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Photo of Ben Barzman

Ben Barzman

Writer, Additional Credits
Born October 12, 1910Died December 15, 1989 (79 years)
Ben Barzman (October 12, 1910 – December 15, 1989) was a Canadian journalist, screenwriter, and novelist, blacklisted during the McCarthy Era and best known for his screenplays for the films Back to Bataan (1945), El Cid (1961), and The Blue Max (1966).

He was born in Toronto, Ontario to a Jewish family. He was the screenwriter or co-writer of more than 20 films, from You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith (1943) to The Head of Normande St. Onge (1975).

Like many of his colleagues in the movie business, Barzman was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee.

His wife, Norma Barzman, was a Communist Party USA member from 1943 to 1949. In 2014, she told the Los Angeles Times, "one should be proud to have been a member of the American Communist Party during those years. Hitler was invading the Soviet Union, so there was no reason to be anti-Russian, they were our allies."

The couple moved to England so Barzman could work on the film Give Us This Day (aka, Christ in Concrete, 1949). Following his return to the United States after directing Give Us This Day, Edward Dmytryk, one of the Hollywood Ten, testified about the Barzmans to HUAC in 1951. "To get out of prison he named us and a lot of other people," said Norma Barzman in 2014. In the 1950s, the family moved to Paris, where friends included Pablo Picasso, Yves Montand, and Simone Signoret, and later southern France. Barzman did not receive credit for some films because of the Hollywood Blacklist.

His U.S. citizenship was revoked from 1954 to 1963. His wife Norma had her passport revoked from 1951 for seven years. The family remained abroad in London, Paris and Mougins until 1976, during which time he wrote his novels and screenplays for French and Italian films.

Barzman died in Santa Monica, California, United States.

Surviving him was his wife, Norma Barzman, and seven children (including director Paolo Barzman, screenwriter Aaron Barzman, visual artist Luli Barzman, and French university professor John Barzman) and five grandchildren.

Source: Article "Ben Barzman" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known For

  • Z
  • El Cid
  • The Fall of the Roman Empire
  • The Heroes of Telemark
  • The Blue Max
  • The Boy with Green Hair
  • 55 Days at Peking
  • The Damned
  • Back to Bataan
  • Time Without Pity
  • The French Conspiracy
  • Never Say Goodbye
  • He Who Must Die
  • Chance Meeting
  • The Ceremony
  • Normande
  • Incognito
  • It Happened in Paris
  • Sie sind frei, Doktor Korczak

Filmography

1975
1974
1972
The French Conspiracy · as Screenplay
1969
1965
The Heroes of Telemark · as Screenplay
1964
The Visit · as Screenplay
1964
1963
The Ceremony · as Screenplay
1963
1961
El Cid · as Screenplay
1959
Chance Meeting · as Screenplay
1957
Time Without Pity · as Screenplay
1957
1952
1952
Stranger on the Prowl · as Screenplay
1949
Give Us This Day · as Screenplay
1948
1945
Back to Bataan · as Screenplay

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