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Bartlett Cormack
Bartlett Cormack
Bartlett Cormack
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Edward Bartlett Cormack (March 19, 1898 – September 16, 1942) was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, and producer best known for his 1927 Broadway play The Racket, and for working with Howard Hughes and Cecil B. DeMille on several films.

Key Information

Early life

[edit]

Cormack was the son of Scottish-born Edward K. Cormack and Alice E. Cormack. By 1900 his family had moved from Hammond, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois where his father worked in sales.[1] He graduated from University High School, and was accepted at the University of Chicago. While a sophomore, Cormack wrote the play Anybody's Girl, considered to be one of the best ever submitted for the Blackfriars (the student dramatic organization).[2] Cormack became a member of Maurice Browne's Little Theatre Company in Chicago, but his duties as a general handyman were so demanding he was dismissed from the university as a result of poor class attendance.

To gain experience as a writer, he got a job at the Chicago Evening Journal and stayed there a year, covering "hangings, race riots, street car strikes and other diversions characteristic of Mayor Thompson's turbulent town".[3] He left the Chicago Evening Journal for the Chicago American, working there five years before applying for reinstatement at the University of Chicago. He wrote two more college plays and became engaged, graduating two years later with honors and as a Phi Beta Kappa. He returned to The American, where he wrote features and dramatic criticism.

In 1923, he married Adelaide Maurine Bledsoe (1901–1999), the daughter of Samuel T. Bledsoe, who was a president and board chairman of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad.[4] They had a son, Thomas Bledsoe Cormack,[5] and a daughter, Adelaide Kilbee Cormack.[6] Soon after the wedding, he accepted a position as a press agent for a theater production and the couple moved to New York City.[3]

Stage career

[edit]

As a playwright, Cormack's most influential work was his 1927 Broadway play The Racket, which featured Edward G. Robinson in his first gangster role.[1] The Racket was an exposé of political corruption in the 1920s, and was considered one of the models for the Hollywood gangster cycle of the late 1920s and early 1930s.[7] The events take place over a period of about 18 hours in a police station on the outskirts of Chicago, and features wisecracking crime reporters who dash to the telephone and holler, "Get me the desk!" Writing in The Miami News on December 24, 1927, O. O. McIntyre said Bartlett Cormack was "the only playwright who has made the reporter real on the stage."[8] The play was considered so inflammatory that it was denied a presentation in Chicago, allegedly at the orders of Al Capone; the ban remained in effect for nearly two decades.[9]

Cormack shared writing credit for the play Tampico with Joseph Hergesheimer, who wrote the novel of the same name in 1926. The play was produced on Broadway in 1928 with Ilka Chase and Gavin Gordon in the cast. MGM acquired the screen rights to the play in 1930.[10]

Cormack later wrote Hey Diddle Diddle, a comedy whose setting was a duplex apartment in Hollywood. The play premiered in Princeton, New Jersey on January 21, 1937, with Lucille Ball as Julie Tucker, "one of three roommates coping with neurotic directors, confused executives, and grasping stars who interfere with the girls' ability to get ahead." The play received good reviews, but there were problems, chiefly with its star, Conway Tearle, who was in poor health. Cormack wanted to replace him, but the producer, Anne Nichols, said the fault lay with the character and insisted that the part needed to be reshaped and rewritten. The two were unable to agree on a solution. The play was scheduled to open on Broadway at the Vanderbilt Theatre, but closed after one week in Washington, D.C. when Tearle suddenly became gravely ill.[11]

Film career

[edit]

Moving to Beverly Hills in 1928,[4] he worked with Howard Hughes on the silent film version of The Racket, one of the first films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (then called "Best Picture, Production") in 1929.[12]

He shared screenwriting credit with Rex Beach for the 1930 film version of The Spoilers. Beach based his 1906 novel on the true story of corrupt government officials stealing gold mines from prospectors, which Beach had witnessed while he was prospecting in Nome, Alaska. The novel was adapted to the screen on five occasions; 1914, 1923, 1930, 1942, and 1955.

Although Ben Hecht was the author of the Broadway play The Front Page, and was himself a screenwriter, Howard Hughes chose Cormack and Charles Lederer to write the script for the 1931 film The Front Page. At the 4th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.

In 1933, he wrote the script for Cecil B. DeMille's This Day and Age, a film in which a group of High School students take the law into their own hands. In his book Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, author Robert S. Birchard relates how DeMille wasn't sure Cormack's script had a sense of current slang, so he asked high school student Horace Hahn to read the script and comment (at the time, Hahn was senior class president at Los Angeles High School). Today the "Gee, that's swell" dialogue of early 1930s films might be considered one to laugh at, but this (according to Hahn at least) was the way he and his fellow students talked. He wrote DeMille that the majority of the dialogue in Cormack's script was "really not typical of high school students. [It] Should be interspersed with a few exclamations like, 'heck' — 'gosh' — 'gee,' etc" Hahn also suggested that in Steve's speech about the murdered tailor the writer add: "Gosh, he was swell to us fellows." Despite seeking Hahn's advice, however, DeMille and Cormack did not take up his suggestions.[7]

In 1935, he collaborated with screenwriter Fritz Lang and story author Norman Krasna on the anti-lynching film Fury, for which Krasna received an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Original Story.[13]

Briefly relocating to England in 1938, Cormack helped write the screenplays for Sidewalks of London, and the Charles Laughton film Vessel of Wrath (released in the United States as The Beachcomber). Cormack did some work on the script for the 1941 DeMille film Northwest Mounted Police, but did not receive credit.[14] One of Cormack's final screenwriting assignments was 1941's Unholy Partners, which starred Edward G. Robinson. Robinson acted in the original Broadway staging of The Racket, playing the part of an unidentified man.[9]

The 1951 remake of The Racket was directed by John Cromwell. Cromwell was the star in the original Broadway staging of The Racket.[15]

Works

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Stage plays

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  • 1922 Anybody's Girl
  • 1927 The Racket
  • 1928 Tampico
  • 1930 The Painted Veil
  • 1936 Hey Diddle Diddle

Screenplays

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Film actor

[edit]

Film producer

[edit]
  • 1933 The Past of Mary Holmes

References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Bartlett Cormack

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Bartlett Cormack is an American playwright and screenwriter known for his acclaimed 1927 Broadway play The Racket and for his contributions to Hollywood cinema during the 1930s. His work often explored themes of crime, corruption, and social conflict, bridging stage drama and motion pictures. Born Edward Bartlett Cormack on December 19, 1898, in Hammond, Indiana, he grew up in Chicago after his family relocated there, and began his career in theater with Maurice Browne's Little Theatre Company. He later moved to New York City, where he worked as a press agent and newspaperman before establishing himself as a playwright with successes such as The Racket, Tampico, The Painted Veil, and Hey Diddle Diddle. The Racket achieved particular prominence, inspiring multiple film adaptations and cementing Cormack's reputation for sharp, topical storytelling. In Hollywood, Cormack wrote screenplays for notable films including The Front Page (1931), Fury (1936), Four Frightened People (1934), and Cleopatra (1934), collaborating with prominent directors and demonstrating versatility in adapting his own works and original material for the screen. He also took occasional acting roles and served as an assistant director. Cormack died on September 16, 1942, in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 43.

Early life and education

Family background and childhood

Bartlett Cormack was born on March 19, 1898, in Hammond, Indiana. His father, Edward K. Cormack, was a Scottish-born salesman, and his mother was Alice E. Cormack. The family relocated to Chicago by 1900, where Cormack spent his childhood in the early 20th century amid the city's rapid growth and urban energy. His early years in Chicago shaped his Midwestern roots before his later pursuits in theater and writing took him elsewhere.

University years and early theater involvement

Bartlett Cormack enrolled at the University of Chicago, where he pursued his higher education and began his involvement in theater activities. During his time at the university, he wrote the college play Anybody's Girl in 1922, which earned praise from the Blackfriars organization for its merit as a student production. Cormack joined Maurice Browne's Little Theatre Company, taking on a handyman role that contributed to his dismissal from the university due to poor attendance stemming from his theater commitments. After his dismissal, Cormack worked as a newspaperman in Chicago. He spent one year at The Chicago Journal, covering events such as hangings, race riots, and street car strikes, before joining The Chicago American, where he worked for five years starting at $40 a week. He later applied for reinstatement, was readmitted to the University of Chicago, and continued writing additional college plays. He graduated with honors, achieving election to Phi Beta Kappa in recognition of his academic performance. He also gained early acting experience on the Chicago stage while still a student.

Journalism and early professional career

Work as a newspaperman in Chicago

After his dismissal from the University of Chicago at the end of his sophomore year, Bartlett Cormack sought practical experience as a writer by entering journalism in the city. He secured a position at the Chicago Journal, where he spent one year covering hangings, race riots, streetcar strikes, and other major events amid the turbulence of Mayor William Hale Thompson's administration. When his request for a modest raise was refused, he transitioned to the Chicago American with assistance from fellow reporter Wallace Smith, initially offered $35 per week but raised to $40 after Cormack appeared faint at the figure. Cormack worked in Chicago journalism for a total of five years, including positions at the Chicago Journal and the Chicago American, reporting on the wide range of activities that characterized the city as a newspaperman's paradise during that era. During this period, he returned to the University of Chicago to complete his studies, graduating with honors as a member of Phi Beta Kappa after two years of further study. At the Chicago American, he shifted toward feature writing, assisted with dramatic criticism, and published a few short stories. His work in dramatic criticism during this period reflected his longstanding interest in theater, which had begun during his earlier university years with involvement in Maurice Browne's Chicago Little Theatre group.

Press agent and theater roles in New York

Shortly after his marriage in 1923, Bartlett Cormack relocated from Chicago to New York City to accept a position as press agent for a theater production. This opportunity drew him into the vibrant New York theater scene, where he began building experience through hands-on involvement in various capacities. In New York, Cormack undertook roles as a press agent, promoting shows and managing publicity for theatrical productions. He also engaged in early acting and management duties within the theater community, gaining practical knowledge of stage operations and performance dynamics that would later inform his work as a playwright. These experiences positioned him within the city's theatrical ecosystem during a period of significant creative activity in the 1920s.

Playwriting career

Early plays and Broadway breakthrough

Bartlett Cormack began his playwriting career with early works developed during his college years, including the play Anybody's Girl, which was performed as a university production. He transitioned to professional theater with adaptations and original scripts, one of which was the stage dramatization of Joseph Hergesheimer's novel Tampico, for which Cormack shared writing credit with Hergesheimer and which was planned for Broadway production by Jones & Green in 1928. Cormack also wrote the play The Painted Veil, which was produced in London in 1931. These early efforts demonstrated his skill in adapting literary material and crafting stage works, setting the stage for his Broadway breakthrough with The Racket.

The Racket and its impact

The Racket, Bartlett Cormack's most acclaimed play, premiered on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre on November 22, 1927, running for 119 performances through March 1928. Set in an outlying Chicago police station, the three-act drama functions as a sharp exposé of political corruption, portraying a city where organized crime dominates the police force and government officials, allowing gangsters to evade justice through bribes, threats, and alliances with corrupt authorities. The central gangster figure, Nick Scarsi—a thinly veiled stand-in for Al Capone—embodies this unchecked power, escaping arrest via a habeas corpus writ from a compliant judge and even shooting a policeman with impunity after intervention from higher political figures. Edward G. Robinson delivered a memorable performance as the snarling gangster Nick Scarsi, an early demonstration of his commanding presence in tough criminal roles that foreshadowed his later Hollywood success in similar parts. The production proved a hit on Broadway, electrifying audiences with its unflinching depiction of Prohibition-era corruption. A touring production of The Racket was banned in Chicago, reportedly at the urging of Al Capone, with the prohibition remaining in effect for nearly two decades. This censorship underscored the play's provocative accuracy in depicting the city's criminal underbelly and political entanglements. The Racket exerted considerable influence on the emerging gangster genre, establishing key themes of systemic corruption, mob dominance, and the futility of honest law enforcement against entrenched crime networks that would recur in Hollywood films of the late 1920s and early 1930s. The play was adapted into a film version in 1928.

Later stage works

Following the success of The Racket, Bartlett Cormack's subsequent efforts in playwriting yielded fewer successes on Broadway. His comedy Hey Diddle Diddle, set in a duplex apartment in Hollywood and revolving around three aspiring extra girls navigating the film industry's eccentric characters, premiered on January 21, 1937, at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. Produced and staged by Anne Nichols after original co-producer Morris Green withdrew, the play featured Conway Tearle in the principal role of a harassed movie director and received enthusiastic laughter from a capacity audience of 1,100 at its opening. The production also starred Lucille Ball in one of the key supporting roles. Despite initial plans for a Broadway transfer to the Vanderbilt Theatre on February 3, 1937, the play closed quickly after a brief tour due to the grave illness of star Conway Tearle and unresolved production disputes between Cormack and Nichols over script revisions and casting. It never reached Broadway. This marked one of Cormack's final notable stage undertakings before his transition to Hollywood screenwriting.

Hollywood career

Transition to screenwriting

In 1928, Bartlett Cormack relocated to Beverly Hills to pursue opportunities in Hollywood screenwriting. He collaborated with producer Howard Hughes on the silent film adaptation of his own Broadway play The Racket, which was directed by Lewis Milestone and released that year. Cormack received credit for the adaptation, with Del Andrews providing the scenario and Tom Miranda the titles. The film earned a nomination for Outstanding Picture (now Best Picture) at the inaugural Academy Awards in 1929, recognizing its impact as an early gangster drama. Cormack's early Hollywood work continued with shared screenplay credit on the 1930 film The Spoilers, an adaptation of Rex Beach's novel of the same name. This marked his initial foray into adapting material from other authors for the screen following his own work's transition.

Major screenplays and collaborations

Bartlett Cormack established himself as a prolific screenwriter in Hollywood during the 1930s and early 1940s, collaborating with prominent directors and fellow writers on adaptations and original scripts that often drew from his journalistic background and interest in crime and social issues. One of his most notable early contributions was co-adapting Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's Broadway play The Front Page with Charles Lederer for Lewis Milestone's 1931 film version. The fast-paced newspaper comedy-drama earned multiple Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Adolphe Menjou. Cormack wrote the original screenplay for Cecil B. DeMille's 1933 film This Day and Age, a pre-Code drama exploring vigilante justice among young people in response to crime and corruption. In 1936, he collaborated with director Fritz Lang and writer Norman Krasna on the screenplay for Fury, an anti-lynching drama based on Krasna's story Mob Rule and starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Original Story. During a brief period in England in 1938, Cormack contributed to the screenplays for Sidewalks of London (also known as St. Martin's Lane) and Vessel of Wrath (released in the US as The Beachcomber). Back in Hollywood, he wrote the 1941 crime drama Unholy Partners, starring Edward G. Robinson as a newspaper publisher entangled with gangsters. That same year, Cormack provided uncredited work on the screenplay for Cecil B. DeMille's Northwest Mounted Police.

Acting and producing contributions

Bartlett Cormack made occasional contributions to film as an actor in addition to his primary career as a screenwriter. He appeared in an uncredited role as Strang in the 1938 British drama Sidewalks of London. Cormack also served as producer on the 1933 RKO Radio Pictures drama The Past of Mary Holmes, marking his only known producing credit.

Personal life

Marriage and family

Bartlett Cormack married Adelaide Maurine Bledsoe. She was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma Indian Territory, in 1901 as the daughter of Samuel Thomas Bledsoe, who later became president and board chairman of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. After Cormack's death in 1942, Adelaide remarried Vice Admiral Howard Fithian Kingman and remained active in Los Angeles society and historical organizations until her death in 1999. The couple had two children, a son named Thomas Bledsoe Cormack and a daughter named Adelaide Kilbee Cormack. Adelaide Kilbee Cormack graduated from Stanford University and UCLA, and her 1958 engagement announcement identified her as the daughter of the late Bartlett Cormack and Mrs. Howard Fithian Kingman of Beverly Hills.

Death

References

  1. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179993/
  2. https://www.nytimes.com/1927/12/04/archives/enter-a-new-playwright.html
  3. https://www.nytimes.com/1928/06/03/archives/what-news-on-the-rialto-gossip-of-broadway.html
  4. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NOT19300627.2.60
  5. https://theatricalia.com/play/f2b/the-painted-veil/production/z0h
  6. https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-racket-10497
  7. https://www.tcm.com/articles/85281/the-racket-1928
  8. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/11/11/scarface-tommy-guns-and-chicagos-gangster-mystique-in-film/
  9. https://www.tcm.com/articles/020625/star-of-the-month-edward-g-robinson
  10. https://www.nytimes.com/1937/01/22/archives/hey-diddle-diddle-has-princeton-premiere-capacity-audience-sees.html
  11. https://www.broadwayworld.com/new-jersey/article/BWW-Feature-THE-GARDEN-STATE-LOVES-LUCY-20190224
  12. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019304/
  13. https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/3963
  14. https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/11516
  15. https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4382-the-front-page-stop-the-presses
  16. https://www.tcm.com/articles/64127/the-front-page-1931
  17. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/this-day-and-age
  18. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fury-film-by-Lang
  19. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027652/awards/
  20. https://mubi.com/en/cast/bartlett-cormack
  21. https://www.tcm.com/articles/1014894/unholy-partners
  22. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030746/fullcredits/
  23. https://letterboxd.com/film/the-past-of-mary-holmes/details/
  24. https://mubi.com/en/films/the-past-of-mary-holmes/cast
  25. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-feb-02-mn-4201-story.html
  26. https://www.nytimes.com/1958/11/25/archives/miss-cormack-to-be-married-on-coast-jan-31-teaching-assistantat-u-c.html
  27. https://www.nytimes.com/1950/06/20/archives/barbara-j-scott-to-marry-july-22-ucla-graduate-engaged-to-lieut.html
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