After graduating from the
University of Chicago, under the continuing mentorship of
Thornton Wilder, Ardrey wrote a novel, several plays, and many short stories, all of which remained unpublished. The plays opened ten days apart and were massive failures. In his preface to
Plays of Three Decades Ardrey writes: Ardrey signed a contract with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and moved for the first time to Hollywood to work as a screenwriter. He worked on several projects, including Samuel Goldwyn's notorious boondoggle remake of
Graustark, which was cancelled, and a western called
The Cowboy and the Lady, from which he was dropped (though he later used most of the plot for his smash success
Lady Takes A Chance). During the summer of 1940 Ardrey discovered, when he read a syndicated column from Britain, that unbeknownst to him
Thunder Rock had been having a massively successful run in London. The British rights had been sold to Herbert Marshall, who had launched a production starring
Michael Redgrave. The play had been so successful that the British Minister of Information,
Duff Cooper, arranged to have the Treasury department fund a production at the
Globe Theatre in London's
West End. The play deeply resonated with a British public under siege. Eminent theater critic
Harold Hobson wrote of
Thunder Rock: Following its success in London,
Thunder Rock has had a lasting legacy. Later in 1940 the BBC broadcast a live radio version, and in 1946 they produced an adaption for television. In 1942,
Thunder Rock was turned into a film, directed by the
Boulting Brothers, also starring
Michael Redgrave. (
See Thunder Rock (film)) Shortly following the war, productions of
Thunder Rock were quickly launched in
Vienna,
Prague,
Budapest, and, most famously, in Allied-occupied Berlin where it was the first modern play to go up in the American zone. Following these successes in Hollywood, Ardrey returned to New York to reengage the theater. There he wrote
Jeb.
Jeb Jeb was a play about a disabled African American soldier returning to his home in the rural south after having fought in the war in the Pacific. He has lost one leg, but gained the ability to run an adding machine. Seeking out employment, he is faced with the bigotry of his countrymen.
Jeb opened in New York in 1946. It received largely positive reviews (famed American theatre critic
George Jean Nathan called it the best play on the topic of civil rights) and found small but enthusiastic audiences. The critical consensus, with which Ardrey came to agree, was that
Jeb was far ahead of its time.
Hollywood 1946–1966 Following the short run of
Jeb Ardrey moved back to Hollywood and signed a two-picture deal with MGM. In 1946 and '47 he wrote
The Secret Garden. In 1947 he wrote the screenplay for
The Three Musketeers, (which would become the second-highest-grossing film of 1948. Also in 1954 Ardrey wrote the adaptation of John Masters' novel
Bhowani Junction. Due in part to the intervention of the banks financing the film, Ardrey entered into contested negotiations over rewrites. Eventually he quit and took his name off the film. In 1958 Ardrey wrote the play
Shadow of Heroes about the
Hungarian Uprising of 1956. The play resulted in the release from Soviet custody of two political prisoners, Julia Rajk and her son. Ardrey next turned his attention toward Africa. He was soon to begin his pioneering work in paleoanthropology, but he also continued his career as a screenwriter. In 1964 he wrote the first screenplay adaptation of
Isak Dinesen's novel
Out of Africa. In 1966 he wrote another screenplay set in Africa, the
Academy Award-nominated
Khartoum.
Khartoum Khartoum was written and produced in 1966, directed by
Basil Dearden. The film is based on historical accounts of British
Gen. Charles "Chinese" Gordon's defense of the Sudanese city of
Khartoum from the forces of the Mahdist army during the
Siege of Khartoum.
Khartoum starred
Charlton Heston as General Gordon and
Laurence Olivier as the
Mahdi (
Muhammad Ahmed). Heston, in his autobiography, wrote about his decision to take the role: "It's a good part, presents the challenge of doing a mystic, as well as the English thing. Also, it's a helluva good script." The academy agreed with Heston's assessment of the script. In 1967
Khartoum earned Ardrey a nomination for the
Oscar for
Best Original Screenplay. Ardrey died, aged 71, in
South Africa. ==Africa==