Sidney Buchman

{{short description|American screenwriter and film producer (1902–1975)}}

{{Infobox person

|name = Sidney Buchman

|image =

|caption =

|birth_name = Sidney Robert Buchman

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1902|3|27}}

|birth_place = Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1975|8|23|1902|3|27}}

|death_place = Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

|other_names = Sydney Buchman

|occupation = Screenwriter, film producer

|spouse =

|relatives = Michael B. Silver (grandson)
Amanda Silver (granddaughter)

}}

Sidney Robert Buchman (March 27, 1902 – August 23, 1975) was an American screenwriter and film producer who worked on about 40 films from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. He received four Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenplay for the fantasy romantic comedy film Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), sharing the award with Seton I. Miller.

Background

Born to a Jewish family{{Cite magazine|last=Siegel|first=Lee|title=We Are What We Hide|magazine=The New Yorker|date=November 15, 2013|url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/we-are-what-we-hide}} in Duluth, Minnesota{{Cite web|title=Sidney Buchman, Scenarist, Dead|work=New York Times|date=August 25, 1975|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/25/archives/sidney-buchman-scenarist-dead-writer-of-mr-smith-goes-to-washington.html}} and educated at Columbia University, where he was a member of the Philolexian Society, he served as President of the Screen Writers Guild of America from 1941–1942.{{cite web |title=Screen Writers Guild Presidents |url=https://www.wga.org/the-guild/about-us/history/presidents/screen-writers-guild |website=Writers Guild of America West |publisher=Writers Guild of America West |access-date=2 April 2025 |ref=SWGPresidents}}

Career

Buchman was one of the most successful Hollywood screenwriters of the 1930s and 1940s.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

His scripts from this period include The Right to Romance (1933), She Married Her Boss (1935), The King Steps Out (1936), Theodora Goes Wild (1936) and Holiday (1938). He would go on to receive Academy Award nominations for his writing on Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), and Jolson Sings Again (1949), winning an Oscar for Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). He also did uncredited work on various films during this period, notably The Awful Truth. He was the 1965 recipient of the [https://archive.today/20121228111048/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1523 Laurel Award] of the Writers Guild of America, West.

Buchman's refusal to provide the names of American Communist Party members to the House Un-American Activities Committee led to a charge of contempt of Congress. Buchman was fined, given a year's suspended sentence, and was then blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses.{{cite web |title=Sidney Buchman |url=https://www.wga.org/the-guild/about-us/history/past-presidents/sidney-buchman |website=Writers Guild of America West |access-date=2 April 2025 |ref=wgawbio}}{{cite news |title=SIDNEY BUCHMAN, SCENARIST, DEAD |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/25/archives/sidney-buchman-scenarist-dead-writer-of-mr-smith-goes-to-washington.html |access-date=2 April 2025 |work=The New York Times |publisher=Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Sr. |date=25 August 1975 |ref=nytimesobit}}

He returned to screenwriting in the 1960s, working on Cleopatra (1963) and The Group (1966).

Personal life

Buchman married twice and had one daughter, Susanna Silver, with his first wife. His granddaughter and grandson are Amanda Silver and Michael B. Silver, respectively. With his second wife, he had another daughter, Carla. He died in his adopted home in Cannes on August 24, 1975, at the age of 73.

Selected filmography

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Award ! Category ! Nominated work ! Result
1940 \| 12th Academy Awards \| Best Screenplay \| {{center\|Mr. Smith Goes to Washington}} \| {{Nom}}
1942 \| 14th Academy Awards \| Best Screenplay {{small\|(shared with Seton I. Miller)}} \| {{center\|Here Comes Mr. Jordan}} \| {{Won}}
1943 \| 15th Academy Awards \| Best Screenplay {{small\|(shared with Irwin Shaw)}} \| {{center\|The Talk of the Town}} \| {{Nom}}
rowspan="2"\| 1950 \| 22nd Academy Awards \| Best Story and Screenplay \| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" \| Jolson Sings Again \| {{Nom}}
2nd Writers Guild of America Awards \| Best Written Musical \| {{Nom}}
1952 \| 4th Writers Guild of America Awards \| Best Written Film Concerning Problems with the American Scene {{small\|(shared with Millard Lampell)}} \| {{center\|Saturday's Hero}} \| {{Nom}}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Award

! Category

! Nominated work

! Result

1940

| 12th Academy Awards

| Best Screenplay

| {{center|Mr. Smith Goes to Washington}}

| {{Nom}}

1942