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Melville Shavelson is a Director, Scriptwriter and Producer American born on 1 april 1917 at New York City (USA)

Melville Shavelson

Melville Shavelson
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Nationality USA
Birth 1 april 1917 at New York City (USA)
Death 8 august 2007 (at 90 years)

Melville Shavelson (April 1, 1917 – August 8, 2007) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. He was President of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAw) from 1969 to 1971, 1979 to 1981, and 1985 to 1987. He came to Hollywood in 1938 as one of comedian Bob Hope's joke writers, a job he held for the next five years. He is responsible for the screenplays of such Hope films as The Princess and the Pirate (1944), Where There's Life (1947), The Great Lover (1949), and Sorrowful Jones (1949), which also starred Lucille Ball.

Shavelson was nominated twice for Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay—first for 1955's The Seven Little Foys, starring Hope in a rare dramatic role, and then for 1958's Houseboat. He shared both nominations with Jack Rose. He also directed both films.

Other films he wrote and directed include Beau James (1957), The Five Pennies (1959) for which he won a Screen Writers Guild Award, It Started in Naples (1960), On the Double (1961), The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962), A New Kind of Love (1963), Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), and Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), which starred Henry Fonda and again with Lucille Ball. The film, a comedy about a widow (Lucille Ball) and a widower (Henry Fonda) raising 18 children together. When Ms. Ball later asked Mr. Shavelson how he enjoyed directing her, The Associated Press reported, he replied, “Lucy, this is the first time I ever made a film with 19 children.” Ms. Ball was not amused. In addition to his film work, Shavelson created two Emmy award-winning television series and wrote for a dozen Academy Award shows.

He also wrote,produced and co-directed the six-hour ABC screenplay to the 1979 television miniseries Ike about Dwight D. Eisenhower, based on the World War II exploits of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower. He also wrote, miniseries Ike, The War Years.

Shavelson's autobiography, published by BearManor Media in April 2007, is entitled How to Succeed in Hollywood Without Really Trying, P.S. - You Can't! Shavelson wrote several other books, including, with Mr. Hope, “Don’t Shoot, It’s Only Me: Bob Hope’s Comedy History of the United States” (Putnam, 1990), and How to Make a Jewish Movie (1971), a memoir of his experiences while producing and directing Cast a Giant Shadow, and the Hollywood-themed novel Lualda (1973).

Shavelson was a noted instructor at USC's Master of Professional Writing Program from 1998-2006. He taught screenwriting, who often cracked to his students, "I'm a writer by choice, a producer by necessity and a director in self-defense."

Shavelson's first wife, Lucille, died in 2000. He was married to his second wife, Ruth Florea, from 2001 until his death in 2007. He had two children, Lynne Joiner and Richard Shavelson.

Biography

Sa première épouse, Lucille, dont il a eu deux enfants, meurt en 2000. Il épouse en secondes noces Ruth Florea le 20 décembre 2001.

On remarque notamment sa présidence de la Writers Guild of America de 1969 à 1971, puis de 1979 à 1981, et enfin de 1985 à 1987.

Best films

The Paleface (1948)
(Scriptwriter)
Wonder Man (1945)
(Scriptwriter)

Usually with

Hal Pereira
Hal Pereira
(10 films)
Edith Head
Edith Head
(11 films)
Frank Bracht
Frank Bracht
(7 films)
Bob Hope
Bob Hope
(9 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Melville Shavelson (40 films)

Display filmography as list

Director

Deceptions
Deceptions (1990)

Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Thriller
Actors Nicollette Sheridan, Harry Hamlin, Stefanie Powers, Robert Davi, Alison Doody, Marshall Colt
Rating46% 2.325782.325782.325782.325782.32578
Une enquête révèle qu'un homme a été tué par sa femme et l'amant de celle-ci pour encaisser la prime d'assurances. Mais cette dernière tente de s'en sortir en séduisant un des deux détectives, en couchant avec lui...
Deceptions
Deceptions (1985)
, 3h1
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Jumeaux ou jumelles
Actors Stefanie Powers, Barry Bostwick, Jeremy Brett, Sam Wanamaker, Fairuza Balk, Fabio Testi
Rating72% 3.6343653.6343653.6343653.6343653.634365
Lassée par son quotidien familial, Stephanie échange sa place avec sa sœur jumelle Sabrina, directrice d'une galerie d'art à Londres. Mais ce jeu va s'avérer dangereux…
Rainbow
Rainbow (1978)
, 1h37
Directed by Jackie Cooper, Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography
Themes Films about television
Actors Andrea Mcardle, Don Murray, Michael Parks, Piper Laurie, Rue McClanahan, Nicholas Pryor
Rating64% 3.2416353.2416353.2416353.2416353.241635
The early life and struggles of Judy Garland (Andrea McArdle), and of the film star's trials as a youngster in dealing with the movie studio system that held her back while her mother (Piper Laurie) was forever pushing her to excel.
Mixed Company, 1h49
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Films about adoption, Films about children, Films about families, Sports films, Basketball films
Actors Barbara Harris, Joseph Bologna, Tom Bosley, Ruth McDevitt, Haywood Nelson, Lisa Gerritsen
Rating57% 2.8585852.8585852.8585852.8585852.858585
Kathy Morrison (Harris), mother of three, who helps run a "color-blind" adoption program, wants to have another biological child. Her husband, Pete (Bologna), the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, finds out he can't produce another child. Kathy thinks about adopting a boy, Frederic "Freddie" Wilcox, and Pete does not want to adopt a boy who happens to be black. When he relents, Freddie's arrival causes an upheaval in the Morrison's neighborhood, their school, and family. Kathy's answer is to adopt another child, in this case two, a war-traumatized half-Vietnamese girl, Quan Tran, and a Hopi boy, Joe. The new extended family must now learn to live together.
The War Between Men and Women, 1h50
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romance
Themes Films about disabilities
Actors Jack Lemmon, Barbara Harris, Jason Robards, Herb Edelman, Lisa Gerritsen, Moosie Drier
Rating61% 3.0529953.0529953.0529953.0529953.052995
Peter Wilson (Jack Lemmon) is a sarcastic near-sighted cartoonist, author and swinging bachelor living in Manhattan. He detests dogs and children. He is flustered by women's priorities and avoids commitment, much preferring transient physical relationships. At the office of his eye surgeon, Peter meets a leggy, eye-catching brunette named Terri Kozlenko (Barbara Harris). He likes her very much, but discovers later that she is a single mother to three children.
Yours, Mine and Ours, 1h51
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Films about children, Films about families, Children's films
Actors Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Van Johnson, Tim Matheson, Walter Brooke, Morgan Brittany
Rating70% 3.5471653.5471653.5471653.5471653.547165
In 1930, Frank Beardsley is a Navy warrant officer, recently detached from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and assigned as project officer for the Fresnel lens glide-slope indicator, or "meatball," that would eventually become standard equipment on all carriers. Helen North is a nurse working in the dispensary at the California U. S. Navy base to which Frank is assigned.
Cast a Giant Shadow, 2h26
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action, Historical
Themes Films set in Africa, Political films
Actors Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Angie Dickinson, Yul Brynner, James Donald, Frank Sinatra
Rating62% 3.1490353.1490353.1490353.1490353.149035
The film is a fictionalized account of the experiences of a real-life Jewish-American military officer, Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus, who commanded units of the fledgling Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
A New Kind of Love, 1h50
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Thelma Ritter, Eva Gabor, George Tobias, Marvin Kaplan
Rating58% 2.9043052.9043052.9043052.9043052.904305
A womanizing American reporter assigned in Paris (Paul Newman) mistakes a cynical fashion copycat designer (Joanne Woodward) for a prostitute after she receives a makeover. He decides to interview her for a series of articles, then falls in love with her. The girl goes along with it, first out of revenge as he snubbed her during a past encounter, then out of feelings of her own.
The Pigeon That Took Rome, 1h43
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres War, Comedy
Themes Films about animals, Military humor in film, Spy films, Films about birds, Political films
Actors Charlton Heston, Elsa Martinelli, Haya Harareet, Jack Hawkins, Harry Guardino, Hugh Griffith
Rating59% 2.951182.951182.951182.951182.95118
In 1944, during the last stages of the war in Europe, American officers Paul MacDougall (Heston) and Joseph Contini (Guardino) are sent to Italy to act as spies for the Allies, even though they have no experience in espionage. Working with Partisan resistance soldier Ciccio Massimo (Baccaloni), MacDougall and Contini send regular reports to their superiors by carrier pigeon.
On the Double, 1h32
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, War, Comedy, Action
Themes Military humor in film, Political films
Actors Danny Kaye, Dana Wynter, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Margaret Rutherford, Diana Dors, Gregory Walcott
Rating63% 3.199743.199743.199743.199743.19974
The year is 1944. The place is an Allied army camp in southeast England, full of soldiers waiting for the D-day invasion.
On the Double, 1h32
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, War, Comedy, Action, Adventure
Actors Danny Kaye, Dana Wynter, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Margaret Rutherford, Diana Dors, Allan Cuthbertson
Rating63% 3.199743.199743.199743.199743.19974
Le soldat de 2e classe Ernie Williams a du mal à se faire à la discipline militaire. Peu avant le débarquement, il s'échappe d'un campement mais est repris aussitôt. On lui propose alors de prendre la place d'un général dont la vie est menacée par les nazis. Ernie accepte à contre-cœur. Maggie, l'épouse du général malheureuse dans son couple, arrive à l'improviste et commence à s'attacher à ce mari de remplacement. Mais Ernie est capturé par les Allemands puis emmené à Berlin où il est interrogé par la Gestapo. Après avoir fourni de fausses informations, Ernie parvient à s'évader avant d'être poursuivi par des agents nazis.
It Started in Naples, 1h40
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica, Claudio Ermelli, Yvonne Monlaur, Paolo Carlini
Rating62% 3.1493653.1493653.1493653.1493653.149365
Michael Hamilton (Clark Gable), un avocat de Philadelphie, arrive à Naples quelques jours avant son mariage pour régler la succession de son frère Joseph avec un juriste italien Vitalli (Vittorio De Sica). À Naples, Michael découvre que son frère a un fils de neuf ans, Nando, qui est élevé par sa tante maternelle Lucia (Sophia Loren), une chanteuse de cabaret. Joseph n’a pas épousé la mère de Nando mais ils se sont tous les deux noyés lors d’un accident de bateau. La femme légitime de Joseph qu’il a quittée en 1950 vit à Philadelphie. Après avoir vu Nando distribuer des photos légères de Lucia, Michael veut inscrire son neveu à l’école américaine de Rome mais Lucia gagne la garde de l’enfant. Malgré une différence d’âge, une romance éclot entre Michael et Lucia et il décide de rester en Italie.