F. Hugh Herbert
Writing
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Frederick Hugh Herbert (May 29, 1897 - May 17, 1958) was a playwright, screenwriter, novelist, short story writer, and infrequent film director. Born in Vienna, Austria, Herbert was educated at the University of London. He began his film career in 1926 with two projects starring Conrad Nagel, The Waning Sex and There You Are!, the latter adapted from his play of the same title. His screenwriting credits included Vanity Fair, Fashions of 1934; Smarty in 1934, adapted from his own play; Sitting Pretty; Dark Command; Our Very Own; The Little Hut; Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! and The Girls of Pleasure Island, the last two of which he also directed. He co-wrote a few films in which the similarly named, but unrelated actor Hugh Herbert appeared: Fashions of 1934 (1934), We're in the Money (1935) and Colleen (1936). One of Herbert's most enduring creations was the character of American teenager Corliss Archer, who was introduced in his 1943 play Kiss and Tell and played on screen by Shirley Temple in the 1945 film adaptation. The character went on to appear in a series of magazine articles, another Temple film, and a radio and television series called Meet Corliss Archer. Herbert's play The Moon Is Blue had a run of 924 performances on Broadway, which was adapted for the screen version produced and directed by Otto Preminger, who had been responsible for the stage production. The film adaptation, released in 1953, was controversial at the time owing to its frank language and sexual themes. When the Breen office refused to give it a Motion Picture Production Code seal of approval, United Artists opted to release the film without one, and the success of the film was instrumental in weakening the long-standing influence of the Code. Herbert won the Writers Guild of America Award for Sitting Pretty and was nominated for The Moon is Blue. The uncle of actress Kathleen Hughes, he died in Beverly Hills.
Known For
A woman reminisces about her teenage years in the 1920s, when she fell in love with her teacher.
Margie
When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas he finds much to like about the place, especially Mary McCloud, daughter of the local banker. Politics is in the air however. It's just prior to the civil war and there is already a sharp division in the Territory as to whether it will remain slave-free. When he gets the opportunity to run for marshal, Seton finds himself running against the respected local schoolteacher, William Cantrell. Not is what it seems however. While acting as the upstanding citizen in public, Cantrell is dangerously ambitious and is prepared to do anything to make his mark, and his fortune, on the Territory. When he loses the race for marshal, he forms a group of raiders who run guns into the territory and rob and terrorize settlers throughout the territory. Eventually donning Confederate uniforms, it is left to Seton and the good citizens of Lawrence to face Cantrell and his raiders in one final clash.
Dark Command
Vicki Wallace takes great pleasure in teasing her husband Tony who takes no pleasure at all in being teased and it isn't long before he ups and clips her on the chin. Vicki's friend and attorney Vernon Thorpe secures a divorce for her, and Vicki and Vernon are soon married. Vicki's yen for wearing revealing clothes and a penchant for inviting ex-husband to dinner soon provokes the easily-provoked Vernon into belting one on her himself. She goes to Tony's apartment, where Tony is entertaining Bonnie, who is not all that entertained by the presence of Vicki, especially after Vicki shows every intent of moving in and staying.
Smarty
His Arizona hometown of Torpedo invites Gene back to be the honorary sheriff of the Frontier Days Celebration.
Melody Ranch
John Meadham, in charge of a West African trading post, wires the home office in London that he is tired and worn out and that they need to send a replacement to take over. The company sends a stiff upper-lipper, Charles Summers, accompanied by his wife, Margaret. An antagonism develops between the two men from the moment Summers arrives.
Vengeance
In early 19th century England, ambitious and ruthless orphan Rebecca Sharp advances from the position of governess to the heights of British society.
Vanity Fair
Before Ruth Vincent, daughter of a state governor, and state attorney general Robert Sheldon can announce their marriage, the governor is accused of bribe-taking. To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, they decide to keep their marriage secret. The political intrigue becomes more involved, and no one is quite what they seem. Soon Sheldon and Ruth must decide between saving the governor's career and an innocent person's life.
The Secret Bride
Tacey and Harry King are a suburban couple with three sons and a serious need of a babysitter. Tacey puts an ad in the paper for a live-in babysitter, and the ad is answered by Lynn Belvedere. But when she arrives, she turns out to be a man. And not just any man, but a most eccentric, outrageously forthright genius with seemingly a million careers and experiences behind him.
Sitting Pretty
Viennese surgeon Dr. Braun and his daughter Leni come to a small town in North Dakota as refugees from Hitler. When the winds of the Dust Bowl threaten the town, John Phillips leads the townsfolk in moving to greener pastures in Oregon. He falls for Leni, but she is betrothed to the man who helped her and her father escape from the Third Reich. She must decide between the two men.
Three Faces West
Sir Philip Ashlow (Stewart Granger), his neglected wife, Lady Ashlow (Ava Gardner) and his best friend Henry Brittingham-Brett (David Niven) are shipwrecked on a desert island. This potential ménage à trois where the two men compete for the lady's attention is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a fourth inhabitant of the island.
The Little Hut
Former child star Jackie Cooper headlines this sentimental behind-the-scenes comedy drama. He plays an ex-child star who now jerks sodas for a living in Hollywood. He gets back into the movie business when he overhears a conversation between producers discussing their newest prodigy. Cooper butts in and suggests the producers remake Skippy (a real-life 1931 film that made young Cooper a star). The bigwigs like the idea and then hire Cooper to become the boy's acting coach. Once back on the backlot, Cooper finds both trouble and romance while helping the young boy adjust to life as a movie star.
Glamour Boy
A woman divorces her husband of 20 years because he gambles too much.
Let's Make It Legal
Mystery writer Marian Carstairs is hard at work trying to finish her latest novel. Her three children meanwhile are entertaining themselves by trying to solve a murder in their own neighborhood. In between gathering clues, the kids play matchmaker by trying to fix up their widowed mom with the handsome detective investigating the case.
Home Sweet Homicide
Two aging playboys are both after the same attractive young woman, but she fends them off by claiming that she plans to remain a virgin until her wedding night. Both men determine to find a way around her objections.
The Moon Is Blue
An auto engineer and a professor's daughter pose as married servants in a mobster's mansion.
If You Could Only Cook
An immensely successful criminal lawyer is blindsided when he learns that his new case involves his ex-wife, who left him.
The Women in His Life
Anne Crandall is the mayor of a small town in Vermont. Her deceased husband had been the mayor for years and when he died, she was left to carry on and to raise his daughter from his first marriage. She lives with the daughter, her father-in-law and a housekeeper. In the town square, there was a statue of her late husband and every year since his death, they have an anniversary celebration there. This year during a thunderstorm, the statue is hit by lightning and the head falls off. The daughter insists that a new statue be erected instead of patching the old one. Mayor Crandall is sent to New York to interview the prospective sculptor, George Corday.
Together Again
Ginger and Dixie are process servers for goofy lawyer Homer Bronson. The two friends want to quit, but they're offered a thousand dollars to serve four subpoenas in a breach of promise suit against rich C. Richard Courtney. Little does Ginger realize, C. Richard Courtney and her mysterious park bench boyfriend 'Carter' are one and the same.
We're in the Money
A man whose wife has deserted him winds up saving a beautiful girl from the clutches of a murderous bandit on a Nicaraguan coffee plantation.
The Stoker
A "good-time girl", raised by her somewhat lax divorced father, finds herself involved in an accidental death, and the only way she's able to get out of it is to volunteer--albeit reluctantly--to be a nurse in the war effort. She travels to England and is assigned to a hospital under a very strict matron. What the girl doesn't know is that the matron is the mother she has never seen.