Literary Headliners (1924) 🇺🇸

Again Warner Brothers has obtained many of the literary triumphs of the year for the new season’s production schedule. Evidently this company agrees with Shakespeare that “The play’s the thing” for it has spared no expense nor feared opposition in going after the biggest literary and dramatic plums in the market.

The lineup of literary lights whose names appear in association with the forthcoming productions from Warner Brothers is practically a compilation of the headliners of contemporary literature. Authors of fame, playwrights of outstanding achievement, scenarists of unquestioned ability and skilled continuity writers are lending their best efforts to the important end of providing desirable screen material.

Without any attempt at precedence or rank either as to ability or fame, there will be found in the following paragraphs a few of many names on the list of authors enrolled under the Warner banner for the coming season.

Willa Gather’s “A Lost Lady,” and Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence, the latter the winner of the Pulitzer price, are scheduled for early production. These eminent authors are hailed unquestionably as two of the foremost women writers of America, and they divide between themselves the laurel of the press and book lovers.

Another famous woman included in the list of Warner authors is Zelda Sears who with Dobson Mitchell wrote Cornered, the play in which Madge Kennedy starred during its run on Broadway. Miss Sears is the author of many successful musical comedies, among them The Clinging Vine, Lollypop and Mary Jane McKane.

“Deburau,” one of the greatest of the Belasco successes written by the incomparable French dramatist and actor, Sacha Guitry, will be given a prominent place among the Warner output under the title, “Deburau, the Lover of Camille.”

Hans Kraely [Hanns Kräly], who came to this country with Ernst Lubitsch as special writer, has written the screen adaptation of the new Lubitsch production, Three Women, from the novel by Jolanthe Marees [Yolande Maree]. Besides this Mr. Kraely will write original stories for two other Lubitsch productions scheduled for the coming year.

Owen Davis is enjoying a veritable harvest of successful plays this season. Not content with new triumphs his earlier stage successes are being brought to the screen and have proven as popular in celluloid as they ever did on the speaking stage. Everybody who remembers “Broadway After Dark” will look forward to the other Davis plays Warner Brothers are producing “How Baxter Butted in” and “The Lighthouse by the Sea.”

A book destined to cause as much comment as its predecessor is “Recompense” the sequel to “Simon Called Peter,” by Robert Keable another big plum in the Warner galaxy of famous books. “Recompense” has been looked for long and eagerly by the millions who were thrilled by Mr.*Keable’s first story, and its dramatic contents are particularly suited for screen adaptation.

“The Dark Swan” by Ernest Pascal has created an amount of interest that is extremely flattering to the author of a first novel, and there is every indication that the Warner version of the story will prove equally popular. Warner Brothers have proven themselves interested in young authors for besides the purchase of Mr. Pascal’s novel, they have bought the screen rights to “The Eleventh Virgin,” by Dorothy Day, which is also a first novel. Miss Day’s remarkable story has aroused so much discussion in literary circles that she has become as famous through her first novel as most authors do only after many efforts.

Other stories listed for early production in the Warner studio are “The Dear Pretender,” by Ethel Ross Colver, “The Narrow Street” by Edward Bateman Norris, “The Bridge of Sighs” by Charles K. Harris, “Eve’s Lover” by Mrs. W. K. Clifford, “The Broadway Butterfly” by Pearl Keating, scenario editor for Warner Brothers, “My Wife and I” by Paul Bern and “The Man Without a Conscience” by Max Kretzer, the well known continental author.

A well chosen staff of scenario writers will adapt these stories to the screen. Dorothy Farnum who has forged her way to the foremost rank of scenario writers and who wrote the screen versions of Beau Brummel, and “Babbitt,” will write the continuities of “Deburau, the Lover of Camille,” “Age of Innocence,” “Recompense,” and others not yet decided upon. Julien Josephson, whose brilliant adaptation of Main Street. [Incomplete] Hope Loring and Louise Leighton who have achieved success as scenarists through their united efforts, Fred Jackson and Darryl Francis Zanuck [Darryl F. Zanuck], all will give their talents to the work of translating into action the words and thoughts of famous novelists and playwrights.

The foregoing comprises Warner’s array of literary talent.

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• Dorothy Farnum
• Edith Wharton
• Kathleen Norris
• Zelda Sears
• Pearl Keating
• Grace Flandrau
• Harriet Comstock
• Owen Davis
• Clyde Fitch
• Julien Josephson
• Elinor Glyn

Collection: Exhibitors Herald, August 1924