When the producer had told him he would be working with Fitzgerald, "I thought he was dead," remarked Schulberg. Cracked the producer, "If he is, he’s the first ghost who got paid $1500 a week." The film was a flop. Schulberg was fired from Paramount. In 1950, he wrote "The Disenchanted," a novel based on his experiences with Fitzgerald, whose character, Manley Halliday, a famous novelist, is sunk at the bottom of his career. Schulberg told me that "The Disenchanted" was listed by The New York Times as the 10th best selling novel in the United States in 1950. "The Disenchanted" was produced as an off-Broadway play in the early 1960s and starred Jason Robards Jr.

Schulberg is best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplay for "On The Waterfront," directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint and Karl Malden. The film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint) ,Cinematography (Boris Kaufman) and Best Director (Kazan).

The Genesis

Schulberg’s screenplay was based on a series of articles he had written for the liberal Catholic magazine (Commonwealth). Karl Malden’s role as the tough Irish priest who defies the mob was based on the real life Father John Corridan who tried to reform the corrupt Longshoreman’s union. Lee J. Cobb’s waterfront mobster was modeled after Albert Anastasia. The original title for "On The Waterfront" was "Bottom of the River." It was rejected by every studio in town. Producer Sam Spiegel eventually made a deal with Columbia Pictures. He offered the role of Terry Malloy to Brando. Brando turned down the role at first. He didn’t want to work with Elia Kazan who had been a friendly witness for the HUAC. Schulberg was also an unrepentant friendly witness who testified that he had been a member of the Communist Party from 1936 to 1940. He quit when members of the party tried to influence his writing of his hard hitting 1941 novel, "What Makes Sammy Run?" Frank Sinatra thought he had the lead role in "On The Waterfront." He sued Spiegel for breach of contract.

Postscript

Four of Schulberg’s films are scheduled to play at the Backlot Film Festival, including "On the Waterfront," "The Harder They Fall," Humphrey Bogart’s last film about a down-on-his-luck sportswriter who is hired by a shady fight promoter (Rod Stieger) to promote his latest find, an unknown boxer from Argentina. Also on the schedule is "A Face in the Crowd," starring Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal,based on Schulberg’s short story about an Arkansas hobo who becomes an overnight media sensation. Then he gets drunk with fame and power. The last film is the rarely seen "Wind Across the Everglades," starring Burl Ives and Christopher Plummer. It is about a turn-of-the-century Florida game warden who rids the area of poachers.
The Backlot Film Festival will run from Tuesday, Jan. 30 through Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Fine Arts Theatre, 8556 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills. The second Thomas Ince Award Ceremony will be at the Veterans Memorial Building, 4117 Overland Ave., Culver City, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31.