Clifford Odets IS Barton Fink

In terms of craftsmanship, writer Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 18, 1963) made a successful transition from playwriting to screenwriting. After starting out on stage with the Group Theatre, Odets made theatre history with plays such as “Awake and Sing,” “Golden Boy,” “Waiting for Lefty,” and “Rocket to the Moon.” Like Barton Fink, Odet’s gritty, urban, man-of-the-people dramas brought him to Hollywood. He wrote for Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock. A young William Holden played his “Golden Boy.” Grace Kelly played his “Country Girl” opposite Bing Crosby. Robert Aldrich filmed his play “The Big Knife” with Jack Palance and Rod Steiger. He even wrote for Elvis (“Wild in the Country”). But my personal favorite and written at the height of his screenwriting powers is Odets’ adaptation of Ernest Lehman’s novel into the Alexander Mackendrick film “Sweet Smell of Success” starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. If any screenplay deserves the status of “literature,” then this is it.