Hitchcock Chronology: John Michael Hayes
Entries in the Hitchcock Chronology relating to John Michael Hayes...
1953
June
- 8th - Screenwriter John Michael Hayes is formally contracted by Paramount to write Rear Window on a salary of $750 per week.[1]
September
October
- 20th - Screenwriter John Michael Hayes submits the first 21 pages of his initial draft of the Rear Window screenplay. The remaining 146 pages are completed by November 30th.[4][5]
December
- Screenwriter John Michael Hayes and his wife spend two weeks at the Hotel Carlton in Cannes researching the area in preparation for starting the screenplay for To Catch a Thief.[6]
1954
January
- 5th - John Michael Hayes submits a new ending for Rear Window, which is the one used in the released film.[7]
February
- The Production Code Administration office rejects the initial cut of Rear Window, in particular raising objections to scenes where Miss Torso appears to be topless. According to John Michael Hayes, Hitchcock had done this on purpose to divert their attention from other parts of the film that he had suspected they might object to. The scene is easily replaced with an alternative non-topless take.[8]
- 23rd - John Michael Hayes and Hitchcock complete a 9 page story outline of To Catch a Thief.[9]
March
- 23rd - John Michael Hayes completes his first draft of To Catch a Thief. Hayes is then required to work with a translator to translate the draft screenplay into French in order to obtain the necessary filming permits and work permits for the American cast and crew.[10]
May
- 3rd - John Michael Hayes completes the script for To Catch a Thief, although further rewrites will be required to tighten it and remove parts that the Production Code Administration object to.[11]
- The prinipal cast members of To Catch a Thief — Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis and John Williams — arrive in Cannes where they stay at the Carlton Hotel. John Michael Hayes joins them where he works with Hitchcock to tighten the screenplay.[12][13]
June
- 10th - John Michael Hayes completes changes to the To Catch a Thief shooting script.[14]
- 12th - John Michael Hayes' writing contract for To Catch a Thief is formally completed.[15]
- 14th - John Michael Hayes' writing contract for The Trouble with Harry formally begins.[16]
July
- 12th - John Michael Hayes submits his first draft of The Trouble With Harry.[17]
- 27th - Following discussions with Hitchcock over the draft script, John Michael Hayes submits a revised 134-page green script for The Trouble With Harry.[18]
August
- 3rd - John Michael Hayes' latest version of the The Trouble With Harry script is submitted to the Production Code Administration office. Joe Breen of the PCA responds two days later with concerns about the line "Do you realize you'll be the first man to cross her threshold?", implications that Arnie is illegitimate, and discussions about Jennifer's wedding night.[19]
- 30th - After considering several options for To Catch a Thief's final scene with Hitchcock, John Michael Hayes submits the ending used in the film and it becomes one of the final scenes to be filmed.[20]
September
- 14th - Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes complete changes requested by the Production Code Administration to the script for The Trouble with Harry.[21]
October
- 13th - John Michael Hayes completes his final script revisions for The Trouble with Harry.[22]
November
- 12th - With John Michael Hayes unavailable, studio records indicate that Alec Coppel was hired for a week to write a small number of dialogue changes for To Catch a Thief which were then redubbed over the existing footage.[23]
1955
February
- John Michael Hayes, now free from other work commitments, joins Hitchcock to work on The Man Who Knew Too Much. The director apparently neglects to tell Hayes that Angus MacPhail had already been working on the film's plot line for the last two months which ultimately leads to Hayes formally objecting to MacPhail receiving a screen credit.[24]
1965
September
- 9th - Unhappy with the state of Brian Moore's screenplay for Torn Curtain, Hitchcock asks Peggy Robertson to draw up a list of skilled writers who might be able to salvage the script. Amongst the names, Robertson suggests John Michael Hayes. Unwilling to work with Hayes again, Hitchcock eventually selects the English writing team of Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall.[25]
2008
November
- 19th - Playwright John Michael Hayes, who wrote the screenplays for Rear Window, The Trouble with Harry, To Catch a Thief and The Man Who Knew Too Much, dies aged 89.
References
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 11
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 29
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 483
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 33
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 483
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 91-92
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 45-46
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 46
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 92
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 96 & 101-2
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 104
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 351
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 105
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 111
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 111
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 111
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 130
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 134-35
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 135
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 119-21
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 138-39
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 141-42
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 121
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 510
- ↑ Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 5
