14. We’ll always have (‘The Last Time I Saw) Paris’
Many people may not know his name, but most people certainly know his work. Julius J. Epstein was an American screenwriter who had a long and successful career. Known for his snappy screenplays and sharp, sardonic dialogue, Epstein is best remembered for the iconic 1942 film Casablanca, which he co-wrote with his twin brother, Philip, and Howard E. Koch. The writers won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. They adapted the script from an unpublished play entitled Everybody Comes to Rick’s, written by Murray Bennett and Joan Allison.
Julius Epstein and his brother were born on August 22, 1909, on New York’s Lower East Side. They graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1931. After college, the twins went to Hollywood, hoping to work in the movies, and indeed began writing for the Warner Brothers studio.
In 1938, Julius collaborated with Lenore J. Coffee on the screenplay for the musical drama Four Daughters, which starred Claude Rains, John Garfield and the three Lane sisters (Priscilla, Rosemary and Lola). An adaptation of Frances Hurst’s novel Sister Act, the film earned Epstein his first Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
In 1939, Julius began collaborating with Philip. In 1941 the brothers wrote the screenplay for the musical The Strawberry Blonde, based on the play by James Hagan. The film starred James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland and Rita Hayworth. That year they also wrote the script for the screwball comedy The Bride Came C.O.D., starring James Cagney and Bette Davis.
In 1942 the twins wrote the screenplay for the comedy The Man Who Came to Dinner, based on the play by Moss Hart and George S, Kaufman. The film starred Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan and Jimmy Durante.
In 1944 the classic film Arsenic and Old Lace, directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant, owed its script to the Epstein brothers, who adapted it from the play by Joseph Kesselring.
In 1944, the Epstein twins attempted their first film in the capacity of writers and producers with the drama Mr. Skeffington, based on the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim. The film was a box-office success and earned Oscar nominations for its stars Bette Davis and Claude Rains.
In 1948, the Epstein boys left Warner Brothers. Studio head Jack L. Warner had a difficult relationship with the twins. While he could not dispute their commercial success, he deplored their pranks, their work habits and the hours they kept. In 1952, Warner submitted their names to HUAC (the House Un-American Activities Committee). The Epsteins never testified before the committee, but on a HUAC questionnaire, when asked if they ever were members of a “subversive organization,” they responded, “Yes. Warner Brothers.”
After leaving the Warner studio, the Epsteins wrote five more screenplays together, two of which were released after Philip’s death in 1952. Released in 1954, the MGM film The Last Time I Saw Paris, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnson, was based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald called “Babylon Revisited.” Released in 1957, the MGM film The Brothers Karamazov, based on the novel by Dostoyevsky, starred Yul Brynner, Lee J. Cobb and Maria Schell.
When Philp died, Julius felt the loss for the rest of his life. But he continued writing and received two more Oscar nominations
In 1955 Julius wrote the screenplay for the MGM comedy The Tender Trap, which starred Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds, based on the play by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith. The MGM romantic drama Light in the Piazza came next in 1962, based on the novel by Elizabeth Spencer and starring Olivia de Havilland and Rossano Brazzi. This was followed in 1964 by the comedy Send Me No Flowers, based on the play by Norman Barasch and Carroll Moore, starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson.
In 1972 Epstein wrote the screenplay for the comedy-drama Pete ‘n’ Tillie, which he adapted from two novels by Peter De Vries – The Blood of the Lamb and Witch’s Milk. The film, which starred Walter Matthau and Carl Burnett, earned Epstein another Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
His final Oscar nomination came in 1983 for his screenplay for Reuben, Reuben, starring Tom Conti and Kelly McGillis. He adapted it from the play Spofford by Herman Shumlin, which had been adapted from the novel Reuben, Reuben by Peter De Vries.
In his lifetime, Epstein wrote the screenplays for more than 50 films. In addition to those mentioned above, these include No Time for Comedy (1940); The Male Animal (1942); Romance on the High Seas (1948); Young at Heart (1954); Kiss Them for Me (1957); Tall Story (1960); Fanny (1961); Any Wednesday (1966); Cross of Iron (1977); and House Calls (1978).
Julius J. Epstein died in Los Angeles in 2000 at the age of 91.