We thought we could do anything: The life of screenwriters Phoebe and Henry Ephron

by Henry Ephron

Millions of adult Americans will fondly remember such entertaining movies as Carousel, The Jackpot, and There's No Business Like Show Business. Phoebe and Henry Ephron, who wrote the screenplays for these and other films, were a unique team in that they used their special talents, working with dozens of great names of screen and stage, to create everything from the comic to the somber under circumstances both humorous and quite the opposite. Whether they were working on a Carousel, starring Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae or a new What Price Glory, or Fred Astaire's Daddy Long Legs, the Ephrons were always learning something new and exciting about a magical assortment of people (Henry remembers the famous director John Ford the day he was faulted by his producer for being two days behind in shooting a film. He tore up six pages and "Tell the SOB I'm six days ahead!") This is also a story of the thirty-seven-year marriage of two people who started out with very little, realized their dreams of having a play produced on Broadway, and then went to Hollywood, where they wrote major scripts for some of the biggest stars. Woven throughout the story is the family element of raising four daughters in the make-believe atmosphere of Southern California. As the two Ephrons worried about the work they'd done on one major script, the make-believe turning into a glorious reprieve when it was reported to them that Darryl Zanuck had just told a friend, "I'll never know how the Ephrons took that old chestnut and turned it into this great screenplay." Here, a professional storyteller is at his best in a personal narrative which also brings onstage a fascinating supporting cast.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

211 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1977

About the author

Henry Ephron (May 26, 1911 – September 6, 1992) was an American playwright, screenwriter and film producer.

He often worked with his wife, Phoebe Ephron (née Wolkind) All four of their daughters, Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron, Hallie Ephron and Amy Ephron, became notable writers.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book about screenwriting, filled with great stories and the well-honed Ephron wit. I hadn't known much about Henry and Phoebe, but it was great fun to read about the many accomplishments of this talented husband-and-wife writing team. They had a charmed life that ended much too soon.

[Linda Hax · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book for those who like movies of the 1940s and 1950s. This memoir of screenwriter Henry Ephron about his marriage to Phoebe Ephron, their play and screen-writing careers, and family life is full of anecdotes that will make you smile. We love the movies the Ephrons wrote--both the senior Ephrons and their talented daughters, Nora and Delia. Their family life would make a wonderful bio epic. The world needs a happy, successful family story. Read it knowing this family was the incubator for Nora and Delia Ephron who gave us uplifting movies for the 1980s and 90s.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem of a book. It's a quick read, full of wonderful insight into the movie industry of days gone by and to the young Nora Ephron since the author is her father.