 First edition | |
| Author | Robert Ludlum |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Thriller novel |
| Publisher | World Publishing |
Publication date | 1971 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 358 |
| ISBN | 9780246640550 |
The Scarlatti Inheritance is the first of 27 thriller novels written (the last four of them left in the form of manuscripts, later finalized by ghost writers) by American author Robert Ludlum.
In Washington during World War II, word is received that an elite member of the Nazi High Command is willing to defect and divulge information that will shorten the war. But his defection entails the release of the ultra-top-secret file on the Scarlatti Inheritance – a file whose contents will destroy many of the Western world's greatest and most illustrious reputations if they are made known. From there, the book takes itself back a few decades, and tells the story of a corrupt American soldier, his billionaire mother, and an agent working for one of the smallest secret service departments in the world.
James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli purchased film rights either before or shortly after publication. Broccoli asked Ludlum to write the script, but Ludlum was reluctant. Ludlum, who had film and theatre experience, said "I didn't leave that crowd of ocelots to go back into it." Ludlum also claimed that Broccoli sought revisions in the agreement. [1]
Dalton Trumbo was subsequently signed to write the script and worked on it in 1975. [2] Documentary filmmaker Saul Swimmer would produce and direct. [3]
Lew Grade optioned the film rights in the late 1970s hoping to make a movie starring Ingrid Bergman (with whom Grade had just made Autumn Sonata ). However Grade says Bergman decided to pull out because of the long production schedule that would be involved and the film did not eventuate. "A pity as she would have been wonderful in it," wrote Grade. [4]
No film version was ever made.[ citation needed ]
James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including Roman Holiday (1953), Exodus, Spartacus, and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944). One of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee's investigation of alleged Communist influences in the motion picture industry.
Roman Holiday is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance; the screenplay and costume design also won.
Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett is a British actor. Beginning his career on stage, he made his film debut as Philip II of France in the 1968 historical drama The Lion in Winter. He gained international prominence as the fourth actor to portray fictional secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, starring in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989). Dalton also appeared in the films Flash Gordon (1980), The Rocketeer (1991), Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The Tourist (2010). On television, Dalton played Mr. Rochester in the BBC serial Jane Eyre (1983), Rhett Butler in the CBS miniseries Scarlett (1994), Rassilon in the BBC One science fiction adventure Doctor Who (2009–2010), Sir Malcolm Murray on the Showtime horror drama Penny Dreadful (2014–2016), and the Chief on the DC Universe / HBO Max superhero comedy-drama Doom Patrol (2019–present).
Notorious is a 1946 American spy film noir directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains as three people whose lives become intimately entangled during an espionage operation.
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Hedda Hopper was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, Hopper named suspected communists and was a major proponent of the Hollywood blacklist. Hopper continued to write gossip until the end of her life, her work appearing in many magazines and later on radio. She had an extended feud with another gossip columnist, arch-rival Louella Parsons.
Albert Romolo Broccoli, nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and Eon Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the producer of many of the James Bond films. He and Harry Saltzman saw the films develop from relatively low-budget origins to large-budget, high-grossing extravaganzas, and Broccoli's heirs continue to produce new Bond films.
Herschel Saltzman, known as Harry Saltzman, was a Canadian theatre and film producer. He is best remembered for co-producing the first nine of the James Bond film series with Albert R. Broccoli. He lived most of his life in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England.
The Prowler is a 1951 American film noir thriller film directed by Joseph Losey that stars Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes. The film was produced by Sam Spiegel and was written by Dalton Trumbo. Because Trumbo was blacklisted at the time, the screenplay was credited to his friend, screenwriter Hugo Butler, as a front.
The Last Sunset is a 1961 American Western film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, and Dorothy Malone.
Johnny Got His Gun is a 1971 American drama anti-war film written and directed by Dalton Trumbo based on his 1939 novel of the same name, with an uncredited writing collaboration by Luis Buñuel. The film stars Timothy Bottoms, Kathy Fields, Marsha Hunt, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland and Diane Varsi.
The James Bond film series is a British series of spy films based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond, "007", who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. It is one of the longest continually running film series in history, having been in ongoing production from 1962 to the present. In that time, Eon Productions has produced 25 films as of 2021, most of them at Pinewood Studios. With a combined gross of over $7 billion, the films produced by Eon constitute the fifth-highest-grossing film series. Six actors have portrayed 007 in the Eon series, the latest being Daniel Craig.
Associated Film Distribution was a British film distribution company. It was set up in the 1970s by ITC Entertainment and EMI Films to distribute their films in the US.
Warwick Films was a film company founded by film producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli in London in 1951. The name was taken from the Warwick Hotel in London. Their films were released by Columbia Pictures.
Sorority House is a 1939 American drama film starring Anne Shirley and James Ellison. The film was directed by John Farrow and based upon the Mary Coyle Chase play named Chi House.
Raise the Titanic is a 1980 adventure film produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment and directed by Jerry Jameson. The film, written by Eric Hughes (adaptation) and Adam Kennedy (screenplay), is based on the 1976 book of the same name by Clive Cussler. The storyline concerns a plan to recover the RMS Titanic due to the fact that it was carrying cargo valuable to Cold War hegemony.
James Bond is a fictional character created by the British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1952. The literary character appeared in a series of twelve novels and two short story collections written by Fleming and a number of continuation novels and spin-off works after Fleming's death in 1964. There have been twenty-seven films in total, produced and released between 1962 and 2021.
Johanna M. Harwood is an Irish screenwriter. She was born and raised in County Wicklow in the Irish countryside. She co-wrote two James Bond films, and went uncredited for adaptation work on a third.
Trumbo is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Jay Roach and written by John McNamara. The film stars Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg as Edward G. Robinson, Dean O'Gorman as Kirk Douglas, and David James Elliott as John Wayne. The film follows the life of Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, and is based on the 1977 biography Dalton Trumbo by Bruce Alexander Cook.
Robert Presnell Jr. was an American screenwriter and activist. He became the director of radio shows such as I Love a Mystery and The Orson Welles Show.
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