Worms in the Winecup is the extraordinarily hard-hitting autobiography of John Bright, a screenplay writer who gained a major reputation with his first Hollywood script, Public Enemy, the classic gangster drama starring James Cagney. The book provides a vivid, often savage, commentary on Hollywood and the motion picture industry, with uncompromising portraits of Darryl F. Zanuck, Mae West, Errol Flynn, John Barrymore, B. P. Schulberg, Walter Wanger, John Howard Lawson, Elia Kazan, and countless others, including his writing partners, Kubec Glasmon and Robert Tasker. Bright writes of the Communist Party in Hollywood, the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, and the House Committee on Un-American activities. At times bitter, at times tragic, this book is refreshingly frank and open, so much so that it could never have been published while John Bright was still alive. Bright is honest as he discusses his wartime experiences and his "exile" in Mexico. Complete with a filmography and an introduction by distinguished film historian Patric McGilligan, Worms in the Winecup is both entertaining and thought-provoking. An emotional and insightful read for students of political history, film scholars, screenwriters, and film enthusiasts.
About the AuthorJohn Bright was a major figure in the history of American screenwriting. Among the major Hollywood films with which Bright was involved are Taxi (1932), The Crowd Roars (1932), If I Had A Million (1932), She Done Him Wrong (1933), Our Daily Bread (1934), Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), The Brave Bulls (1951), and Johnny Got His Gun (1971).
ReviewsI thoroughly enjoyed Bright's book. It jumps off the page. -- Clancy Sigal, Novelist (Going Away) and Screenwriter (Frida and In Love and War)
Entertaining and revealing...A fascinating glimpse at the underbelly of Golden Age Hollywood. * Film Review *
Book InformationISBN 9780810844254
Author John BrightFormat Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint Scarecrow PressPublisher Scarecrow Press
Series The Scarecrow Filmmakers SeriesWeight(grams) 485g
Dimensions(mm) 220mm * 148mm * 23mm