
Charles Bennett
Biography
Born just before the century turned, Charles Bennett made his writing debut as a child in 1911, fought in France during World War I while still a teen and resumed his acting career after the war's end. In 1926 he dropped acting to concentrate on being a playwright, later turning one of his most famous plays, "Blackmail," into a screenplay for production under the direction of Alfred Hitchcock. The affiliation with "Hitch" continued into the early 1940s, by which time both Bennett and the director were working in Hollywood. He wrote for producers ranging from Cecil B. DeMille to Irwin Allen to the penny-pinching folks at AIP. "If I couldn't write, I wouldn't want to live," commented Bennett, who had projects (including a remake of "Blackmail") going right up to the time of his death.
The 39 Steps
Hobbled Hearts
A State of Emergency
The Rainbow Girl
Martin Sheen
Alfred Hitchcock
Miles Malleson
Fionnula Flanagan
Peter Firth
Peggy Ashcroft
John Francis Dillon
Frances Tomelty
Peggy Hyland
Robert Donat
Tim Pigott-Smith
Steven Adler