Margaret Turnbull (screenwriter) explained

Margaret Turnbull
Birth Date:	17 November 1872
Birth Place:	Glasgow, Scotland
Death Place:	Yarmouthport, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation:	Writer
Yearsactive:	1914-1939

Margaret Turnbull (17 November 1872  - 12 June 1942) was a Scottish novelist, playwright and screenwriter in silent films.^[1]

Early life

Turnbull was born in Glasgow, Scotland.^[2] She was the older sister of producer Hector Turnbull and sister to Jean, Mary, Alice, Donald,^[3] and Isabel.^[4] Her family moved to the United States during her childhood, and she attended school in New Jersey.^[5]

Career

Turnbull wrote plays, including Genessee of the Hills (1905), A Society Policeman (1905), Classmates (1907, with William C. deMille), On the Square (1913, with her brother), The Deadlock (1913), and At the Mitre (1914). In 1912, a script she submitted anonymously was produced in New York by Henry Wilson Savage, as The Stronger Claim.^[6]

Turnbull wrote for 51 films between 1914 and 1939. She worked for Paramount Pictures and the Famous Players–Lasky studios in Islington, and also spent some of her career in Hollywood.^[7] In 1915, she wrote at least three films that starred Blanche Sweet; she also wrote films starring Edna Goodrich and Enrico Caruso. She was described as a "popular writer" and William C. deMille's assistant in a 1915 article about film dramas.^[8]

Turnbull also wrote novels, including W. A. G.'s Tale (1913),^[9] Looking After Sandy (1915),^{[10] [11]} The Close Up (1918),^{[12] [13]} Alabaster Lamps (1925)^[14] Madame Judas (1926), The Left Lady (1926),^[15] The Handsome Man (1930),^[16] and The Bride's Mirror (1934).^[17] "I am sure," she told an interviewer in 1926, "that I get much more pleasure in writing a book or play than Mr. Ford has ever gotten from all the machines he has put on the market."

Personal life

Turnbull lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She died in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts in 1942, aged 69 years.

Selected filmography

• The Fighting Hope (1915)
• Armstrong's Wife (1915)
• Blackbirds (1915)
• The Secret Sin (1915)
• The Unknown (1915)
• Stolen Goods (1915)
• The Clue (1915)
• To Have and to Hold (1916)
• Alien Souls (1916)
• Public Opinion (1916)
• The Victory of Conscience (1916)
• Shirley Kaye (1917)
• Magda (1917)
• Lost and Won (1917)
• The Shuttle (1918)
• My Cousin (1918)^[18]
• The Two Brides (1919)
• The Tree of Knowledge (1920)
• The Bonnie Brier Bush (1921)
• The Princess of New York (1921)
• The Mystery Road (1921)
• Appearances (1921)
• Three Live Ghosts (1922)
• La Bataille (1923)^[19]
• Rogue's March (1928)^[20]

External links

• • • • • Margaret Turnbull at the British Film Institute

Notes and References

1. Web site: Delahousse. Sarah. 2013. Margaret Turnbull. 3 October 2016. Women Film Pioneers Project.
2. News: 1926-05-28. Margaret Turnbull at Home. 4. The Daily News. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
3. News: 1934-04-09. Hector Turnbull Called by Death. 5. The Morning Call. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
4. News: 1933-03-28. Obituary for William J. Cooley (Aged 55). 25. The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
5. News: Turnbull. Margaret. 1926-12-16. Alabaster Lamps. 6. The Salem Post and The Democrat-Bulletin. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
6. News: 1912-09-02. Theatrical Notes. 7. Hartford Courant. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
7. News: 1919-06-06. Movie Notes. 3. The Times Herald. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
8. News: Kingsley. Grace. 1915-03-14. Day of the Photodrama. 45. The Los Angeles Times. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
9. Book: Turnbull, Margaret. W. A. G.'s Tale. 2006-02-01. en.
10. News: 1914-10-10. Wholesome, Helpful Girl. 4. The Boston Globe. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
11. Web site: Turnbull. Margaret. 1914. Looking After Sandy: A Simple Romance. 2020-07-28. Internet Archive. en.
12. Web site: The Close-up. The European Library. The European Library. 3 October 2016.
13. News: 1918-12-24. The Book Corner. 6. The San Bernardino County Sun. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
14. Web site: Alabaster Lamps. The European Library. The European Library. 3 October 2016.
15. Web site: Turnbull. Margaret. 1926. The Left Lady. 2020-07-28. Faded Page.
16. News: Turnbull. Margaret. 1930-12-11. The Handsome Man, part V. 3. The Blocton Enterprise. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
17. Web site: The Bride's Mirror. The European Library. The European Library. 3 October 2016.
18. News: 1919-01-11. At the Regent. 10. Harrisburg Telegraph. 2020-07-28. Newspapers.com.
19. Web site: La BATAILLE (1923). https://web.archive.org/web/20161005132923/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bccb8c6. dead. 5 October 2016. 3 October 2016. BFI.org. BFI.
20. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56236662/rogues-march-is-first-class/ "Rogue's March is First Class"