R.I.P. Harriet Frank Jr.
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Re: R.I.P. Harriet Frank Jr.
My favorite Ravetch-Frank screenplays were the ones they wrote for Home from the Hill, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and Hud with Hombre, The Cowboys, Conrack and Norma Rae next in line. I thought The Long, Hot Summer and Murphy's Romance were OK but found The Reivers and Stanley & Iris disappointing and The Sound and the Fury pure torture to sit through.
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Re: R.I.P. Harriet Frank Jr.
It's easy to settle upon Hud and Norma Rae when mentioning the Ravetch/Frank team -- those two scripts were the most fully human and realized of their adaptations. I was also very fond of Conrack, as good a movie in the Inspiring Teacher genre as I've seen (also the home of one of Jon Voight's best performances, when he was just a good actor, rather than political nutball). Some of their other stuff (like Long Hot Summer) could be a bit draggy, and Murphy's Romance had a smugness to it that made me uncomfortable even though I shared most of its prejudices.
But they were classy writers, and were gifted with both long lives and a long, seemingly successful marriage. Hats off.
But they were classy writers, and were gifted with both long lives and a long, seemingly successful marriage. Hats off.
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R.I.P. Harriet Frank Jr.
Screenwriter and longtime collaborator of Martin Ritt. She was Oscar nominated for her screenplay adaptations (along with Irving Ravetch) for Hud and Norma Rae.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Frank_Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Frank_Jr.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)