Frederick J. Jackson

Frederick J. Jackson, also known professionally as Fred Jackson and Frederick Jackson and under the pseudonym Victor Thorne, (September 21, 1886 – May 22, 1953) was an American author, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and producer for both stage and film. A prolific writer of short stories and serialized novels, most of his non-theatre works were published in pulp magazines such as Detective Story Magazine and Argosy. Many of these stories were adapted into films by other writers.
Jackson was also a productive screenwriter, penning more than 50 films between 1912 and 1946. He was the author of more than sixty plays. Over a forty-year span, a dozen of his plays were produced on Broadway, and he also had several other plays produced in London's West End. Many of his plays were turned into films; usually by other screenwriters.
Life and career
Frederick J. Jackson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 21, 1886. He was educated at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania. He began his career as a writer in 1905 working for the American magazine publisher Frank Munsey with whom he was under contract for many years.
Under Munsey, Jackson became a prolific writer of short stories and serialized novels, and most of his non-theatre works were published in pulp magazines such as Detective Story Magazine and Argosy. He wrote a wide array of fiction and produced works in nearly every genre in the field in Munsey's magazines; including mystery, romance, westerns, science fiction, and fantasy among others. He did publish some novels in book format using the name Fred Smith with other publishing companies, including The Hidden Princess: a modern romance (1910, George W. Jacobs & Co., Philadelphia) and The Third Act (1914, Desmond Fitzgererald Inc., New York). He also published a third novel, Anne Against the World: a love story (1925, Chelsea House) under the pseudonym Victor Thorne; a name he also periodically used as a playwright and short story writer.
Several of Munsey's short stories and serialized novels were turned into films by other screenwriters. Among these films are Annie-for-Spite (1917), Tinsel (1918), High Speed (1924), The Lone Chance (1924), Love Letters (1924), Her Man o' War (1926), and Ladies Beware (1927).
In 1912 Jackson began his career as a screenwriter, and by 1946 he had penned the screenplays for more than 50 films. His first work for the screen was the 1912 short film A Detective Strategy which was a starring vehicle for the silent film actor Charles Clary and which Jackson based on his own short story "Thistledown". Much of his early work as a screenwriter was devoted to writing for the Pearl White serials, such as The Fatal Ring (1917). Some of his notable later films included Wells Fargo (1937), Stormy Weather (1943), Hi Diddle Diddle (1943), and Club Havana (1945, also known as Two Tickets to Heaven).
Jackson was also a prolific writer for the theatre, producing more than sixty plays during his lifetime. Only a fraction of these managed to make it to Broadway.
He died in Hollywood, California on May 22, 1953. He was married to Florence Howe.
Partial list of works
Musicals
La La Lucille (1919, Broadway, book by Jackson, music by George Gershwin; adapted into the film La La Lucille (1920)
Two Little Girls in Blue (1921, Broadway), book by Jackson, music by Paul Lannin and Vincent Youmans, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin
For Goodness Sake (1922, Broadway), book by Jackson, lyrics by Arthur Jackson; music by William Daly and Paul Lannin
Novels
The Hidden Princess: a modern romance (1910)
The Third Act (1914)
The Precious Packet (1916); adapted by George B. Seitz into the 1916 Pathé film of the same name
Anne Against the World: a love story (1925, published under the pseudonym Victor Thorne)
Plays
A Full House (premiered 1915, Broadway); adapted into the musical The Velvet Lady (1919) and the film A Full House (1920)
The Naughty Wife, originally titled Losing Eloise, (premiered 1917, Broadway); adapted into the film Let's Elope (1919)
The Hole in the Wall (1920, Broadway); adapted into the films The Hole in the Wall (1921, screenwriter Maxwell Karger) and The Hole in the Wall (1929, screenwriter Pierre Collings)
One A Minute (1921); adapted into the film One a Minute (1921)
Cold Feet (1923, Broadway)
Stop Flirting (1923, London); adapted into the film Stop Flirting (1925)
Her Past (1929, London); adapted into the film My Sin (1931)
Her First Affaire (1930, London); this was a new version of the 1927 play by Merrill Rogers and this version credited both Jackson and Rogers as co-authors; adapted into the film Her First Affaire (1932)
The Ninth Man (1931)
A Bridegroom's Widow, also known as A Welcome Wife, (year?); adapted into the film Let's Love and Laugh (1931)
The Widow's Might (1931); adapted into the film Widow's Might (1935)
The Iron Woman (1932); adapted into the film That's My Uncle (1935)
School for Husbands (1932, London), staged on Broadway as Wife Insurance (1934); adapted into the film School for Husbands (1937)
The Bishop Misbehaves (1934); adapted into the film The Bishop Misbehaves (1935)
Slightly Scandalous (1944, Broadway)
Dear Charles (1954, Broadway)
Screenplays
A Detective Strategy (1912)
The Stolen Actress (1917)
The Fatal Ring (1917)
For Sale (1918)
The Man Hunt (1918)
Diamonds Adrift (1921)
It Can Be Done (1921)
Fools and Riches (1923)
The Exiles (1923)
Arizona Express (1924)
Shadows of Paris (1924)
The Dark Swan (1924)
The Jade Box (1930)
The Perfect Lady (1931)
The Great Gambini (1937)
She Asked for It (1937)
Wells Fargo (1937)
Stolen Heaven (1938)
Say It in French (1938)
Miracle on Main Street (1939)
Half a Sinner (1940)
This Woman is Mine (1941)
Stormy Weather (1943)
Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)
Club Havana (1945)
Bedside Manner (1945)
The Bachelor's Daughters (1946)
Short stories
Adele (?); adapted by screenwriter Wallace Clifton into the film Tinsel (1918)
Annie for Spite (1916); adapted by screenwriter Julian La Mothe into the film Annie-for-Spite (1917)
Beauty to Let (?); adapted into the film Money Isn't Everything (1918)
Black Marriage (?); adapted into the film Her Man o' War (1926)
The Gray Parasol (1918); adapted into the film The Gray Parasol (1918)
Her Martyrdom (?); adapted by screenwriter Harry Chandlee into the film Her Martyrdom (1915)
High Speed (1918); adapted into the film High Speed (1924)
Jack of Diamonds (?); adapted into the film Ladies Beware (1927)
The Lone Chance (?); adapted into the film The Lone Chance (1924)
Morocco Box (1923); adapted into the film Love Letters (1924)
Thistledown (?); adapted by Jackson into the short film A Detective Story (1912)
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Frederick J. Jackson
1886 births
1953 deaths
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
American male screenwriters
American male dramatists and playwrights
Screenwriters from Pennsylvania
Washington & Jefferson College alumni
Writers from Pittsburgh