2000. p. 184.
- ^ "Storybook Folk at Party". The Los Angeles Times. 21 July 1935. p. 51. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Starlets, Screenwriter Here For Movie Observance". LNP Always Lancaster. 9 October 1951. p. 24. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Frances Meehan". The Los Angeles Times. 1 September 2006. p. 140. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Elizabeth Meehan". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 27 April 1967. p. 27. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Finding Aid for the Elizabeth Meehan Papers, 1930-1955". UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
Bibliography[edit]
- Harper, Sue. Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. Continuum International, 2000.
- Low, Rachael. History of the British Film: Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
External links[edit]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
