Born September 4, 1901 in Evansville, Indiana to a Baptist minister and his wife, Paul Osborn graduated from the University of Michigan where he later taught English. He also studied drama and playwriting at Yale University before making his Broadway debut in 1928 with his play, Hotbed.

Osborn achieved great success with 1930’s The Vinegar Tree which was adapted for the screen as 1933’s Should Ladies Behave with Lionel Barrymore and Alice Brady  He wrote his first screenplay for 1938’s The Young in Heart which starred Janet Gaynor and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.  His 1938 play, On Borrowed Time, which has been revived many times since, was made into a hit film in 1939 starring Lionel Barrymore and Beulah Bondi.

1939 saw the Broadway debut of Osborn’s  acclaimed Morning’s at Seven which was never filmed.  That same year he married Millicent Green with whom he would have one child, a daughter.

Osborn next supplied uncredited assistance on the screenplays for 1941’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starring Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman and 1942’s Tortilla Flat starring Tracy and John Garfield along with the same year’s Mrs. Miniver starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon.

Osborn was the accredited screenwriter for 1943’s Madame Curie starring Garson and Pidgeon and Cry Havoc starring Margaret Sullavan and Ann Sothern.  His 1944 Broadway adaptation of the novel A Bell for Adano was filmed in 1945 with Gene Tierney and John Hodiak but he was not given credit for the film.  His 1946 screenplay for The Yearling starring Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman remains one of his most memorable accomplishments.

Osborn wrote the screenplays for two of 1948’s most successful films, Homecoming starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner, and Portrait of Jenny starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotton, after which he dabbled in television for several years.  He returned to screenwriting with 1952’s Invitation starring Dorothy McGuire and Van Johnson.  Then it was back to TV until his screenplay for 1955’s East of Eden starring James Dean and Julie Harris earned him his first Oscar nomination.

TV remained Osborn’s main source of income through early 1960 with time out for two more films, both adaptations of James Michener novels directed by Joshua Logan.  He received his second Oscar nomination for 1957’s Sayonara starring Marlon Brando and Red Buttons.  An even bigger box office hit was 1958’s South Pacific starring Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi.

Osborn’s 1960 screenplay for Wild River starring Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick was his last accredited screenplay written for the screen.  He didn’t write the same year’s The World of Suzie Wong with William Holden and Nancy Kwan but was given credit for his adaptation of the novel for the 1958 Broadway play.

Failing eyesight slowed Osborn down.  His last screen credits were for the TV adaptations of A Bell for Adano starring John Forsythe in 1967 and Morning’s at Seven starring Maureen O’Sullivan and Teresa Wright in 1982.

Paul Osborn died May 12, 1988 at 86.  He was survived by his wife and daughter.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

THE YEARLING (1946), directed by Clarence Brown

The film version of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ beloved novel about a boy and his pet fawn was nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Actor (Gregory Peck), Actress (Jane Wyman), and Film Editing, winning for Cinematography – Color and Art Direction – Color.  It also won an honorary award for Claude Jarman, Jr. for juvenile performance of the year.  Unfortunately, there was no nomination for Osborn in a highly competitive year that saw the screenplay Oscar go to The Best Years of Our Loves over Anna and the King of Siam, Brief Encounter, The Killers, and Open City.

EAST OF EDEN (1955), directed by Elia Kazan

Osborn received his first of two Oscar nominations for his sensitive screenplay based on the last portion of John Steinbeck’s massive novel about the toxic relationship between the bible spouting father and the long absent mother of very different twin sons.  The film also received nominations for Best Director, Actor (James Dean), and Supporting Actress (Jo Van Fleet), winning for the latter.  Dean’s nomination was the first of two posthumous nominations, followed by Giant the following year.  The cast included Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Richard Davalos, Burl Ives, and Lois Smith.

SAYONARA (1957), directed by Joshua Logan

Nominated for ten Oscars including Best Picture, Actor (Marlon Brando), Supporting Actor (Red Buttons), Supporting Actress (Miyoshi Umeki), Director, Screenplay (for Osborn), Cinematography, Film Editing, Art Direction, and Sound Recording, it won for Supporting Actor and Actress, Art Direction, and Sound Recording.  An extremely popular film in its day, it suffers in retrospect due Brando’s irritating fake southern accent and the miscasting of Ricardo Montalban as a Japanese Kabuki artist.  Faring better in retrospect are leading lady Miiko Taka, Buttons, Umeki, James Garner, Patricia Owens and Martha Scott.

SOUTH PACIFIC (1958), directed by Joshua Logan

Nominated for three Oscars including Best Cinematography, Scoring, and Sound, it won for the latter.  The film suffered at the hands of the critics primarily for Logan’s infuriating color filters that couldn’t easily be removed in time for the film’s premiere and can only be removed now at great expense.  Otherwise, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s greatest musical was beautifully filmed with an excellent cast, most of whom were dubbed.  Chief among them were Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi in the roles originated by Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, John Kerr, France Nuyen, Ray Walston, and Juanita Hall reprising her Broadway role as Bloody Mary.

WILD RIVER (1960), directed by Elia Kazan

Although listed among the year’s top ten films by the National Board of Review, Kazan’s film, based on two novels, was not successful at the time of its release.  It has, however, endured, and was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2002.  Montgomery Clift starred as a Tennessee Valley Authority bureaucrat tasked with convincing stubborn octogenarian Jo Van Fleet to leave her island home before the raging river engulfs her.  Lee Remick co-stars as the woman’s granddaughter and Clift’s love interest.  Remick chose a local boy and girl to play her children, the girl because she looked like her at 7 and the boy because he loved kissing and hugging her.

PAUL OSBORN AND OSCAR

East of Eden (1955) – Nominated – Best Screenplay

Sayonara (1955) – Nominated – Best Adapted Screenplay