Rupert Hughes (January 31, 1872 to September 9, 1956) was an American writer, of both fiction and non-fiction. At times he relied on the support of his wealthy family, the same family that produced billionaire the Howard R. Hughes, Jr (1905 to 1976).
Before we look longer at the life of this American artist, let's listen in on a play he wrote, titled "The Cat-Bird", (1919) written after he had an established reputation in the theatre. The setting is a gathering at a mansion. The host is speaking to a servant .
...
'Gloade. (Leaning against a pillar and staring out into the garden — as he smokes, the smoke floating) A strange thing, night, Parker.
Parker. I'd hardly say that, sir; we have one every night.
Gloade. Another correct observation. But I mean the things that go on in the dark are strange — baffling. Down inside the seed, inside the larva, inside the egg, in the depths of the sea ; in the tunnels of the moles, in the caves, in the butterfly's heart, in the mind of the apple-blossom, in the soul of the weeds.
Parker. Do you give weeds a soul, sir?
Gloade. I don't, but somebody does. They fight for life, organize trusts, choke off competition, send out colonies. Poor science, it's always hunting round in the dark with a little search-light. The human heart, itself, is only a seed or an egg at first.'
[after several plot advancing scenes we find the discussion involves a spider who has eaten its mate, in the host's vivarium]
'Gloade. A good job, too. Yes, there she sits, the original suffragette, smiling, I suppose,
and licking her chops. She's purring, too, no doubt, if we could hear her.
Parker. Women are risky pests, sir. '
....
These excerpts are from The Cat-bird: A Comedy in Three Acts. 1919. And what has changed since then. Oh yeah, people have forgotten how large and mysterious the dark really is.
Below is a summary of a book titled Rupert Hughes: A Hollywood Legend, (1997) about Rupert Hughes. The biographer, James O. Kemm, wrote the synopsis we quote from, in 1984.
Superlatives were plentiful when Rupert Hughes was honored at a testimonial dinner...[where] "in one way or another, some 500 people, blessed with the experience of personal contact with the brilliant mind of the noted author, historian, and playwright, paid him homage."
....
The belated tribute for the Missouri-born Rupert Hughes, who grew up in Keokuk, Iowa, capped a career of more than 60 years that brought great success and much acclaim, along with some harsh criticism as he fought for causes in which he believed.
Rupert Hughes was interested in everything and everybody...He could switch easily from one subject to another totally unrelated, in writing more than 60 books; a sophisticated novel about New York would be followed by a poignant tale of a simpler time in a small Midwestern town. Along the way, he wrote countless short stories, articles, poems, nonfiction books, plays, music, and a three-volume biography of George Washington; and nearly 50 silent and sound motion pictures carried his name as writer and/or director or were based upon his novels and stories...
The belated tribute for the Missouri-born Rupert Hughes, who grew up in Keokuk, Iowa, capped a career of more than 60 years that brought great success and much acclaim, along with some harsh criticism as he fought for causes in which he believed.
Rupert Hughes was interested in everything and everybody...He could switch easily from one subject to another totally unrelated, in writing more than 60 books; a sophisticated novel about New York would be followed by a poignant tale of a simpler time in a small Midwestern town. Along the way, he wrote countless short stories, articles, poems, nonfiction books, plays, music, and a three-volume biography of George Washington; and nearly 50 silent and sound motion pictures carried his name as writer and/or director or were based upon his novels and stories...
....
But it was in The Old Nest in 1912 that the ability of Rupert Hughes to stir emotions became most apparent. Knowing his mother's loneliness for her family, he found the inspiration for a simply told story about a devoted father and mother in a small Midwestern town who are neglected by their children -- all successful in careers far away. The joy of their eventual reunion tugged at the heartstrings of readers, and an amazed Rupert Hughes told the Bookman he did not realize what he had done until letters, telegrams, and floral tributes arrived at his door from throughout the nation. It was estimated that some 20,000 young men had returned home besides those who had telephoned, telegraphed, or worn white carnations... The critics were virtually unanimous in praising The Old Nest...
Another Hughes short novel, The Last Rose of Summer, about an elderly spinster in a little town who finally finds love, was described by the New York Times as a "very dainty, very charming little story ... told with skill and humor."...
A much different style was undertaken by Hughes with great success in What Will People Say?, published serially in Red Book magazine and then in book form by Harper & Brothers in 1914. The heroine's easy moral code shocked some readers, but Bookman praised the "scene after scene of photographic vividness" and the "sense of depth and atmosphere" in the novel, which ranked at or near the top of best-seller lists in many cities. It reached second on Bookman's nationwide list and remained in the top six for many months....
During the decade of the 1920s, Rupert Hughes continued to turn out a novel each year, ...
A half-dozen novels were written by Hughes in the 1930s, including Ladies' Man; No One Man; and The Woman Accused (which he wrote in a collaborative effort with nine other successful authors, including Zane Grey, Irvin S. Cobb, and Gertrude Atherton). All were made into movies. ...Two historical novels by Hughes also were published in the 1930s, including The Man without a Home, about John Howard Payne, author of "Home Sweet Home," and Stately Timber, a lengthy and carefully researched chronicle detailing the intolerances of the Puritans. Hughes then turned to the world of Hollywood make-believe in The City of Angels, an almost incredible story of a lifeguard's rise to film stardom.
....
The script Hughes had written for the play Tess of the Storm Country was bought for a successful 1914 film starring America's sweetheart Mary Pickford, and the title became such a household word that stock companies begged for the play....
The first of Hughes's novels sold to a motion picture company was What Will People Say?, released in 1915, but the heroine's morals were cleaned up by the producers and the ending altered drastically from that of the novel....
Rupert Hughes,... in the early 1920s became known as Hollywood's highest paid author. ...
...
Nearly 50 motion pictures are known to have been made from stories or novels by Rupert Hughes, with as many as seven or eight released in a single year....
Several other biographies were also written by Rupert Hughes...[including] The Complete Detective, ...in 1950, the biography of Raymond Schindler, a pioneer in scientific crime detection.
An indefatigable worker, Rupert Hughes's working habits, acquired early in his career, were well-known to his friends. He got by on very little sleep, and wrote long into the night. Samuel Goldwyn said in 1923 that Hughes "has a capacity for work which I have never seen excelled. Many times I have known him to arrive in the studio early in the morning, direct all day, go home that evening to work on a scenario, and then, after perhaps a dinner or a dance, write several chapters of his new novel."
....He was never afraid to take sides in a controversy and incurred the wrath of left-wing screenwriters by providing the House Un-American Activities Committee of Congress with names of those he believed to be Communist party members or sympathizers.
....
At the peak of his career, he told an interviewer, "To me, my novels are just as much history as anything that ever happened."
....
But it was in The Old Nest in 1912 that the ability of Rupert Hughes to stir emotions became most apparent. Knowing his mother's loneliness for her family, he found the inspiration for a simply told story about a devoted father and mother in a small Midwestern town who are neglected by their children -- all successful in careers far away. The joy of their eventual reunion tugged at the heartstrings of readers, and an amazed Rupert Hughes told the Bookman he did not realize what he had done until letters, telegrams, and floral tributes arrived at his door from throughout the nation. It was estimated that some 20,000 young men had returned home besides those who had telephoned, telegraphed, or worn white carnations... The critics were virtually unanimous in praising The Old Nest...
Another Hughes short novel, The Last Rose of Summer, about an elderly spinster in a little town who finally finds love, was described by the New York Times as a "very dainty, very charming little story ... told with skill and humor."...
A much different style was undertaken by Hughes with great success in What Will People Say?, published serially in Red Book magazine and then in book form by Harper & Brothers in 1914. The heroine's easy moral code shocked some readers, but Bookman praised the "scene after scene of photographic vividness" and the "sense of depth and atmosphere" in the novel, which ranked at or near the top of best-seller lists in many cities. It reached second on Bookman's nationwide list and remained in the top six for many months....
During the decade of the 1920s, Rupert Hughes continued to turn out a novel each year, ...
A half-dozen novels were written by Hughes in the 1930s, including Ladies' Man; No One Man; and The Woman Accused (which he wrote in a collaborative effort with nine other successful authors, including Zane Grey, Irvin S. Cobb, and Gertrude Atherton). All were made into movies. ...Two historical novels by Hughes also were published in the 1930s, including The Man without a Home, about John Howard Payne, author of "Home Sweet Home," and Stately Timber, a lengthy and carefully researched chronicle detailing the intolerances of the Puritans. Hughes then turned to the world of Hollywood make-believe in The City of Angels, an almost incredible story of a lifeguard's rise to film stardom.
....
The script Hughes had written for the play Tess of the Storm Country was bought for a successful 1914 film starring America's sweetheart Mary Pickford, and the title became such a household word that stock companies begged for the play....
The first of Hughes's novels sold to a motion picture company was What Will People Say?, released in 1915, but the heroine's morals were cleaned up by the producers and the ending altered drastically from that of the novel....
Rupert Hughes,... in the early 1920s became known as Hollywood's highest paid author. ...
...
Nearly 50 motion pictures are known to have been made from stories or novels by Rupert Hughes, with as many as seven or eight released in a single year....
Several other biographies were also written by Rupert Hughes...[including] The Complete Detective, ...in 1950, the biography of Raymond Schindler, a pioneer in scientific crime detection.
An indefatigable worker, Rupert Hughes's working habits, acquired early in his career, were well-known to his friends. He got by on very little sleep, and wrote long into the night. Samuel Goldwyn said in 1923 that Hughes "has a capacity for work which I have never seen excelled. Many times I have known him to arrive in the studio early in the morning, direct all day, go home that evening to work on a scenario, and then, after perhaps a dinner or a dance, write several chapters of his new novel."
....He was never afraid to take sides in a controversy and incurred the wrath of left-wing screenwriters by providing the House Un-American Activities Committee of Congress with names of those he believed to be Communist party members or sympathizers.
....
At the peak of his career, he told an interviewer, "To me, my novels are just as much history as anything that ever happened."
....
[D]eath came to Rupert Hughes after a heart attack while he was seated at his desk...[I]t was front page news in the newspapers of New York, Los Angeles, and Keokuk.
No comments:
Post a Comment