Edited and Introduced by Pat McGilligan, University of California Press, 1997

Screenwriter Robert Riskin (1897-1955) was a towering figure even among the giants of Hollywood's Golden Age. Known for his unique blend of humor and romance, wisecracking and idealism, Riskin teamed with director Frank Capra to produce some of his most memorable films.

Pat McGilligan has collected six of the best Riskin scripts: Platinum Blonde (1931), American Madness (1932), It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), and Meet John Doe (1941). All of them were directed by Capra, and although Capra's work has been amply chronicled and celebrated, Riskin's share in the collaboration has been overlooked since his death. McGilligan provides the "backstory" for the forgotten half of the team, indispensable counterpoint to the director's self-mythologizing autobiography--and incidentally the missing link in any study of Capra's career.

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When we hear the titles It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Lost Horizon, and Meet John Doe, we think immediately of Frank Capra, their brilliant and much beloved director. But did you know that these and many other Capra films were all written by the same man, the unfairly neglected Robert Riskin? Such films, like all of Capra's best, are wonderfully witty, a delightful marriage of word and image. With Six Screenplays by Robert Riskin, you can read about the lesser-known element of the Capra/Riskin collaboration and treat yourself to six of the best screenplays ever written. Patrick McGilligan has provided good notes to the scripts as well as a fine introduction that describes Riskin's Lower East Side upbringing in New York City, his early career in movies, his collaboration and friendship with Capra, his marriage to Fay Wray, and his sad, untimely death.

About Rober Riskin (From Wikipedia):

Riskin began his career as a playwright, writing for many local New York City playhouses. Two of his plays, Bless You, Sister and Many a Slip, managed to have successful runs on Broadway. He moved to Hollywood in 1931 after Columbia Pictures bought the screen rights to several of his plays. His first collaboration with director Frank Capra came in 1931 with the Jean Harlow vehicle Platinum Blonde.

Although Riskin wrote a number of other films for Columbia, it was his string of hit ventures with Capra that brought him acclaim. Riskin received Academy Award nominations for his screenplays for the Capra films Lady for a Day (1933), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can't Take It with You (1938), and Here Comes the Groom (1951). He was awarded the Oscar for his much-lauded screenplay for 1934's It Happened One Night.

By 1941, when Capra directed Riskin's Meet John Doe, the screenwriter had tired of Capra's knack for taking credit for Riskin's work. After several confrontations with the director while working on Meet John Doe, Riskin never willfully collaborated with Capra again. In 1945, Riskin wrote the story for The Thin Man Goes Home and had an uncredited collaboration on the 1946 film noir classic The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. The following year, he wrote and produced the minor James Stewart hit Magic Town.

In 1950, Robert Riskin suffered a debilitating stroke that prevented him from writing additional scripts. His last screenplays, still in the pipeline, were produced between 1950 and 1951. Ironically, Frank Capra was assigned to Riskin's last original story, Here Comes the Groom, which he directed in 1951. After Riskin's death in 1955, Capra directed a previously written but never produced story in 1961: Pocketful of Miracles. The film became Capra's last.

Upon his death on September 20, 1955, Riskin was in the thirteenth year of marriage to actress Fay Wray. Riskin had two children and one adopted daughter with Wray, including Susan (born 1936, adopted 1942), Robert (born 1943), and Victoria (born 1946).

Selected filmography

• Platinum Blonde (1931)
• It Happened One Night (1934)
• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
• When You're in Love (1937) also director
• Lost Horizon (1937)
• You Can't Take It with You (1938)
• Meet John Doe (1941)
• The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
• Magic Town (1947) also producer
• Here Comes the Groom (1951)
• Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

Awards

Academy Awards

Won:

• Best Writing, Adaptation (It Happened One Night, 1935)

Nominated:

• Best Writing, Adaptation (Lady for a Day, 1934)
• Best Writing, Screenplay (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, 1937)
• Best Writing, Screenplay (You Can't Take It with You, 1939)
• Best Writing, Motion Picture Story (Here Comes the Groom, 1952)

External links

• Robert Riskin at the Internet Movie Database

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