Hollywood Tale

“[Ben] Hecht was sitting at the typewriter, and his head was clamped in place with one of those clamps they used to photograph criminals. [Charles] MacArthur was beside him, lying stretched out on a couch. When Hecht would finish typing a page, he would hand it over to Charlie. Charlie would look at it, and if he’d say, ‘Very good,’ Hecht would take the page back and tear it up. He’d write another page, and if Charlie would say, ‘Mmmm… I don’t know,’ Hecht would take the page and add it to the finished pile. But I’m sure they were showing off.”

— Philip Dunne on his first encounter with a screenwriter [excerpted from “Backstory”]