Philip G. Epstein
Philip G. Epstein ( born August 22, 1909 in New York City; † February 7, 1952 in Los Angeles ) was an American screenwriter. He often collaborated with his identical twin brother, Julius J. Epstein and adapted especially books by other authors for the screen.
Life
Epstein grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In 1932 he graduated from Penn State University and worked as an actor in New York. In 1933 he moved with his brother Julius to Hollywood and wrote mainly in the first years screenplays for detective films and B-movies such as China or passage Fools for Scandal. The movie Four Daughters clean up from 1939 was Epstein's first collaboration with his brother Julius. The final breakthrough came in 1940 with No Time for Comedy. In subsequent years, the brothers wrote primarily in common. Their most famous work is the screenplay of the classic Casablanca from 1942, which was based on the play Everybody Comes to Rick's. Philip and Julius Epstein were sure to be excellent until today the only pair of brothers, adapted with an Oscar for Best Screenplay.
After the completion of work on the life of Mrs. Skeffington in 1944, the Epstein took a break from the movie business and wrote the plays Chicken Every Sunday and That's the ticket. Their last collaboration was the screenplay for that time in Paris. Philip Epstein died on 7 February 1952 at the age of 42 from cancer.
The hallmark of the Epstein brothers had their humorous and witty dialogues. They were often hired by directors to revise an existing script and " loosen up ". Together they were involved in 28 projects. 2006 continued the Writers Guild of America, the Casablanca screenplay to the first place of the 101 best screenplays of all time.