Worms in the Winecup: A Memoir

by John Bright, Patrick McGilligan

Overview

Worms in the Winecup is the extraordinarily hard-hitting autobiography of John Bright, a screenplay writer who gained a major reputation with his first Hollywood script, Public Enemy, the classic gangster drama starring James Cagney. The book provides a vivid, often savage, commentary on Hollywood and the motion picture industry, with uncompromising portraits of Darryl F. Zanuck, Mae West, Errol Flynn, John Barrymore, B. P. Schulberg, Walter Wanger, John Howard Lawson, Elia Kazan, and countless others, including his writing partners, Kubec Glasmon and Robert Tasker. Bright writes of the Communist Party in Hollywood, the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, and the House Committee on Un-American activities.

At times bitter, at times tragic, this book is refreshingly frank and open, so much so that it could never have been published while John Bright was still alive. Bright is honest as he discusses his wartime experiences and his "exile" in Mexico.

Complete with a filmography and an introduction by distinguished film historian Patric McGilligan, Worms in the Winecup is both entertaining and thought-provoking. An emotional and insightful read for students of political history, film scholars, screenwriters, and film enthusiasts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810844254
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/09/2002
Series:	The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series , #97
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.84(w) x 8.68(h) x 0.91(d)

About the Author

John Bright was a major figure in the history of American screenwriting. Among the major Hollywood films with which Bright was involved are Taxi (1932), The Crowd Roars (1932), If I Had A Million (1932), She Done Him Wrong (1933), Our Daily Bread (1934), Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), The Brave Bulls (1951), and Johnny Got His Gun (1971).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction by Patrick McGilligan Chapter 2 A Foreword Written Afterward Chapter 3 The Public Enemy: Dirt and Pay Dirt Chapter 4 Farewell Stag for a Hollywood Tycoon Chapter 5 Errol Flynn: Caliph of Bagdad Chapter 6 The Great Profile Eroded Chapter 7 Dollars and Sentiment and Pinkerton Chapter 8 The Fixed Wheel Chapter 9 The Horse of Honor Chapter 10 Liberal Producer Chapter 11 The Sad Boomerang of Good Intention Chapter 12 An Alcoholic Not Anonymous Chapter 13 Mystery Story en Passant Chapter 14 Up with the Flag Chapter 15 Hollywood Goes to War Chapter 16 Winding Down Chapter 17 The Road Back to a Different Kind of War Chapter 18 Two Who Stood Up...Two Who Fell Down Chapter 19 An End and a New Beginning Chapter 20 Unhappy Farewell to Mexico Chapter 21 Coda Chapter 22 John Bright's Last Will and Testament Chapter 23 John Bright—Storyteller by Casey Bright Chapter 24 The Films of John Bright Chapter 25 Index

Editorial Reviews

Entertaining and revealing...A fascinating glimpse at the underbelly of Golden Age Hollywood.

Film Review

I thoroughly enjoyed Bright's book. It jumps off the page.

Clancy Sigal

I thoroughly enjoyed Bright's book. It jumps off the page.--Clancy Sigal, Novelist (Going Away) and Screenwriter (Frida and In Love and War)

Entertaining and revealing...A fascinating glimpse at the underbelly of Golden Age Hollywood.--Film Review

From the Publisher