W. R. Burnett

William Riley Burnett (November 25, 1899 April 25, 1982) was an American crime novelist and screenwriter.

His debut novel Little Caesar (1929) was adapted into the 1931 film of the same name, which is considered the first of the classic American gangster movies. Several of his other novels and short stories were also adapted to screen, notably High Sierra and The Asphalt Jungle.

As a screenwriter, Burnett was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his work on Wake Island (1942). His other notable film credits included Scarface (1932), This Gun for Hire (1942), Vendetta (1950), and The Great Escape (1963).

Early life Burnett was born in Springfield, Ohio, and attended Miami Military Institute in Germantown, Ohio.

Novelist In Chicago, Burnett found a job as a night clerk in the Northmere Hotel. His experiences with the people at the hotel, including gangsters, inspired Little Caesar (novel 1929, film 1931). In 1980, he won the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award. who all wrote in the hardboiled genre of fiction. He often contrasted the corruption and corrosion of the city with the better life his characters yearned for. They typically get one last shot at salvation but the oppressive system closes in and denies redemption. John Huston, Howard Hawks, Douglas Sirk, Michael Cimino, Humphrey Bogart, Paul Muni, Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen, and Clint Eastwood. He received an Oscar nomination for his script for Wake Island (1942) In addition to his film work, he also wrote scripts for television and radio.

In High Sierra (1941), Humphrey Bogart plays Roy Earle, a hard-bitten criminal who rejects his life of crime to marry a crippled girl. In The Beast of the City (1932) starring Walter Huston, the police take the law into their own hands when the criminals walk free due to legal incompetence.

Burnett was called back by Howard Hughes to work on Vendetta.

Later years In later years, with his vision declining, he stopped writing and turned to promoting his earlier work. On his death in 1982, in Santa Monica, California, Burnett was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Critical reception Heywood Broun described Burnett's novel Goodbye to the Past as "written with all the excitement of Little Caesar, and ten times the skill".