Andrew P. Solt
Career: Broadway to Hollywood
Career: Broadway to Hollywood
-----------------------------

Solt soon took him up on his offer, and in 1939 was on a ship to New York City. It didn't take long for him to get caught up in the city's vibrant theater scene. One of his plays had been a smash hit throughout Europe in 1938\. Translated into English as *Accidents Don't Happen*, it was attracting keen interest from a number of Broadway producers. The play wound up being optioned by famed songwriter [Irving Berlin](/wiki/Irving_Berlin "Irving Berlin") and [Buddy DeSylva](/wiki/Buddy_DeSylva "Buddy DeSylva"), the stage and screen producer. DeSylva wanted to do *Accidents* as a musical with Berlin, but the plans fell through. However, in 1944 the [Shubert Organization](/wiki/The_Shubert_Organization "The Shubert Organization") bought the play, opening it on Broadway as a musical comedy in 1945\.

By then Solt was already a screenwriter in Hollywood, having gone there at the suggestion of Berlin who told him the motion picture studios were always on the lookout for new writers and new properties like his plays. Solt arrived on the West Coast in 1940\. He started as a $250\-a\-week contract writer for [Columbia Pictures](/wiki/Columbia_Pictures "Columbia Pictures"), then quickly earned his first credit for a movie adaptation of another of his plays, *The Orchestra Bride*. The film version, *[They All Kissed the Bride](/wiki/They_All_Kissed_the_Bride "They All Kissed the Bride")*, was released in 1942, and starred [Joan Crawford](/wiki/Joan_Crawford "Joan Crawford") and [Melvyn Douglas](/wiki/Melvyn_Douglas "Melvyn Douglas") in the screwball comedy.
[thumb\|363x363px\|Elizabeth Taylor in costume for *Little Women* with the film's screenwriter Andrew Solt](/wiki/File:Elizabeth_Taylor_in_costume_for_Little_Women_with_the_film%27s_screenwriter_Andre_Solt.jpg "Elizabeth Taylor in costume for Little Women with the film's screenwriter Andre Solt.jpg")

Solt, universally known to friends and colleagues by his nickname Bundy, went on to write a string of screenplays and adaptations for major films from the 1940s through the 1950s. They included *[Without Reservations](/wiki/Without_Reservations "Without Reservations")* (1946\) starring [John Wayne](/wiki/John_Wayne "John Wayne") and [Claudette Colbert](/wiki/Claudette_Colbert "Claudette Colbert"); *[The Jolson Story](/wiki/The_Jolson_Story "The Jolson Story")* (1946\) with [Larry Parks](/wiki/Larry_Parks "Larry Parks"); *Joan of Arc* (1946\); a remake of the 1933 classic *[Little Women](/wiki/Little_Women_%281933_film%29 "Little Women (1933 film)")* (1949\) with the four March sisters played by [Elizabeth Taylor](/wiki/Elizabeth_Taylor "Elizabeth Taylor"), [June Allyson](/wiki/June_Allyson "June Allyson"), [Margaret O'Brien](/wiki/Margaret_O%27Brien "Margaret O'Brien") and [Janet Leigh](/wiki/Janet_Leigh "Janet Leigh"); *[Whirlpool](/wiki/Whirlpool_%281949_film%29 "Whirlpool (1949 film)")* (1949\), a film noir with [Gene Tierney](/wiki/Gene_Tierney "Gene Tierney") and [Richard Conte](/wiki/Richard_Conte "Richard Conte"), co\-written with [Ben Hecht](/wiki/Ben_Hecht "Ben Hecht"); *In a Lonely Place* (1950\); mystery *[Thunder on the Hill](/wiki/Thunder_on_the_Hill "Thunder on the Hill")* (1951\) with [Claudette Colbert](/wiki/Claudette_Colbert "Claudette Colbert") and [Ann Blyth](/wiki/Ann_Blyth "Ann Blyth"); and a [Mario Lanza](/wiki/Mario_Lanza "Mario Lanza") musical set in Capri, *[For the First Time](/wiki/For_the_First_Time_%281959_film%29 "For the First Time (1959 film)")* (1959\); it turned out to be the popular singer's final movie (he died two months after it opened).

Over that span, Solt worked on films guided by some of Hollywood's leading directors including [Victor Fleming](/wiki/Victor_Fleming "Victor Fleming"), [Mervyn LeRoy](/wiki/Mervyn_LeRoy "Mervyn LeRoy"), [Otto Preminger](/wiki/Otto_Preminger "Otto Preminger"), [Rudolph Maté](/wiki/Rudolph_Mat%C3%A9 "Rudolph Maté"), [Douglas Sirk](/wiki/Douglas_Sirk "Douglas Sirk"), [William Dieterle](/wiki/William_Dieterle "William Dieterle"), [Tay Garnett](/wiki/Tay_Garnett "Tay Garnett") and Nicholas Ray.

Fleming—best known for helming two of the most popular movies in cinema history, *[The Wizard of Oz](/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_%281939_film%29 "The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)")* and *[Gone With The Wind](/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_%28film%29 "Gone with the Wind (film)")*, both released in 1939—directed *Joan of Arc*. Fleming not only had Solt and Anderson's ambitious screenplay and Bergman's star power to work with, but also a budget of $5 million, an enormous sum in those days, provided by veteran independent producer [Walter Wanger](/wiki/Walter_Wanger "Walter Wanger"), who had a reputation as a socially conscious movie executive who produced provocative message movies and glittering romantic melodramas.

*Joan of Arc* got a lukewarm reception from moviegoers—its box office slightly exceeded its budget—and critics gave it mixed reviews. Wrote *[New York Times](/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times")* film critic [Bosley Crowther](/wiki/Bosley_Crowther "Bosley Crowther"): "Pictorially, it is one of the most magnificent films ever made, bespeaking the vast sum of money and the effort expended on it. Dramatically, it has moments of tremendous excitement and shock. And emotionally it has glimmers of the deep poignancy of the Maid. But, somehow, the huge combination of pageantry, legend and pathos—of spectacle, color, court intrigues and the historic ordeal of a girl—while honestly intended, fails to come fully to life or to give a profound comprehension of the torment and triumph of Joan."

The film, however, did get recognized by [Academy Awards](/wiki/Academy_Awards "Academy Awards") voters. At the 1949 ceremonies, *Joan of Arc* won two [Oscars](/wiki/Oscars "Oscars")—for best color photography and best costume design in a color film—out of a total of seven nominations. Bergman was nominated for best actress and co\-star [José Ferrer](/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ferrer "José Ferrer") got the nod in the best supporting actor category. Other nominations were for best film editing, best art direction and set decoration, and best music. The film's producer, [Walter Wanger](/wiki/Walter_Wanger "Walter Wanger"), meanwhile received an honorary Academy Award for "distinguished service to the industry in adding to its moral stature in the world community by his production of the picture *Joan of Arc*." Wanger, who had received an honorary Oscar in 1946 for his service as president of the [Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](/wiki/Academy_of_Motion_Picture_Arts_and_Sciences "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences") (1939\-1945\) declined to accept the honor in 1949 out of pique that *Joan of Arc*, which he considered one of his best movies, had not received a nomination for best picture of the year.


Who received an honorary Academy Award for producing the film 'Joan of Arc'?