Leigh Brackett

Birth : 1915-12-07, Los Angeles, California, USA

Death : 1978-03-18

History

Leigh Brackett was a Hollywood writer and a noted science fiction and fantasy author who was a regular contributor to various science fiction pulps in the 1940's. She was also a mentor and collaborator of Ray Bradbury. She was married to fellow science fiction pulp writer Edmond Hamilton for 31 years (until his death in 1977). In Hollywood, she wrote such films as The Long Goodbye, Hatari! and Rio Bravo. She also wrote the first draft of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. Shortly after she completed the draft, she died after a battle with cancer. After her death, George Lucas decided that he did not prefer the direction Brackett's draft was going in. Lucas discarded it and wrote two new drafts with Lawrence Kasdan finishing the script. Brackett's original draft was not mentioned or referenced in the new drafts. However, Lucas felt that her name should be in the credits as a reward for her effort. To ensure Writers Guild of America (which determines screenwriting credit for the film) would award her the credit, Lucas intentionally did not submit his drafts.

Movies

The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back
Screenplay
The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.
The Long Goodbye
The Long Goodbye
Screenplay
In 1970s Hollywood, Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.
Rio Lobo
Rio Lobo
Screenplay
After the Civil War, Cord McNally searches for the traitor whose perfidy caused the defeat of McNally's unit and the loss of a close friend.
El Dorado
El Dorado
Screenplay
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with a fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.
Hatari!
Hatari!
Screenplay
A group of men trap wild animals in Africa and sell them to zoos. Will the arrival of a female wildlife photographer change their ways?
13 West Street
13 West Street
Novel
Walt Sherill is attacked and beat down by a group of juvenile delinquents on his way home from work one night. The boys who attacked him are not previously known by the police and are therefore hard to track down. As Sherill starts getting impatient he begins his own investigation. Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Koleski does his best to track down the culprits.
Gold of the Seven Saints
Gold of the Seven Saints
Writer
Fur-trapping partners stumble across a cache of gold, but their discovery quickly attracts every greedy villain in the territory.
Rio Bravo
Rio Bravo
Screenplay
The sheriff of a small town in southwest Texas must keep custody of a murderer whose brother, a powerful rancher, is trying to help him escape. After a friend is killed trying to muster support for him, he and his deputies must find a way to hold out against the rancher's hired guns until the marshal arrives. In the meantime, matters are complicated by the presence of a young gunslinger - and a mysterious beauty who just came in on the last stagecoach.
The Unholy Four
The Unholy Four
Novel
Someone knocked out a man and left him for dead during a fishing trip in Portugal. That someone is either his fetching wife, or two business partners, all sporting guilty faces after his unexpected return. Two more murders and a frame-up befall the quartet before an inspector closes the case.
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt
Screenplay
A criminal psychologist investigates the murder of a veteran with amnesia.
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep
Screenplay
Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.
The Vampire's Ghost
The Vampire's Ghost
Story
In a small African port, a tawdry bar is run by a old man named Webb Fallon. Fallon is actually a vampire, but he is becoming weary of his "life" of the past few hundred years.
The Vampire's Ghost
The Vampire's Ghost
Screenplay
In a small African port, a tawdry bar is run by a old man named Webb Fallon. Fallon is actually a vampire, but he is becoming weary of his "life" of the past few hundred years.