F. McGrew Willis

F. McGrew Willis
Working on Up in Mabel's Room (1926)
Born(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,[1] 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,[2] the first of three features he would pen in 1915.[3] 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.[4][5][6] 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.[3] In the late 1930s he would work in England, where he scripted 6 films during the remainder of the decade.[7] His final screenwriting credit would come on 1941's Sis Hopkins, for which he wrote the story.[8] Willis died on October 13, 1957, in Menlo Park, California, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.[1]

Filmography

The follow list is compiled from the American Film Institute and from period reviews and news items in various film-industry trade publications:[3][7][9]

References

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