Interesting that 20 years later George Stevens would adapt the story as A Place in the Sun with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. Great film worth checking out -- especially if you've read Steve Erickson's novel Zeroville.

This post made for fascinating reading first thing in the morning. It kinda reminded me of your script-writing-lessons-from-the-past posts in that it seem like a lot of the politics and issues surrounding the business in the past are still very much here in the present. It's like that old Hollywood maxim: the same, but different. Maybe it's because life of all ages is the same but different - the same in that most people still have the same basic goals - become free of fear, find happiness, freedom, love, shelter - different in that each age produces a different environment in which people struggle to achieve these goals. Sorry if none of that made sense. I have only just woken up.

Sean, I was going to name the post: "Some things never change." There will always be a tension between movies as art and movies as commerce. Unless you are an independently wealthy filmmaker who doesn't care about profit. I posted it primarily because of the historical aspect of it, but also to remind us - again - our storytelling and creativity ultimately gets judged in Hollywood on a financial basis. Yet another reason to conjure up the strongest possible story concept possible. The more commercially viable Hollywood perceives your story concept to be, the more latitude you have as a writer to take chances.