Philip Yordan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philip Yordan (April 1, 1914 - March 24, 2003) was a popular and talented screenwriter of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He was also known as a highly regarded script doctor, called in to rewrite and repair flawed screenplays. Born to Polish immigrants, he earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois and a law degree at Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Some of his films include The Chase (1946), Whistle Stop (1946), House of Strangers (1949), Broken Lance (1954), Johnny Guitar (1954), The Big Combo (1955), The Harder They Fall (1956), and God's Little Acre (1958). He worked several times in collaboration with independent producer Samuel Bronston and contributed to the screenplays of such films as King of Kings (1961), El Cid (1961), 55 Days at Peking (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Circus World (1964).
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay for Detective Story (1951), and for Best Writing, Original Screenplay for Dillinger (1945).
[edit] Awards
- Won an Academy Award for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story for Broken Lance (1954), which was actually a remake, reset in the West, of Yordan's earlier House of Strangers.
- Won a 1952 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay, for Detective Story (along with co-writer Robert Wyler, and Sidney Kingsley, the author of the original stage play).
