Dalton Trumbo, (born December 9, 1905, Montrose, Colorado, U.S.—died September 10, 1976, Los Angeles, California), American screenwriter and novelist who was probably the most talented member of the Hollywood Ten, a group who refused to testify before the 1947 U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities about alleged communist involvement. He was blacklisted and in 1950 spent 11 months in prison.
Trumbo acquired his begin in films in 1937; by the Forties he was one among Hollywood’s highest paid writers for work on such movies as Kitty Foyle (1940), Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944), and Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945). After his blacklisting, he wrote 30 scripts beneath pseudonyms. He received an Oscar for The Brave One (1956), written beneath the title Robert Rich. In 1960 he acquired full credit score for the motion-picture epics Exodus and Spartacus, and thereafter on all subsequent scripts, and he was reinstated as a member of the Writers Guild of America. Trumbo’s vivid antiwar novel, Johnny Got His Gun, received an American Booksellers Award for 1939. He filmed the film of the novel himself in 1971. Trumbo’s blacklist struggles have been depicted in Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted (2003), a play that was written by his son Christopher Trumbo primarily based on Dalton’s letters.
Spartacus, American epic journey movie, launched in 1960, that recounts the story of a historic slave rebellion (73–71 BCE) towards Rome. The film, which starred Kirk Douglas and was directed by Stanley Kubrick, received widespread vital acclaim.
The movie traces the story of the slave Spartacus (performed by Douglas), who earns a fame for braveness as a gladiator whereas a possession of the rich Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov). The fiercely unbiased slave seeks freedom for himself and his downtrodden companions. He manages to flee and frees different slaves, forming a formidable military of rebels. With the residents of Rome frightened by the rise up, Gen. Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier) is assigned to crush the insurgents, however Spartacus and his military defeat the Romans in quite a few battles. However, they're finally caught in an inescapable entice and are slaughtered. Spartacus is crucified, however as he's dying, he has the satisfaction of discovering that his spouse Varinia (Jean Simmons) and their child son have been granted freedom as residents of Rome.
Determined to keep away from the fame of many Roman Empire epics as dumbed-down, Douglas (who was additionally one of many movie’s producers) employed blacklisted author Dalton Trumbo to pen the screenplay for Spartacus. Trumbo’s personal title, somewhat than a pseudonym, was credited, which helped break the McCarthy-era stigma that had victimized Trumbo and others. After the movie’s premiere, the studio bowed to strain and eliminated a suggestive tub sequence with gay overtones between Olivier and Tony Curtis. When the movie acquired a high-profile restoration in 1991, the scene was restored; as a result of the soundtrack was lacking, Curtis redubbed his half, and Anthony Hopkins supplied the voice of Olivier, who had died in 1989.
Production Notes And Credits
- Studio: Bryna Productions
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- Producer: Edward Lewis
- Writer: Dalton Trumbo
- Music: Alex North
- Running time: 196 minutes
Cast
- Kirk Douglas (Spartacus)
- Laurence Olivier (Marcus Licinius Crassus)
- Jean Simmons (Varinia)
- Charles Laughton (Gracchus)
- Peter Ustinov (Lentulus Batiatus)
- John Gavin (Julius Caesar)
Academy Award Nominations (* Denotes Win)
- Art path (color)*
- Cinematography (color)*
- Supporting actor* (Peter Ustinov)
- Costume design (color)*