Mildred Horn (January 4, 1901 – June 7, 1998) was an American film critic and screenwriter, best known for her work on the Kroger Babb exploitation film Mom and Dad.
Mildred Horn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anna Horn January 4, 1901 Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | June 7, 1998 Indian Wells, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, film critic |
| Spouse | Kroger Babb |
Biography
editHorn was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, and studied at Academy High School.[1] She later moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where she became a film critic for a local paper.
When Horn was sent to review Kroger Babb's production of Child Bride, she was horrified that such a "cheap, crude, mislabeled morality play would be shown in a major Indiana family theater." In Horn's opinion, the film was material for a shoddy sideshow tent at some backwoods county fair.[2]
Babb later met with Horn, and instead of Horn writing a scathing review, they entered into a personal and professional relationship that would last 40 years until his death in 1980. They enjoyed a common-law marriage after 1944, only making it official when Babb's first wife, Toby, consented to a divorce in the late '60s.[2]
Together with Jack Jossey, they formed Hygienic Productions (later renamed Hallmark Productions),[3] and she wrote the screenplay for their best-known production, Mom and Dad. The film was presented in a unique way, and included lectures and the sale of hygiene books that Horn wrote.[4]
Horn also wrote the screenplays for Why Men Leave Home, a film about female beauty, and Prince of Peace, a passion play.
Selected works
editFilms
edit- Mom and Dad, screenplay (1945)
- The Prince of Peace, aka The Lawton Story, screenplay (1949)
- Why Men Leave Home, aka Secrets of Beauty, screenplay (1951)
Books
edit- Man and Boy (1944)
- Woman and Girl (1944)
References
edit- ^ Erie, PA, Times: "Erieite Wins Fame as Hollywood Screen Writer." 16 December 1951.
- ^ a b Friedman, David F. (1990) A Youth in Babylon: Confessions of a Trash-Film King NY:Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-608-X.
- ^ Marshall, Wendy L. (2005). William Beaudine: from silents to television. Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-5218-7.
- ^ Briggs, Joe Bob.(2003) Profoundly Disturbing: Shocking Movies That Changed History!, Universe Publishing, ISBN 0-7893-0844-4