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William Inge is a Actor, Scriptwriter and Producer American born on 13 may 1913 at Kansas (USA)

William Inge

William Inge
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Birth name William Motter Inge
Nationality USA
Birth 13 may 1913 at Kansas (USA)
Death 10 june 1973 (at 60 years) at Hollywood (USA)
Awards Pulitzer Prize for Drama

William Motter Inge, né le 3 mai 1913 à Independence et mort le 10 juin 1973, est un dramaturge, scénariste et romancier américain.

Cinq de ses pièces ont été adaptées au cinéma pour les films Picnic (pièce récompensée en 1953 par le prix Pulitzer du théâtre), Arrêt d'autobus (Bus Stop) et The Dark at the Top of the Stairs qui traite du thème controversé à l'époque de l'homosexualité. En 1962, il reçoit l'Oscar du meilleur scénario original pour La Fièvre dans le sang (Splendor in the Grass).

Biography

William Inge commence à s'intéresser au théâtre dès l'enfance. Son appartenance à une troupe de scouts lui permet de voir de nombreuses pièces. Il étudie le théâtre à l'université du Kansas et obtient un baccalauréat ès arts (BA degree) en 1935. Il participe à des spectacles et des tournées organisés par les étudiants. Une bourse (scholarship) lui est accordée et il poursuit ses études au George Peabody College for Teachers , où il obtient une maîtrise (master of arts). Inge enseigne l'anglais dans une école secondaire de Columbus, puis au Stephens College de Columbia. Il écrit pour le St. Louis Star-Times à partir de 1943 et jusqu'au retour du critique littéraire du journal à la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. À cette occasion, il fait la connaissance de Tennessee Williams, qui l'encourage à écrire des pièces de théâtre.

La première pièce de William Inge, intitulée Farther Off from Heaven, est produite par Margo Jones en 1947. Cinq de ses pièces, Come Back Little Sheba , Picnic , Bus Stop , The Dark at the Top of the Stairs et A Loss of Roses, sont montées à Broadway durant les années 1950 et sont adaptées au cinéma, la dernière prenant au cinéma le titre Les Loups et l'Agneau (The Stripper). En 1953, Picnic est récompensée par le prix Pulitzer du théâtre et le New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. À partir de A Loss of Roses en 1959, ses pièces ne rencontrent plus le même succès.

William Inge écrit le scénario du film La Fièvre dans le sang (Splendor in the Grass), réalisé par Elia Kazan en 1961. L'année suivante, il remporte pour ce scénario l'Oscar du meilleur scénario original. Au début des années 1970, il signe deux romans : Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff (1970) et My Son Is a Splendid Driver (1971). Le premier, qui retient l'attention, est adapté sans succès au cinéma en 1979 sous le titre Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff par Marvin J. Chomsky.

Souffrant de dépression et doutant de sa capacité à écrire, l'écrivain se suicide en 1973.

Best films

Picnic (1955)
(Theatre Play)
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
(Writer)
Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)
(Theatre Play)

Usually with

Ulu Grosbard
Ulu Grosbard
(1 films)
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
(1 films)
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
(2 films)
Ben Nye
Ben Nye
(3 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of William Inge (12 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Splendor in the Grass, 2h4
Directed by Elia Kazan, Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romantic drama, Romance
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about suicide, Films about psychiatry, Films set in psychiatric hospitals
Actors Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie, Joanna Roos, Gary Lockwood
Roles Reverend Whitman (uncredited)
Rating76% 3.84823.84823.84823.84823.8482
1928 Kansas: Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis (Natalie Wood) is a teenage girl who follows her mother's advice to resist her desire for sex with her boyfriend, Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty), the son of one of the most prosperous families in town. In turn, Bud reluctantly follows the advice of his father, Ace (Pat Hingle), who suggests that he find another kind of girl with whom to satisfy his desires.

Scriptwriter

Splendor in the Grass, 1h36
Directed by Richard C. Sarafian
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Actors Melissa Gilbert, Cyril O'Reilly, Ned Beatty, Eva Marie Saint, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jim Youngs
Roles Original Film Writer
Rating54% 2.7277252.7277252.7277252.7277252.727725
The film takes place in the Pre-Depression era in Kansas. Deanie Loomis and Bud Stamper are a high school couple, being pressured by the enforced rules. Especially Deanie's old fashioned mother is against their relationship, warning her daughter he only wants to sleep with her. She fears her daughter will eventually go all the way with him, after which he will lose his respect for her.
Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff, 1h45
Directed by Marvin J. Chomsky
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about sexuality, Films about virginity
Actors Anne Heywood, Donald Pleasence, Robert Vaughn, Earl Holliman, Carolyn Jones, Ronee Blakley
Roles Novel
Rating58% 2.948562.948562.948562.948562.94856
In 1954 in Freedom, a fictional small Kansas town, Evelyn Wyckoff, a lonely and greatly depressed 35-year-old high-school Latin teacher, no longer finds any satisfaction in her work, in spite of being well-liked by students and colleagues. Attractive but still a virgin, on the verge of premature menopause, her physician Dr. Neal thinks her problems would be solved if she got a love life. He directs her to Dr. Steiner, a Jewish psychiatrist in Wichita. The talks with Steiner help her to alleviate her grief and slowly she acknowledges her craving for love. She starts flirting with Ed Eckles, the friendly bus driver in her trips to Wichita. Ed cares for her and suggests they should have a love affair. She was hesitant about that because Ed was married and of a lower status. When she finally was willing to, Ed had left town for good and she felt distraught.
Bus Riley's Back in Town, 1h33
Directed by Harvey Hart
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Ann-Margret, Michael Parks, Kim Darby, Janet Margolin, Jocelyn Brando, Brad Dexter
Roles Writer
Rating59% 2.999012.999012.999012.999012.99901
A man returns to his small Midwestern hometown after three years in the Navy and begins trying to make a life for himself, moving in with his mother and sister. He suffers a series of personal and career disappointments.
The Stripper, 1h35
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Théâtre, Films based on plays, Children's films
Actors Joanne Woodward, Richard Beymer, Claire Trevor, Robert Webber, Carol Lynley, Louis Nye
Roles Theatre Play
Rating65% 3.279993.279993.279993.279993.27999
She dreamed of a career in the movies, but Lila Green has found little success. She joins a group of traveling entertainers and is abandoned near her Kansas hometown by manager and boyfriend Ricky Powers.
All Fall Down, 1h51
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Actors Eva Marie Saint, Warren Beatty, Karl Malden, Angela Lansbury, Brandon deWilde, Constance Ford
Rating67% 3.3947453.3947453.3947453.3947453.394745
Berry-Berry Willart (Beatty) is a young, handsome hedonistic drifter who hates life and who has no trouble living off the women of all ages he seduces. When the women become too attached to him, his charm turns sadistic and frequently lands him in jail for battery. Berry-Berry is always on the road far from home, is rarely seen by his drunken father Ralph (Karl Malden), his controlling, manipulative mother, Annabel (Angela Lansbury), and his sixteen-year-old brother Clinton (Brandon deWilde). The story follows Clinton, who idolizes Berry-Berry but soon finds out his brother's darker side during the many times he has to bail Berry-Berry out of jail. Clinton is in love with a family friend, Echo O'Brien (Saint), and is forced to realize the type of person his brother is when Berry-Berry tragically sets his sights on Echo.
Splendor in the Grass, 2h4
Directed by Elia Kazan, Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romantic drama, Romance
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about suicide, Films about psychiatry, Films set in psychiatric hospitals
Actors Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie, Joanna Roos, Gary Lockwood
Roles Writer
Rating76% 3.84823.84823.84823.84823.8482
1928 Kansas: Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis (Natalie Wood) is a teenage girl who follows her mother's advice to resist her desire for sex with her boyfriend, Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty), the son of one of the most prosperous families in town. In turn, Bud reluctantly follows the advice of his father, Ace (Pat Hingle), who suggests that he find another kind of girl with whom to satisfy his desires.
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, 2h4
Directed by Delbert Mann
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Théâtre, Films based on plays
Actors Robert Preston, Dorothy McGuire, Eve Arden, Angela Lansbury, Shirley Knight, Frank Overton
Roles Theatre Play
Rating71% 3.587943.587943.587943.587943.58794
The drama centers on Rubin Flood, who loses his salesman job. While searching for a new job, he must deal with his wife, Cora, who shuns intimacy and mistakes his joblessness for stinginess, his shy daughter who prepares for her first dance and his pre-teen son who runs to his mother instead of dealing with bullies. He tries to find comfort with a friend, Mavis Pruitt, thus setting off rumors of an untoward relationship.
Bus Stop
Bus Stop (1956)
, 1h36
Directed by Joshua Logan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Musical, Romance
Themes Transport films, Films based on plays, Road movies, Children's films
Actors Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O'Connell, Betty Field, Eileen Heckart, Hope Lange
Roles Theatre Play
Rating62% 3.1482153.1482153.1482153.1482153.148215
A naive, rambunctious, overly enthusiastic and socially inept cowboy, Beauregard Decker, and his friend and father-figure Virgil Blessing take the bus from Timber Hill, Montana to Phoenix, Arizona, to participate in a rodeo. Virgil has encouraged the 21-year-old virgin, Beau, to take an interest in "girls." Initially reluctant and frightened of the idea, Beau declares that he hopes to find an "angel" and will know her when he sees her. Making trouble everywhere they go, he continues his bad behavior in the Blue Dragon Café. There he imagines himself in love with the café's singer, Chérie, a talentless but ambitious performer from the Ozarks with aspirations of becoming a Hollywood star. Her rendition of "That Old Black Magic" entrances him and he forces her outside, despite the establishment's rules against it, kisses her and thinks that means they're engaged. Chérie is physically attracted to him but resists his plans to take her back to Montana. She has no intention of marrying him and tells him so, but he's too stubborn to listen.
Picnic
Picnic (1955)
, 1h55
Directed by Joshua Logan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes Films based on plays
Actors William Holden, Kim Novak, Betty Field, Rosalind Russell, Susan Strasberg, Cliff Robertson
Roles Theatre Play
Rating69% 3.496053.496053.496053.496053.49605
Hal Carter (William Holden) is a former college football star, adrift and unemployed after army service and a failed Hollywood acting career. On Labor Day (September 5, 1955), he arrives by freight train in a Kansas town to visit his fraternity friend, Alan Benson (Cliff Robertson), the son of a wealthy grain elevator owner, Mr. Benson (Raymond Bailey). Working for his breakfast by doing chores in the backyard of kindly Mrs. Potts (Verna Felton), Hal presents to Bomber (Nick Adams), Madge Owens (Kim Novak), her sister Millie (Susan Strasberg), and her mother (Betty Field). The later is hoping Madge will marry Alan, which would thus raise both Madge and herself into the town's highest, respectable social circles. Alan wants to marry Madge, but his father thinks she is beneath him. Madge, even when being Alan fiancé, doesn't really loves Alan and is weary of being liked only because she is pretty.
Come Back, Little Sheba, 1h39
Directed by Daniel Mann
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Themes Films about alcoholism, Medical-themed films, Films about drugs, Films based on plays
Actors Burt Lancaster, Shirley Booth, Terry Moore, Richard Jaeckel, Philip Ober
Roles Theatre Play
Rating74% 3.747283.747283.747283.747283.74728
"Doc" Delaney (Burt Lancaster) is a recovering alcoholic who, in his younger days, was a promising medical student who dropped out of school to take a job to support a pregnant Lola, whose premarital intercourse with Doc caused her to be thrown out of her family's house by her father. Doc, thinking he was doing the right thing, married Lola (Shirley Booth). The child later died, and in the process rendered Lola unable to have any further children, leaving the couple childless. As a result, Doc turned to drinking excessively, causing him to have bouts of anger and murderous rage, and later drinking away a sizeable inheritance from his parents. He eventually joined Alcoholics Anonymous and was able to quit drinking, though he still keeps a bottle in the house to remind him of his past life.
Let's Make It Legal, 1h17
Directed by Richard Sale
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Children's films
Actors Claudette Colbert, Macdonald Carey, Zachary Scott, Barbara Bates, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Wagner
Rating61% 3.0504453.0504453.0504453.0504453.050445
Hugh (Macdonald Carey) and Miriam Halsworth (Claudette Colbert) are in the final stages of their divorce procedure. Miriam wants to separate because he's addicted to gambling - although he often wins. She's living with her daughter Barbara (Barbara Bates), her son-in-law Jerry Denham (Robert Wagner) and her little grandchild. Hugh, who's living at the hotel where he works, makes a fuss with the gardener about his rosebushes.
Right Cross, 1h30
Directed by John Sturges
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films
Actors June Allyson, Ricardo Montalbán, Dick Powell, Lionel Barrymore, Mimi Aguglia, Barry Kelley
Rating60% 3.0017053.0017053.0017053.0017053.001705
Sean O'Malley (Lionel Barrymore), a wheelchair-bound fight promoter who was once known as the best in his business, has lost his professional stature and is now suffering from poor health. Sean's daughter Pat (June Allyson) has taken over many of her father's responsibilities, and is romantically involved with Sean's best fighter, Johnny Monterez (Ricardo Montalban).

Producer

Splendor in the Grass, 2h4
Directed by Elia Kazan, Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romantic drama, Romance
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about suicide, Films about psychiatry, Films set in psychiatric hospitals
Actors Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie, Joanna Roos, Gary Lockwood
Roles Associate Producer
Rating76% 3.84823.84823.84823.84823.8482
1928 Kansas: Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis (Natalie Wood) is a teenage girl who follows her mother's advice to resist her desire for sex with her boyfriend, Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty), the son of one of the most prosperous families in town. In turn, Bud reluctantly follows the advice of his father, Ace (Pat Hingle), who suggests that he find another kind of girl with whom to satisfy his desires.