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Gerald Butler (writer)

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Gerald Butler
Butler pictured in the dust jacket of his 1951 novel Choice of Two Women
Butler pictured in the dust jacket of his 1951 novel Choice of Two Women
BornGerald Alfred Butler
(1907-07-31)31 July 1907
Crewe, Cheshire, England[1]
Died1 February 1988(1988-02-01) (aged 80)
Eastbourne, East Sussex, England
OccupationNovelist, screenwriter, chemist
Period1940–1972
GenreCrime, thriller, pulp

Gerald Alfred Butler (31 July 1907 – 1 February 1988) was an English crime, thriller, and pulp writer and screenwriter. He was sometimes referred to as the "English James M. Cain",[2][3] and his characters were noted as amoral and hardboiled.[4][5][6] His novels include the best-seller Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1940), as well as They Cracked Her Glass Slipper (1941), Their Rainbow Had Black Edges (1943), Mad with Much Heart (1945), Slippery Hitch (1948), Choice of Two Women (1951), and his late career come-back There Is a Death, Elizabeth (1972). His stories have been translated and published in multiple languages, including French, Swedish, German, and Finnish.

Four of his novels were optioned by film production companies, including Warner Brothers Pictures (Slippery Hitch, unmade), Eagle-Lion Films (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, unmade), Charles K. Feldman Group Productions (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, unmade), Norma Productions / Harold Hecht Productions / Universal-International Pictures (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, 1948), Anglofilm / General Film Distributors (They Cracked Her Glass Slipper, made as Third Time Lucky, 1949), and RKO Radio Pictures (Mad with Much Heart, made as On Dangerous Ground, 1951). In addition to adapting his own novel for the screenplay of Third Time Lucky, Butler also wrote the screenplay for the Anglofilm / Columbia Pictures movie The Fatal Night (1948), adapted from Michael Arlen's short story, "The Gentleman from America." American radio program Lux Radio Theatre also broadcast an adaptation of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, under the title The Unafraid, on Columbia Broadcast System in 1949.

Biography

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Gerald Alfred Butler was born on 31 July 1907, in Crewe, Cheshire, England, to Harold George Butler and Eva Beatrix (née Rutt).[7][8][9] He had two sisters, Doris Eva and Joan W.; they grew up in Muswell Hill, London.[7][8] Butler worked as a chemist early in his career, before becoming a writer for the advertising and public relations firm Pritchard, Wood and Partners Limited, based on Savile Row, London, eventually becoming its director.[10][11][7]

He was 33 years old when his first novel, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, was published by Nicholson & Watson in April 1940.[12] The novel was written as a distraction while staying in air-raid shelters while the Germans bombed London during World War II.[1] Kiss the Blood Off My Hands was accepted by the first publisher Butler contacted, Nicholson & Watson (whose building was ironically destroyed by a German bombing shortly after publication),[2] and became a best-seller, leading to a publishing contract with Jarrolds Publishing and a reprint of the book. By 1945, the novel had sold over 232,000 copies in England alone (all during war-time).[10][13] The Digit Books re-print of Butler's sixth novel, Choice of Two Women, published in 1960, stated that Kiss the Blood Off My Hands had sold in excess of 750,000 copies.[14]

His second novel, They Cracked Her Glass Slipper, was published in December 1941, followed by Their Rainbow Had Black Edges in July 1943, and then Mad with Much Heart in June 1945, all via Jarrolds Publishing.[15] In November 1945, American publishers Farrar & Rinehart were the first to publish one of Butler's novels outside of England.[16] Their first release of Butler's work was his 1943 novel, Their Rainbow Had Black Edges, issued under the alternative title Dark Rainbow.[17] Farrar & Rinehart (and its successor Rinehart & Company) went on to publish four more of his novels for the American market between 1946 and 1951: Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (March 1946), Mad with Much Heart (August 1946), Slippery Hitch (April 1949), and Blow Hot, Blow Cold (July 1951).[18]

Following the publication of his first four novels in Britain (and first one in America), Hollywood film studio Warner Brothers Pictures optioned the screen rights of his fifth novel, Slippery Hitch, for £10,000.[19][20] At the time of purchase, in December 1946, the novel had yet to be published, and would be held back from publication for another year and a half, until May 1948.[19][20] The novel was assigned to producer Jerry Wald's unit at Warner Brothers Pictures, and remained in pre-production for over two years, before being abandoned by mid-1949.[21][22][23]

In early 1947, Eagle-Lion Films bought the film rights to Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, hoping to shoot it with Robert Donat in the lead.[24] After the option expired, the novel's film rights were sold to actor-turned-producer Burt Lancaster and his agent, business partner, and co-producer Harold Hecht, in mid-1947. The film was the first project for Hecht and Lancaster's new film production companies, Norma Productions and Harold Hecht Productions (financed and distributed by Universal-International Pictures), and hit the screens in October 1948. The film starred Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, and Robert Newton and was released in some markets under the titles The Unafraid or Blood on My Hands, due to objections from fundamentalist groups. A radio adaption was also made for the American Columbia Broadcast System program Lux Radio Theater, which was broadcast under the title The Unafraid in February 1949.[25] Fontaine and Lancaster reprised their roles from the film version, while Jay Novello, who had a smaller part in the film, played Newton's role.

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands' screen rights were, however, challenged by lawyer-turned-agent-turned-producer Charles K. Feldman's film production company, Charles K. Feldman Group Productions, which filed a $1,000,000 damage lawsuit on 1 March 1948 (two weeks before Hecht and Lancaster's film was scheduled to start shooting).[26][27] Feldman claimed that his film production company owned the screen rights to Butler's novel and demanded Lancaster and Hecht's production be shut down. He also claimed to have purchased the novel's rights from Eagle-Lion Productions, whereas, in defense, Hecht and Lancaster claimed to have procured the rights directly from Butler (through literary agency Curtis Brown Limited).[27] The suit named ten defendants and companies associated with the production of the film, including Butler himself, along with Universal-International Pictures, Norma Productions, Eagle-Lion Productions, Phil Berg-Bert Allenberg (Berg was Joan Fontaine's agent, who had little to do with the film but was reputable enough to attract more attention to the suit), Harold Hecht, Burt Lancaster, Joan Fontaine, Richard Vernon (co-producer with Hecht and Lancaster on the film), and Allan Collins (president of Curtis Brown Limited's American division). The lawsuit was eventually sustained in favor of the defendants by Judge Stanley Barnes at the Los Angeles Superior Court on 6 July 1948, long after filming had wrapped up.[26][28]

Meanwhile, producer/director Mario Zampi approached Butler in 1947 to collaborate on a film noir thriller, The Fatal Night, through his film production company Anglofilm (with financing and distribution through General Film Distributors). Butler adapted Michael Arlen's famous short story, The Gentleman from America into a screenplay for the film which was released in April 1948.[29] Butler and Zampi immediately collaborated again for another Anglofilm production, Third Time Lucky; Butler's screen adaptation of his own novel They Cracked Her Glass Slipper.[20] Butler also wrote the lyrics to the film's theme song, "Forgive Me for Dreaming".[30][20][31] The film which starred Glynis Johns, Dermot Walsh, and Charles Goldner was directed by Gordon Parry and released in January 1949, distributed through Columbia Pictures (which also financed the production).[32]

In October and November 1949, Butler and his wife traveled to Hollywood to negotiate the screen rights to his fourth novel, Mad with Much Heart.[33][11] The rights were scooped up by Howard Hughes via RKO Radio Pictures,[34] who had given actor Robert Ryan the freedom to chose any story as his next starring vehicle; he picked Mad with Much Heart.[35] Hughes assigned John Houseman as producer and Nicholas Ray as director for a film version originally titled Dark Highway.[33] The settings of the film were changed from England to Boston and the Berkshires in New England.[33][34] Hughes originally wanted Jennifer Jones as the blind girl in the film,[36][37] but Ida Lupino was eventually signed (she allegedly was also an uncredited director on the film[citation needed]). Although scheduled to start filming in January 1950, the production stalled for two months and once completed, the film remained unreleased for a year and a half. The picture was retitled On Dangerous Ground and eventually released in December 1951.

Butler's sixth novel, Choice of Two Women (released in the United States under the alternative title Blow Hot, Blow Cold) was published in September 1951 in the United Kingdom and July 1951 in the United States (Butler's only novel to receive publication in America ahead of its British print). He withdrew from the writing industry for nearly twenty years before returning with his last novel, There Is a Death, Elizabeth, published in 1972. He died sixteen years later on 1 February 1988.

Personal life

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Butler married his secretary, Beryl Bradley, on 27 June 1936, at Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire.[7][11][38] Beryl was the daughter of Godfrey T. Bradley; she had a sister named Sara and they lived in the Ryecroft district.[7] The Butlers had one daughter, Julie, and made their home in Ockley, Surrey.[11][7] Once Butler started writing novels, his wife became his typist.[11]

Bibliography

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Filmography

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Title Year Credited as
Original Story Screenwriter
The Fatal Night 1948 Yes
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands 1948 Yes
Third Time Lucky 1949 Yes Yes
On Dangerous Ground 1951 Yes

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lincolnshire Echo from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England". Newspapers.com. 22 February 1949. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b Barr Mavity, Nancy (28 April 1946). "Butler Is Heralded as British James M. Cain". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Gerald Butler's Novel of Pursuit - Author of 'Dark Rainbow' Wrestles a Creaking Plot". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 8 September 1946. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Northrop, Guy (3 March 1946). "Amoral Character Takes Hero's Role". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Gould, Ray (7 April 1946). "High Tension, Diabolical Suspense Feature This Blistering Melodrama". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gerald-butler-3/mad-with-much-heart "Mad With Much Heart Review" Kirkus Reviews
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Hull Daily Mail from Hull, Humberside, England". Newspapers.com. 10 June 1936. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Horncastle Target from Hounslow, London, England". Newspapers.com. 25 March 1966. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Staines and District Chronicle from Hounslow, London, England". Newspapers.com. 12 November 1965. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  10. ^ a b https://web.archive.org/web/20160509181744/http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/d2IAAOSw9N1Vv~e-/s-l1600.jpg Back cover of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Rinehart Publishing, 1946
  11. ^ a b c d e "Daily Mail from Hull, Humberside, England". Newspapers.com. 12 November 1949. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Daily Herald from London, London, England". Newspapers.com. 18 April 1940. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  13. ^ http://www.royalbooks.com/pages/books/136016/gerald-butler/mad-with-much-heart-first-uk-edition Archived 22 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Book cover of Mad with Much Heart, Jarrolds, first publishing.
  14. ^ Butler, Gerald. "Choice of Two Women".
  15. ^ United States Copyright Office (1946). 1946-1954 Copyright Registration Cards (A-N).
  16. ^ The Lewiston Daily Sun. The Lewiston Daily Sun.
  17. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sP8pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SGgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1079%2C4816303 "Dark Rainbow", The Lewiston Daily Sun, November 30th 1945
  18. ^ United States Copyright Office (1946). 1946-1954 Copyright Registration Cards (A-N).
  19. ^ a b "Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England". Newspapers.com. 10 December 1946. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  20. ^ a b c d "Middlesex Advertiser and County Gazette from Hillingdon, London, England". Newspapers.com. 25 June 1948. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  21. ^ Quigley Publishing Co. (1947). Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947). MBRS Library of Congress. New York, N.Y. : Quigley Pub. Co.
  22. ^ Los Angeles Times 1949-04-12: Vol 68. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC. 12 April 1949.
  23. ^ The Hollywood Reporter Press (1949). Motion picture production encyclopedia : 1949. Media History Digital Library. Hollywood : The Hollywood Reporter Press.
  24. ^ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/80430/Kiss-the-Blood-Off-My-Hands/notes.html Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Notes, Turner Classic Movies
  25. ^ "Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs"
  26. ^ a b "U's Feldman Demurrer Is Sustained by Judge", The Film Daily July 2nd 1948 p2
  27. ^ a b "Hollywood", The Film Daily March 4th 1948 p2
  28. ^ "U WINS 1ST ROUND IN FELDMAN 'BLOOD' FIGHT", Variety July 7th 1948 p 4
  29. ^ [1] The Gentleman From America filmed versions, All Movie
  30. ^ United States Copyright Office (1946). 1946-1954 Copyright Registration Cards (A-N).
  31. ^ "The Kensington News and West London Times from Kensington and Chelsea, London, England". Newspapers.com. 28 January 1949. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  32. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040874/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm Third Time Lucky, IMDB [user-generated source]
  33. ^ a b c "The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California". Newspapers.com. 19 October 1949. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  34. ^ a b "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle from Brooklyn, New York". Newspapers.com. 28 October 1949. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  35. ^ "Lancaster Eagle-Gazette from Lancaster, Ohio". Newspapers.com. 28 October 1949. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  36. ^ "Los Angeles Mirror from Los Angeles, California". Newspapers.com. 20 February 1950. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  37. ^ "Los Angeles Evening Citizen News from Hollywood, California". Newspapers.com. 23 February 1950. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  38. ^ "Gerald Butler - England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 - Ancestry.com". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
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