William Templeton (screenwriter)
William Pettigrew Templeton (7 June 1913 – 23 October 1973) was a Scottish playwright and screenwriter who made a major contribution to the Golden Age of Television[1][2] writing a string of episodic dramas for American prime time television during the 1950s and 1960s,[3] a time when many hour-long anthology drama series received wide critical acclaim. Templeton had a long film career both in the UK and the US. His adaptation of The Fallen Idol (also known as The Lost Illusion) a 1948 film with Ralph Richardson directed by Carol Reed and based on the short story The Basement Room by Graham Greene was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won a BAFTA Award for Best British Film.[4]
William Templeton | |
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| Born | 7 June 1913 Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Died | 23 October 1973 (aged 60) Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Esterhazy (1953–61) |
| Relatives | Christopher Templeton b.1960 (son) |
Early life
At 20 Templeton wrote the one-act play The King's Spaniel, which ran at the Royal Lyceum Theatre. At 24, his first three-act play, Circus Murder, was picked up and produced by Jevan Brandon Thomas at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow in 1937, then quickly exported to London by the producer Esme Church for a run at the New Theatre (1938) under the title The Painted Smile. Theatre critic WA Darlington[5] of The Daily Telegraph called it "a cleverly created illusion". After being decommissioned from the RAF after World War II, Templeton continued to write a string of critically acclaimed West End plays, including:
- (1946) Exercise Bowler – (Arts then transferred to the Scala Theatre) produced by Alec Clunes
- (1948) The Ivory Tower – (The Vaudeville Theatre) produced by Charles B. Cochran
- (1950) You Won't Need the Halo (Arts Theatre) produced by Alec Clunes
- (1954) Keep in a Cool Place – (Saville Theatre) produced by Jevan Brandon Thomas
Writing in the Sunday Times on 21 April 1946, theatre critic James Agate wrote of the play, 'Exercise Bowler': 'This play has an immense amount to say, is inventive, brilliantly theatrical and magnificently laid out for actors. Best of all, it is not pretentious in the blank-verse manner beloved of the high-brow poetic dramatist'. [6] Templeton wrote the largely anti-war play under the pseudonym 'T. Atkinson', a generic slang name for British soldiers at this time.[7]
Hollywood career
At the height of his theatre career in the late 1940s, Templeton started to attract the attention of British and Hollywood film makers, securing a series of contracts from major film companies including Sir Alexander Korda at London Films, Walt Disney, Desilu and Universal.[8] He became best known for his 1956 adaptation of George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984,[9] with Edmond O'Brien as Winston Smith:[10] "It was a masterly adaptation that depicted with power and poignancy and terrifying beauty the end result of thought control", wrote Jack Gould in The New York Times.[11] His screenplay adaptation of the book All on a Summer's Day by HLV Fletcher became the British crime thriller Double Confession (1950) directed by Ken Annakin, starring Peter Lorre.[12]
Comfortable writing for a variety of genres, Templeton was able to contribute to several of the major television series of the period: The Alcoa Hour (1954–1955);[13] Goodyear Playhouse (1956); Matinee Theatre (1956); Sword of Freedom (1957): The Untouchables (1960); the original Adventures of Robin Hood[14] series (1957) with Richard Greene[15] and the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse[16] anthology series broadcast by CBS from 1948 to 1958 and produced by Desi Arnaz. It was at this time that the Studio One producer declared William Templeton to be "One of the country's most distinguished writers in television".
Personal life
William married the Hungarian actress Elizabeth Getrude Esterházy on 22 September 1953 in Westport, Connecticut. Samuel Goldwyn Jr. was his best man. The marriage lasted until 1961 when the couple were divorced. They had one child, Christopher Frederick Templeton. On 23 October 1973, Templeton died of cirrhosis at the age of 60 at the Glasgow home of his elderly aunt, having just directed a trilogy of documentary programmes for NBC titled The Distant Drummer [17] narrated by Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum and Rod Steiger.
Filmography
| Date | Series & Film Credits | Script and Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | The Fallen Idol (Film) | Film Script by William Templeton (directed by Carol Reed) |
| 1948 | Philco Television Playhouse (TV) | Episodic scriptwriter (1948–55) |
| 1949 | The Queen's Maries (TV) | TV Film & Radio Play by William Templeton |
| 1950 | Double Confession (Film) | Film Script by William Templeton |
| 1950 | Quel Bandito Sono Io! (Film) | Additional dialogue by William Templeton (Produced by Carlo Ponti) |
| 1950 | Midnight Episode (Film) | Film Script by William Templeton |
| 1950 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Episodic TV scriptwriter (1950–57) |
| 1950 | Sunday Night Theatre (TV) | BBC Live Teleplay: 'The Ivory Tower'. |
| 1951 | The Silent Village (TV) | BBC Live Teleplay (with Audrey Hepburn) |
| 1952 | Alliance for Peace | Documentary Script by William Templeton (narrated by Edward R. Murrow) |
| 1954 | Studio One (TV Series) | 'Donovan’s Brain', ‘Cardinal Mindzenty’, 'Prelude to Murder', '1984', 'The Eddie Chapman Story'. |
| 1954 | Full Circle (Animated Film) | Commentary Writer |
| 1955 | Mr. Finley's Feelings (Animation) | Narration Script by William Templeton |
| 1955 | Matinee Theatre (TV Series) | 'Madame de Treymes', 'Letter of Introduction', 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The Bottle Imp'. (1955–58) |
| 1956 | The Man Called X (TV Series) | ‘For External Use Only’. |
| 1956 | 1984 (Film) | Feature film full script adaptation of the novel by George Orwell |
| 1956 | Goodyear Playhouse (TV) | 'A Murder is Announced'. (TV script adaptation from Agatha Christie short story). |
| 1957 | Sword of Freedom (TV Series) | ‘The Ambassador’, 'Marriage of Convenience', ‘The Eye of the Artist’, ‘The Marionettes', ‘The Reluctant Duke’, ‘The School’, 'The Ship'. |
| 1957 | Overseas Press Club (TV) | 'The Millionth Frenchman' |
| 1958 | The Alcoa Hour (TV Series) | 'Mrs Gilling and the Skyscraper', ‘Protege’, 'The Archangel Harrigen'. |
| 1959 | Five Fingers (TV Series) | ‘The Men with Triangle Heads'. |
| 1959 | The School (TV) | BBC Live Teleplay. |
| 1959 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (TV) | ‘Murder in Gratitude’, 'Perilous’. |
| 1959 | Men Into Space | 'Is there another Civilization?’, ‘Moonquake’. |
| 1960 | The Adventures of Robin Hood(TV) | ‘The Pharaoh Stones’. |
| 1960 | The Untouchables (TV Series) | 'A Seat on the Fence’. |
| 1960 | Churchill - The Valiant Years (TV) | ‘Triumph in France' (narrated by Richard Burton). |
| 1961 | Whiplash (TV Series) | ‘The Legacy’. |
| 1961 | Checkmate (TV Series) | ‘State of Shock’. |
| 1961 | The New Breed (TV Series) | 'The Torch', 'Cross the Little Line', 'To None a Deadly Drug'. |
| 1962 | Kraft Mystery Theatre (TV) | ‘Sound of Murder’, ‘Dead on Nine’. |
| 1962 | Fair Exchange (TV Series) | Episodic scriptwriter (1962–63). |
| 1965 | The Flying Swan (TV Series) | ‘Trial Run’,‘The Streets.’ |
| 1967 | The Dream World of Harrison Marks | Documentary narrative script |
| 1971 | The Eagle's Lament (Documentary) | W. P. Templeton as Writer/Director |
| 1972 | The Distant Drummer (TV Series) | W. P. Templeton as Director (narrated by Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum & Rod Steiger) |
References
- WIlliam Templeton credits listings in the Museum of Broadcast Communications
- The Golden Age of Television l Definition by LA Times
- William Templeton credits listings on Internet Movie Database
- The Fallen Idol Film feature on BFI website
- WA Darlington, Theatre critic of the Daily Telegraph Listing on Internet Movie Database
- Theatre Plays on British TV
- 'Exercise Bowler' by T. Atkinson.
- Desilu productions: Templeton credit for Perilous on Internet Movie Database
- 1984 Original version on YouTube
- 1984 (released in 1956) William Templeton credits listing on Internet Movie database
- Jack Gould Obit in the New York Times
- Double Confession l Listing on BFI website as one of top 50 most wanted British films
- The Alcoa Hour W.Templeton credit listings on the Museum of Broadcasting Online database
- The Adventures of Robin Hood listings & credits on Internet Movie database
- 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1960) Pharaoh Stones Episode on YouTube
- Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse W.Templeton credits on TV Heaven
- The Distant Drummer full documentary streaming on YouTube
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