F. McGrew Willis

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F. McGrew Willis
Working on Up in Mabel's Room (1926)
Born
Frank McGrew Willis

(1891-08-18)August 18, 1891
Pleasanton, Iowa, United States
DiedOctober 13, 1957(1957-10-13) (aged 66)
Menlo Park, California, United States
OccupationScreenwriter
Years active1919–1944

F. McGrew Willis (August 18, 1891 – October 13, 1957) was an American screenwriter of the silent and early sound film eras.

Born Frank McGrew Willis on August 18, 1891, in Pleasanton, Iowa, he broke into the film industry writing film shorts in 1914 and 1915 as a freelance screenwriter. His first feature credit came in 1915, with The Quest,[1] the first of three features he would pen in 1915.[2] Over the next fourteen years he would write the scripts or stories for 43 silent films, three of which, The Girl in the Pullman (1927), Annapolis (1928), and A Blonde for a Night (1928), he also produced for either De Mille Pictures and/or Pathé Exchange.[3][4][5] He would also produce another three films in 1928. In 1929, and through the next 6 years of the blossoming talking picture era, he would write the screenplays or stories for another 18 films.[2] In the late 1930s he would work in England, where he scripted 6 films during the remainder of the decade.[6] His final screenwriting credit would come on 1941's Sis Hopkins, for which he wrote the story.[7] Willis died on October 13, 1957, in Menlo Park, California.

Filmography

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The follow list is compiled from the American Film Institute and from period reviews and news items in various film-industry trade publications:[2][6][8]

References

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  1. ^ "The Quest". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "F. McGrew Willis". American Film Institute. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  3. ^ "The Girl in the Pullman". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Annapolis". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  5. ^ "A Blonde for a Night". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  6. ^ a b "F. McGrew Willis". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Sis Hopkins". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  8. ^ "Notes From All Over", news item, Motography, December 18, 1915, p. 1301, col. 1. Internet Archive. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
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