Red River (1948)

Born Frank Fowler in New York City. Left school at 14 and earned a living at an assortment of odd jobs. In his late teens he was a boxer and a cab driver, then served a year in the Navy. During the "Roaring 20s" he was, by his own account, a chauffeur for a gang boss. After his employer's body was found riddled with bullets (by rival Al Capone?), he worked in the construction of New York's Holland Tunnel. The death of a co-worker in an accident in the tunnel provided him with the material for his first screenplay, UNDER PRESSURE (1935). He subsequently wrote numerous short stories for leading magazines and several novels, some of which were adapted to the screen by others. He borrowed his pen name from the familiar milk company and bank. Beginning in 1943 he wrote many screenplays, alone or in collaboration, for quality Westerns and action pictures, often from his own stories, such as THE FIGHTING SEABEES (1944), FLAME OF THE BARBARY COAST (1945), and WINCHESTER '73 (1950). Other notable credits (alone or in collaboration) include FLAME OF BARBARY COAST (1945), LONE STAR and THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS (both 1952) and HIS MAJESTY O'KEEFE and VERA CRUZ (both 1954). He also wrote scripts for Western TV series. His daughter, Barrie Chase (b. 1934), is an actress-dancer who played supporting roles in several films of the early 1960s.  Nominated for Writing (Motion Picture Story) 1948: RED RIVER 1 nomination