Writing Outside the Lines

In a post in October, I mentioned that I discovered that James Clavell of Shogun fame wrote the screenplay for The Fly with Vincent Price and I got to thinking about some other movies I knew with screenplays written by authors better known for other works.

After suffering an heart attack in 1964, Ian Fleming decided to try his hand at writing a children's spy story. Originally published as three separate books, they were later published together as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In 1968 the movie musical was released (and now you can see stage musical based on the movie). The movie boasts music and lyrics by the Sherman brothers Robert and Richard, the same team that Disney used on many projects and movies including Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book.

I found the book to be dreadfully boring. Perhaps that is because I read it as an adult, and after seeing the movie numerous times (it used to be a Thanksgiving Day afternoon broadcast tradition of sorts). The screenplay was co-written by Roald Dahl, author such children's classics as James and the Giant Peach (1961), Charlie and Chocolate Factory (1964), The Witches (1983), and Matilda (1988). The movie actually feels more like one of Dahl's stories then Flemings', with a dark humor, and role reversals between children and adults.

Interestingly, Dahl also worked on the screenplay for for the Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967).

Michael Crichton, known for books like The Andromeda Strain (1969), The Great Train Robbery (1975), and Jurassic Park (1990) that were made into movies and television shows, also wrote screenplays for movies such as Westworld (1975) and Twister (1996) and episodes of television's ER (1994-2008). He also was involved in many of these projects as director and/or producer.

Earlier this year my son and I watched all five movies in the Planet of the Apes cycle (and the Tim Burton movie remake). The first one from 1968, which was based on Pierre Boulle's book Planet of the Apes (1963) actually has held up pretty well for being 40 years old. (Much better then the subsequent four that had lofty ideas but degenerated in quality and diverted more and more from the original source material.)

The book is more of social commentary like Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1926), and less of an action adventure story that the movie is. While it has it's own twist ending, it is different then the movies. Once you realize that Rod Serling, writer Twilight Zone in print and on television, was involved with the screenplay, the atmosphere and ending of the movie falls right into place.

I would love to add more to this list. Let me know if you know of other screenplays for movies or television shows that were written by authors who may be better known for their work in other media or genres.

Robinson Crusoe

While it has been a while since since I read Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, but it is directly connected to a book I am currently in the middle of so I thought I would start here.

After nearly 300 years (it was first published in 1719) it has worked its way into our collective, cultural conscience. Even people who haven't read the book know that it is about a person shipwrecked on an island. And that is not in just English, but throughout the world in most languages. That is incredible.

Some consider it one of the first, if not the first, "novels" written in English. Not everyone knows it was more than likely inspired by Alexander Selkirk, a real person who survived years on an island in the Pacific off the coast of Chile. In fact, in 1966 the island's name was changed to "Robinson Crusoe Island."

Robinson Crusoe was more accessible than I thought it would be. It has strong religious overtones that are common for the period. I was surprised at the amount of the story that deals with his re-assimilation to civilized society. I guess that never really comes up in spoofs and miscellaneous references - the focus is on the survival aspect.

I didn't realize that Defoe ended up writing two sequels, The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe (1720). I guess even in 1719 the public clamored for, and publishers encouraged sequels that may make money immediately, but they are eventually forgotten. And while I had heard of Moll Flanders and Rob Roy, I didn't realize that Defoe wrote them as well, among many other novels and other books.

I haven't been exposed to many illustrated versions, but you can't go wrong with N.C. Wyeth. I am not sure if this edition is still in print, but you might be able to get a used copy through Amazon. You can also see an entire book with Wyeth's illustrations online.

The story deals with many themes and elements, but the two that stand out in my memory are the survival issue and what is civilization.

A few random stories and characters come readily to mind in relation to Robinson Crusoe as a survival story. First is the book The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss, published in German in 1812. I also remember that the Green Arrow character in the DC Comics universe fine tuned his archery skills and developed his heroic life view (as opposed the millionaire-playboy lifestyle he previously had) while stranded on an island. He first appeared in print in 1941. The movie Castaway (2000) presented a modern version of this basic story idea. Tom Hanks was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role his character in this movie

The Lord of the Flies (1954) by William Golding, and subsequent movies, also comes to mind as a book that deals with individuals being lost on a deserted island and what it means to be civilized is. The first season of J.J. Abram's TV series Lost (2004 +) on ABC involved some of these same concepts, although not to the same extent and with other story elements and themes interwoven into the narrative. In Gulliver's Travels (1726), by Jonathan Swift, Lemuel Gulliver is shipwrecked or lost in different lands, giving him the opportunity to learn about different cultures and reflect on his own culture's state and definition of civilization.

Regardless of your thoughts on the origins or veracity of The Book of Mormon, it does present some interesting stories and ideas regarding what can happen to people that have left their own country and culture and they are left on their own. It is also available to read online.

Still following the themes of isolation and what it means to be civilized, you may also want to read at least the original Tarzan book, Tarzan of the Apes (1914) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the Mowgli stories in the Jungle Book books, The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895) by Rudyard Kipling.

While I personally don't remember seeing any movies or television shows based on the novel, there have been several made which are listed on IMDB. It is interesting to note that Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Pierce Brosnan, Michael York and Aidan Quinn have all played Robinson Crusoe. The first movie listed on IMDB was made in 1913. There has been a science fiction version - Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964), as well a Disney spoof - Lt. Robinson Crusoe, U.S.N (1966) starring Dick Van Dyke.

One of the nice things with Robinson Crusoe is that it is public domain now. If you want a free eBook version, you can see a list of eBooks by Daniel Defoe available through Project Gutenburg.

I am sure you can find several versions at your local library. If you live in or near Davis County in Utah the Davis County Library collection not only includes abridged, unabridged, illustrated and audio versions, it also includes a children's video from the PBS Wishbone series and a book about Alexander Selkirk.

I look forward to learning what other books, characters and movies others would include in this list - and why.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Wikipedia - Robinson Crusoe , Daniel Defoe, Alexander Selkirk, Green Arrow, Lost TV Series, Tarzan, The Jungle Book, The Book of Mormon, The Lord of the Flies, Gulliver's Travels
Amazon - Lost episodes on DVD