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The Temptation of Don Volpi
175 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1968
5 people want to read
About the author
Alfred Hayes
27 books78 followersAlfred Hayes (18 April 1911 – 14 August 1985) was a British screenwriter, television writer, novelist, and poet, who worked in Italy and the United States. He is perhaps best known for his poem "Joe Hill" ("I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night…"), later set to music by Earl Robinson.
Born in London, Hayes graduated from New York's City College (now part of City University of New York), worked briefly as a newspaper reporter, and began writing fiction and poetry in the 1930s. During World War II he served in Europe in the U.S. Army Special Services (the "morale division"). Afterwards, he stayed in Rome and became a screenwriter of Italian neorealist films. As a co-writer on Roberto Rossellini's Paisan (1946), he was nominated for an Academy Award; he received another Academy Award nomination for Teresa (1951). He adapted his own novel The Girl on the Via Flaminia into a play; in 1953 it was adapted into a French-language film Un acte d'amour.
He was an uncredited co-writer of Vittorio De Sica's neorealist film Bicycle Thieves (1948) for which he also wrote the English language subtitles.
Among his U.S. filmwriting credits are The Lusty Men (1952, directed by Nicholas Ray) and the film adaptation of the Maxwell Anderson/Kurt Weill musical Lost in the Stars (1974). His credits as a television scriptwriter included scripts for American series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Nero Wolfe and Mannix.
Born in London, Hayes graduated from New York's City College (now part of City University of New York), worked briefly as a newspaper reporter, and began writing fiction and poetry in the 1930s. During World War II he served in Europe in the U.S. Army Special Services (the "morale division"). Afterwards, he stayed in Rome and became a screenwriter of Italian neorealist films. As a co-writer on Roberto Rossellini's Paisan (1946), he was nominated for an Academy Award; he received another Academy Award nomination for Teresa (1951). He adapted his own novel The Girl on the Via Flaminia into a play; in 1953 it was adapted into a French-language film Un acte d'amour.
He was an uncredited co-writer of Vittorio De Sica's neorealist film Bicycle Thieves (1948) for which he also wrote the English language subtitles.
Among his U.S. filmwriting credits are The Lusty Men (1952, directed by Nicholas Ray) and the film adaptation of the Maxwell Anderson/Kurt Weill musical Lost in the Stars (1974). His credits as a television scriptwriter included scripts for American series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Nero Wolfe and Mannix.
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July 29, 2024Three long stories.
The first title story is on the level of his novels; superb, cold, precise, moving.
The second feels, at times, contrived (in a way Hayes never, in his novels, feels contrived), though it’s not without its moments and is, on the whole, an interesting departure from his other work.
The third also feels like a departure (more successful than the second story); a female narrator (which in and of itself is unique for Hayes). Not a perfect story, but moments of brilliance, certainly surprising, and ultimately arrives at a moment of truly devastating pathos.
The first title story is on the level of his novels; superb, cold, precise, moving.
The second feels, at times, contrived (in a way Hayes never, in his novels, feels contrived), though it’s not without its moments and is, on the whole, an interesting departure from his other work.
The third also feels like a departure (more successful than the second story); a female narrator (which in and of itself is unique for Hayes). Not a perfect story, but moments of brilliance, certainly surprising, and ultimately arrives at a moment of truly devastating pathos.
Displaying 1 of 1 review