Ben Markson

Birth : 1897-08-06, Creston, Iowa, USA

Death : 1971-10-20

Movies

Edge of Eternity
Story
Helped by socialite Janice Kendon and barkeeper Scott O'Brien, Arizona deputy sheriff Les Martin works to solve three brutal murders in and around the Grand Canyon. His efforts leads to the killer fleeing with Janice as a hostage and a chase by car and helicopter lead to a climax on a miner's bucket on cables a mile above the canyon floor.
Mr. District Attorney
Adaptation
An assistant district attorney gets mixed-up with a woman who is working for the group that he is investigating.
A Close Call for Boston Blackie
Screenplay
Blackie runs into a woman he formally loved who now is married with a kid. When her husband gets out of prison he's killed in Blackie's apartment and of course the police thing Blackie pulled the trigger. Blackie must set out to prove his innocence as well as capture the real killers.
Prison Ship
Screenplay
Panic arises among the Allied prisoners on a Japanese ship when they learn that the ship is decoy for American submarines and is not blacked out at night. The prisoners unite and attack the Japanese sailors and officers just an American submarine surfaces and, not knowing the prisoners are aboard, prepares to torpedo the ship
The Beautiful Cheat
Writer
The title character, played by Bonita Granville, is the secretary at a boys' reformatory. Sociology professor Noah Beery Jr. shows up to study the juvenile-delinquent mindset. Not surprisingly, he ends up taking a post-grad course in amour from the winsome Ms. Granville.
The Falcon in San Francisco
Screenplay
While on vacation, the Falcon is arrested for kidnapping after striking up a friendship with a girl who's nurse has been recently murdered.
Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion
Screenplay
Blackie is implicated in a murder when he accidently sells a phony Charles Dickens first edition at an auction.
Thieves Fall Out
Screenplay
Eddie Barnes, tired of being a nobody and living with his parents, decides to cash in his mother's legacy and use the money to buy a business. Unfortunately, Eddie's mother has to die before the broker can collect the full value of the policy and the broker's gangster partner doesn't want to wait for nature to take its course.
The Great Mr. Nobody
Screenplay
A publicity man promotes his newspaper, but finds his boss always steals the credit.
I Was a Convict
Screenplay
In this crime drama a wealthy business tycoon serves a sentence for tax fraud. While there he becomes good friends with his cellmates and after they are all released, the magnate appoints them both as executives in his company.
Pride of the Navy
Screenplay
A disruptive Annapolis naval cadet refuses to tow the line and so gets booted out of the prestigious academy. Later, he takes to designing speedboats. They are innovative and soon the Navy comes a-knocking in hopes that he will design a fast and easily maneuverable boat to carry torpedoes.
Danger - Love at Work
Screenplay
A New York City lawyer finds himself falling in love with the daughter of a screwball South Carolina family.
Sing and Be Happy
Writer
Rival advertising firms compete for a radio show's pickle manufacturing account.
Ready, Willing and Able
Treatment
Two starving songwriters will only get funding if they get British actress Jane Clarke to star in their show.
Woman-Wise
Screenplay
A crusading sportswriter exposes racketeers involved in paying off fighters to throw their matches.
Nobody's Fool
Writer
A naive country boy goes to New York City, where he gets mixed up with real estate swindlers.
Brides Are Like That
Screenplay
Fred, the wealthy owner of apple groves, has sent his nephew to college, but the only job that his nephew has after graduating is the job of not working. Bill is a dreamer, a talker and a golf player and he has a lot of ideas, but still lives off Fred. When Hazel gets engaged to Doc Jenkins, it takes a while, but Bill talks her into marrying him instead. The only problem is that now, he needs to find a job.
The Case of the Lucky Legs
Screenplay
A con man who stages phony "lucky legs" beauty contests and leaves town with the money is found with a surgical knife in his heart by Mason.
Going Highbrow
Dialogue
A ditzy wife yearns to join "high society" when she and her husband become suddenly wealthy. Comedy.
Bright Lights
Adaptation
Husband-and-wife vaudeville stars separate when success goes to his head.
The White Cockatoo
Screenplay
In a spooky hotel on the coast of France, two bands of crooks are working independently of the other in an attempt to steal the inherited fortune of an American girl, Sue Tally. Along the way the heiress is kidnapped, three murders are committed, a girl appears in two places at once, mysterious persons roam about the old hotel at night and mysteriously disappear, and there is a hidden room without any doors.
Babbitt
Additional Dialogue
Middle aged George F. Babbitt is a leading citizen in the town of Zenith, the fastest growing community in America according to its town sign. George is a large part of that growth as a property developer and realtor. He is lovingly married to his wife Myra, the two who have two children, Ted and Verona who are approaching adulthood. George has always had a fearless attitude, much like that of a naive child, which has led to his business success. He encounters some personal stresses when he faces what he believes is a potential home-wrecking issue, and when his oldest friend Paul and his wife Zilla deal with domestic problems. These stresses make George want to provide even more to his own family, leading to George agreeing to participate in a less than scrupulous but lucrative business dealing. George's bravura gets him into a potential scandal. This situation makes him question his general behavior, especially toward his family.
Big Hearted Herbert
Screenplay
After cantankerous and miserly Herbert Kalness insults his daughter's fiance and prospective in-laws at a dinner party, Mrs. Kalness devises a scheme to teach her husband a lesson in good manners.
The Case of the Howling Dog
Screenplay
A very nervous man named Cartwright comes into Perry's office to have the neighbor arrested for his howling dog. He states that the howling is a sign that there is a death in the neighborhood. He also wants a will written giving his estate to the lady living at the neighbors house. It is all very mysterious and by the next day, his will is changed and Cartwright is missing, as is the lady of the house next door. Perry has a will and a retainer and must find out whether he has a client or a beneficiary.
Here Comes the Navy
Story
A cocky guy joins the Navy for the wrong reason but finds romance and twice is cited for heroism.
Here Comes the Navy
Writer
A cocky guy joins the Navy for the wrong reason but finds romance and twice is cited for heroism.
Upperworld
Screenplay
A railroad tycoon, disillusioned with his marriage, starts seeing a showgirl. Things go agreeably until the woman's manager decides to blackmail the millionaire.
Lady Killer
Screenplay
An ex-gangster tries to resist his old cohorts' criminal activities after he accidentally becomes a movie star.
Goodbye Again
Screenplay
Flirtatious mix-ups abound when a celebrated novelist tangles with an old flame and her suspicious husband. Will the author's savvy secretary, who's secretly in love with him, save his neck?
The Silk Express
Screenplay
As the demand for raw silk goes sky high, crooked businessman Wallace Myton corners the market with plans to drive up the price. Determined to fulfill his contracts, manufacturer Donald Kilgore imports $3 million worth of silk to Seattle and accompanies it by special train to New York. But when his secretary is found murdered, Kilgore soon discovers Myton has planted three killers on board with orders to stop the express and its passengers dead in their tracks.
Gold Diggers of 1933
Dialogue
Things get tough for Carol and her showgirl pals, Trixie and Polly, when the Great Depression kicks in and all the Broadway shows close down. Wealthy songwriter Brad saves the day by funding a new Depression-themed musical for the girls to star in, but when his stuffy high-society brother finds out and threatens to disown Brad, Carol and her gold-digging friends scheme to keep the show going, hooking a couple of millionaires along the way.
Picture Snatcher
Dialogue
An ex-con uses his street smarts to become a successful photojournalist.
Girl Missing
Dialogue
Kay and June, two showgirls, are hurt when they seek financial help from Daisy. On Daisy's wedding night when she is rendered missing, Kay and June decide to look for her to claim the reward.
Lucky Devils
Screenplay
Two Hollywood stuntmen compete for the same pretty extra.
The Half-Naked Truth
Story
A barker at a down-at-the-heels carnival becomes a powerhouse New York publicity man as he transforms a sideshow dancer into a Broadway sensation.
Rackety Rax
Screenplay
Gambler/racketeer "Knucks" McGloin takes note of just how much money and action (aside from the game itself) takes place around and about the annual Rose Bowl football game, and decides this is one sweet proposition and could be even sweeter if one had his own college and football game and had a large say beforehand as to the outcome of any game this team had. So he ups and creates his own college---Carnasie after his own neighborhood. His gangster rival. Gilatti, thinks this give McGloin a definite inside advantage and, if there is one thing a gambler can't abide, it is that someone has an inside advantage and they are not that someone. Gilatti gets himself a college football team. Education marches on.
What Price Hollywood?
Screenplay
Sassy and ambitious waitress Mary Evans amuses and befriends amiable seldom-sober Hollywood film director Max Carey when he stumbles into her restaurant. Max invites Mary to his film premiere and, after a night of drinking and carousing, Mary is granted a screen test. A studio contract follows. Just as Mary finds her dreams coming true, Carey’s life and career begins its descent.
Is My Face Red?
Theatre Play
Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of his information from showgirl pal his gal, Peggy. Eventually Bill's reckless tattling gets him in deep trouble with friends and enemies, putting his career and life in jeopardy.
Is My Face Red?
Screenplay
Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of his information from showgirl pal his gal, Peggy. Eventually Bill's reckless tattling gets him in deep trouble with friends and enemies, putting his career and life in jeopardy.
The River Pirate
Writer
This film concerns a youth torn between his fatherly gangland mentor and the beautiful, virtuous daughter of a police detective.