Gerald_Butler_(author)
Gerald Butler (writer)
English writer and screenwriter
Gerald Alfred Butler (31 July 1907 – 1 February 1988) was an English crime, thriller and pulp writer and screenwriter.[2] He was born on 31 July 1907, in Crewe, Cheshire,[3] and worked as a chemist prior to becoming a novelist. He later worked as a writer for an advertising firm in London, eventually becoming its director.[4][5] He was sometimes referred to as the "English James M. Cain".[6][7]
Butler was 33 years old when his first novel, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, was published by Nicholson & Watson in April 1940.[8] The novel was written as a distraction from the German bombings, while staying in air-raid shelters during World War II.[3] Kiss the Blood Off My Hands was accepted by the first publisher Butler contacted, and became a best-seller, leading to a publishing contract with Jarrolds Publishing (which quickly reprinted the book). By 1945, the novel had sold over 232,000 copies in England alone (all during war-time).[9][10] The Digit Books release of Choice of Two Women, published in 1960, stated that Kiss the Blood Off My Hands had sold in excess of 750,000 copies.[11]
In 1945, American publishers Farrar & Rinehart were the first to publish one of Butler's novels outside of England. Their first release of Butler's work was his 1943 novel, Their Rainbow Had Black Edges, issued under the title Dark Rainbow.[12] Farrar & Rinehart went on to publish four more of his novels for the American market between 1946 and 1951.
Following the publication of his first four novels in Britain (and first one in America), Hollywood film studio Warner Brothers Pictures bought an option to the screen rights of his fifth novel, Slippery Hitch, for £10,000.[13][14] At the time of purchase, in December 1946, the novel had yet to be published, and would be held back from publication for another year and a half, until May 1948.[13][14] By early 1949, Slippery Hitch was assigned to producer Jerry Wald at Warner Brothers Picture, but the film stalled again.[15]
In early 1947, Eagle-Lion Films bought the film rights to Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, hoping to shoot it with Robert Donat in the lead.[16] After the option expired, the novel's film rights were sold to actor-turned-producer Burt Lancaster and his business partner, producer Harold Hecht, in mid-1947. The film was the first project for Lancaster's new film production company, Norma Productions (financed by Universal-International), and hit the screens in October 1948. The film starred Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster and Robert Newton and was released in some markets under the titles The Unafraid or Blood on My Hands, due to censor issues.
Meanwhile, producer/director Mario Zampi approached Butler in 1947 to collaborate on a film noir thriller, The Fatal Night, through his film production company Anglofilm. Butler adapted Michael Arlen's famous short story, The Gentleman From America into a screenplay for the film which was released in April 1948.[17] Butler and Zampi immediately collaborated again for another Anglofilm production, Third Time Lucky; Butler's screen adaptation of his own novel They Cracked Her Glass Slipper.[14] Butler also wrote the lyrics to the film's theme song, "Forgive Me for Dreaming".[18][14][19] The film was directed by Gordon Parry and released in January 1949.[20]
In October and November 1949, Butler and his wife traveled to Hollywood to negotiate the screen rights to his fourth novel, Mad with Much Heart.[21][5] The rights were scooped up by Howard Hughes via RKO Radio Pictures,[22] who had given actor Robert Ryan the freedom to chose any story as his next starring vehicle; he picked Mad with Much Heart.[23] Hughes assigned John Houseman as producer and Nicholas Ray as director for a film version originally titled Dark Highway.[21] Although scheduled to start filming in January 1950, the production stalled for over a year. The settings of the film were changed from England to Boston and the Berkshires in New England.[21][22] Hughes originally wanted Jennifer Jones as the blind girl in the film,[24][25] but Ida Lupino was eventually signed and acted as an uncredited director. The picture was retitled On Dangerous Ground and released in December 1951.
Butler's sixth novel, Choice of Two Women (retitled to Blow Hot, Blow Cold in the US) was published in mid-1951. He withdrew from the writing industry for nearly twenty years before returning with his last novel, There Is a Death, Elizabeth, published in 1972. He died sixteen years later.