John L. Balderston

John L. Balderston (October 22, 1889 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - March 8, 1954 Los Angeles, California) was an American playwright and screenwriter best known for his horror and fantasy scripts.

Balderston began his career as a journalist. He worked as European war correspondent during World War I. He was the editor of "Outlook" magazine and a correspondent for the "New York World".

In 1927, he was retained by Horace Liveright to revise Hamilton Deane's stage adaptation of "Dracula" for its American production. His 1929 play "Berkeley Square" later formed the basis of the musical "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever". His "Dracula" subsequently formed the basis of the 1931 film version, leading Balderston into a screenwriting career, initially for Universal Pictures horror films: in addition to "Dracula", he contributed to "Frankenstein", "Bride of Frankenstein", "The Mummy", and "Dracula's Daughter". He spent much of his career adapting novels for the screen, including "The Prisoner of Zenda" in 1937 and 1944's "Gaslight", which earned him his second Academy Award nomination (the first was for 1935's "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer"). He was also one of the team of writers who collaborated on the 1939 film adaptation of "Gone with the Wind".

External links

* [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:80494~T1 Allmovie bio]
* [http://www.phillyburbs.com/dracula/balderston.shtml John L. Balderston: The Man Behind the Monsters]