Page One: ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ (1957)

Screenplay by Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson (originally uncredited), novel by Pierre Boulle

Here is an interesting piece of history. This is footage of the Academy Awards when Pierre Boulle won an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. That medium was the novel Boulle wrote.

Perhaps why actress Kim Novak accepted the award at the Oscar ceremony is this: Boulle spoke no English, only French, the language his novel was written in. How did he receive credit for adapting his novel into a screenplay? Because the actual screenwriters Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson were subject to the Hollywood blacklist. They only formally received credit for their writing posthumously in 1984.

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.

For more Page One posts, go here.

You may follow the daily conversation on Twitter as I cross-post there: @GoIntoTheStory.