Jules Furthman

Jules Furthman
Name	Jules Furthman
Birth date	1888-02-07
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Death date	1966-05-10
Death place	Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Screenwriter, Playwright, Journalist
Years active	1916–1959
Notable works	Mutiny on the Bounty; Only Angels Have Wings; To Have and Have Not; The Big Sleep; Shanghai Express

Jules Furthman was an American screenwriter and playwright whose career spanned silent films, the transition to sound, and Hollywood's studio era. He collaborated with major directors and stars of the 1920s–1950s, contributing to films in genres from melodrama and crime to adventure and noir. Furthman’s screenplays are noted for their sharp dialogue, nautical and travel motifs, and collaboration with auteurs who include Howard Hawks, Josef von Sternberg, John Huston, and stars such as Humphrey Bogart and Marlene Dietrich.

Early life and education

Born in Chicago to a family of German-Jewish descent, Furthman grew up during the Progressive Era and the heyday of Hull House and the Chicago Tribune’s influence on Midwestern culture. He attended local schools and was exposed to the theatrical scene around Chicago Theatre and the vaudeville circuits that connected to New York City and Broadway. Early influences included the popular journalism of the Hearst Corporation and the literary circles linked to the Algonquin Round Table migratory network, which shaped his ear for urbane, sharp dialogue.

Career beginnings and transition to screenwriting

Furthman began as a journalist and playwright in the 1910s, writing for publications tied to the Motion Picture News and contributing scenarios for silent shorts associated with companies like Universal Pictures and Fox Film Corporation. He wrote intertitles and scenario outlines during the era of filmmakers such as D.W. Griffith and Thomas H. Ince, which eased his move into Hollywood screenwriting. By the 1920s Furthman was crafting screenplays for directors at Paramount Pictures and became involved with the creative communities around Santa Monica and the burgeoning studios on Sunset Boulevard.

Major film collaborations and notable works

Furthman’s notable collaborations began with director Josef von Sternberg on pictures starring Marlene Dietrich—notably Shanghai Express—establishing his gift for exotic settings and luminous femme fatales. His long association with Howard Hawks produced classics including Only Angels Have Wings, To Have and Have Not, and The Big Sleep, often reuniting with actors like Cary Grant, Lauren Bacall, and Humphrey Bogart. Furthman co-wrote the adaptation of Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), which linked him to literary source adaptation practices exemplified by writers adapting works from Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall; he also contributed to screenplays for filmmakers like John Huston and worked on projects with studios including RKO Radio Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. Other credits intersect with figures such as Victor Fleming and Sam Goldwyn, reflecting Furthman’s mobility across studio systems and collaborations with producers like David O. Selznick.

Writing style and themes

Furthman’s style emphasized economical, character-driven dialogue and atmospheric scene-setting that suited directors focused on pacing and performance, such as Howard Hawks and Josef von Sternberg. Recurring themes in his work include maritime adventure and shipboard hierarchies evident in Mutiny on the Bounty and Only Angels Have Wings, as well as urban crime and moral ambiguity found in The Big Sleep and other noir-associated pieces tied to the rise of film noir aesthetics. His scripts often featured professional codes and male camaraderie comparable to the working-class ethos portrayed in films about pilots, sailors, and private detectives, and he frequently adapted or distilled material from novelists and short-story writers linked to Black Mask and pulp traditions.

Personal life and relationships

Furthman’s personal life intersected with Hollywood’s social networks. He was part of circles that included screenwriters and playwrights who met in locales connected to Hollywood Boulevard and the studios’ backlots. He had professional friendships with contemporaries such as Hemmingway-era readers and adapted works associated with writers like Ernest Hemingway indirectly through shared genre interests in seafaring and masculinity. His associations extended to producers, directors, and actors who shaped contract-era collaborations at Paramount and RKO, and he navigated studio politics during periods of unionization and the influence of organizations such as the Screen Writers Guild.

Legacy and influence in cinema

Furthman’s body of work influenced subsequent generations of screenwriters and filmmakers who studied studio-era dialogue and genre blending exemplified by his collaborations with Howard Hawks and Josef von Sternberg. His contributions to films starring Marlene Dietrich, Humphrey Bogart, and Cary Grant secured his place in retrospectives at institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and in academic studies by scholars of film studies and historians of Hollywood studio system practices. Contemporary filmmakers and writers cite films he scripted as touchstones for scripting tight, character-centered genre films; retrospectives and DVD/Blu-ray supplements on titles like To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep continue to discuss his role. His work remains included in archives and special collections related to American Film Institute histories and library holdings at institutions documenting 20th-century screenwriting.

Category:American screenwriters Category:People from Chicago