INFLUENCERS & INSPIRATION Whereby the influence on set or in the theatre watching someone else’s film, inspires another…
Dinner at Eight (1933) revolves around an impending society dinner and the guests who grapple with scandal and secrets, high, low and sometimes fatal, that lead up to it. Among the guests are Dan (Wallace Berry) and Kitty (Jean Harlow) Packard. He’s a thug – I mean, nouveau-riche ‘business tycoon’ and she’s a bit of a floozy. Dan makes it clear to all who can hear that after this dinner party, he’s heading to Washington where he plans on being a big man in politics. Meanwhile, Kitty, who’s having a fling with a handsome doctor who treats her ‘illnesses,’ surprises her fellow guests by announcing that she’s read a book!
Did you ever watch a film and wonder what’s going to happen next to some of the characters? Like Dan and Kitty, are they really going to go D.C.?
In this case, you don’t have to wonder, just watch Born Yesterday (1950). The characters of Dan and Kitty Packard inspired playwright Garson Kanin to ask the same question. Kanin’s successful play, adapted for the screen, has Dan, now named Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) and Kitty, now named Billie Dawn (Judy Holliday), continuing their story. Harry’s still a thug; Billie, still a lovable floozy. And instead of a doctor, Billie’s drawn to a handsome journalist, Paul Verrall (William Holden). Verrall, ironically, is the man Harry has hired to smooth out Billie’s rough, uneducated ways. But, with Paul’s encouragement, Billie begins to read – a lot!
Someone else inspired Kanin: Harry Cohn. Kanin didn’t care for Columbia Pictures’ Harry Cohn, despite having just received $1 million from him for the rights to his play. He couldn’t resist rewriting (uncredited) the screenplay just a bit, adding aspects to Harry Brock’s character that were clearly inspired by the loud, brash and legendarily “uncouth” Harry Cohn.
What’s “uncouth”? As Billie would say, “Look it up!”
I loved this, and look forward to reading more on your blog!
Thank you so much, Karen! That is high-praise coming from someone as knowledgeable as you are about classic film, especially noir & pre-code. I always look forward to reading your posts and learning something new!