Melvin Frank was half of a famous screenwriting partnership. The other
half of the collaborative effort was
Norman Panama. The two men became close
friends while attending the University of Chicago. Frank had initially
pursued a degree in engineering, but was persuaded by Panama to switch
to English instead. In 1938 he and Panama moved to Hollywood and
embarked on a career writing radio scripts and gags for
Bob Hope and
Milton Berle. Specializing in light comedy,
they came up with the original story line for Hope's
Geliebte Spionin (1942).
This opened the door for a joint screenwriting contract with Paramount
(1941-46), their prolific work together culminating in an Oscar
nomination for the popular Bob
Hope-Bing Crosby vehicle,
Der Weg nach Utopia (1945).
Continuing their run of witty comedies, Frank and Panama next wrote and
produced the
Cary Grant-Myrna Loy
box-office hit
Nur meiner Frau zuliebe (1948),
adapted from a satirical novel by
Eric Hodgins (about a couple whose dream of
home ownership turns into a nightmare). From then on Frank and Panama
alternated as directors and producers, first at MGM (1950-52), then at
Paramount (1954-59). Of some ten top-grossing collaborations, their
most rewarding effort was the highly entertaining medieval adventure
spoof, Der Hofnarr (1955),
starring Danny Kaye, lavishly filmed in
VistaVision and Technicolor. They also turned out an award-winning
Broadway play, "Li'l Abner", based on a comic strip by
Al Capp. It premiered in November 1956 and ran
for 653 performances over 87 weeks, before closing in July 1958. Frank
and Panama brought it to the screen (Li'l Abner (1959)) the following year.
The successful partnership came to an end with the final installment in
the Hope-Crosby "road pictures", Der Weg nach Hongkong (1962).
Subsequently, Frank and Panama--cordially--went their separate ways,
Frank becoming a solo director and (from 1965) producer, but continuing
to write comedy scripts in conjunction with others. In retrospect, his
career over the next two decades was by far the more productive of the
two, encompassing as producer/director the bittersweet adaptation of a
play by Neil Simon,
Das Nervenbündel (1975);
and as producer/director/writer of the popular sex comedy
Mann, bist du Klasse! (1973),
nominated for an Academy Award as Best Picture.
