R.I.P. Ernest Lehman

Ernest Lehman, legendary screenwriter, has died, at the age of 89.

His resume is too long to list. His influence has been huge. This was the man who brought us North by Northwest, for God’s sake. And West Side Story. And Sabrina. King and I. Sound of Music. One of the things he was most known for was taking Broadway hits (as most of the films I just listed were) and creating screenplays out of them. He did the same thing brilliantly with Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Strangely enough, I watched North by Northwest the other night for the 37th time or whatever, and this time I watched the “making of” documentary, and also listened to some of the commentary track, which was, incidentally, done by Ernest Lehman. And again, strangely enough: there was something unbelievably touching to me … about this little old man’s voice, doing a commentary track for a movie made in 1959 … when you didn’t even have damn VCRs … the technology we have now could barely be imagined back then … and yet Lehman is still here, still relevant, and his commentary track was beautiful. Lots of terrific anecdotes. But again: to hear his little quavering voice say, as those amazing credits ran at the beginning of the film (member them? The geometric cross-hatching that ends up turning into the mirrored side of a building?) … but anyway: to hear Lehman say, as the movie began, in his quavery old man’s voice, “Look at those credits. Aren’t they beautiful?”

One of the things Lehman revealed is how North by Northwest essentially came to be.

Hitchcock said two things to him, a propos of nothing, just thinking out loud, basically – two unconnected thoughts at the time:

1. “I have always wanted to do a movie that ended with a chase across the face of Mount Rushmore.”

Ahem:

And:

2. “I have always wanted to do a film that opens during a session at the United Nations, and the person addressing the General Assembly says, ‘I will not go on speaking as long as the delegate from Peru insists on falling asleep.’ And then they nudge the Peruvian delegate, and they realize he is actually dead and he’s been murdered.”

Two separate Hitchcock-ian thoughts, two separate wish-lists.

Ernest Lehman’s brain started click-click-clicking, and he went to his typewriter and wrote 65 pages of what would eventually be North by Northwest. Before going any further, he sent Hitchcock what he had done, to get his response.

Hitchcock wrote Ernest Lehman a 4-page handwritten response (which Ernest Lehman, in the interview during the documentary, said was one of his most treasured possessions.) – saying how much he enjoyed it.

That was the genesis of North by Northwest. They still had to figure out how the hell they got everyone to South Dakota, and why the hell they were scrambling about on the faces of the Presidents … but eventually Lehman figured it all out.

Here is a picture of Lehman talking to Hitchcock, during the filming of the crop-dusting scene (filmed out in Bakersfield, California).

I think it’s really fitting, at the time of his death, to show this man as he was then – young, vigorous, at the top of his game.

Look at it. Isn’t it just wonderful? The collaborators.

And here is something else I found: A page of that early draft of North by Northwest:

The scene described on that piece of yellow loose-leaf is when the crop-duster slams into the truck, causing a huge explosion.

Ernest Lehman received six Academy Award nominations, and in 2001 he was the first screenwriter to ever to be awarded an honorary Oscar (and it’s about feckin’ TIME, in my opinion.) It was a great moment for screenwriters, when he received his honorary Oscar, and I’m thrilled that it happened while he was still alive and energetic enough to be there to accept. It was a well-deserved award, well-deserved indeed.

Lehman is a part of history. An important part of the history of 20th century cinema.

Rest in peace, Mr. Lehman.