Jack Jevne Biography

After serving an apprenticeship as a comedy gag writer, American scenarist Jack Jevne was hired by independent producer Edward Small. Jevne contributed to the scripts of such Small productions as I Cover the Waterfront (1933) and Palooka (1934) before moving to Hal Roach in 1935. He co-directed the Thelma Todd-Patsy Kelly 2-reeler Top Hat (1935), then was added to the screenwriting staff of the Laurel & Hardy feature Our Relations (1936). By the end of 1936, Jevne was head of Roach's editorial department, co-writing or supervising the scriptwork on such films as Way Out West (1937), Topper (1937), There Goes My Heart (1938), Topper Takes a Trip (1938) and Captain Fury (1939). When Hal Roach reorganized in 1941, Jevne began free-lancing, briefly returning to the Roach fold in the late 1940s. At the request of Stan Laurel, Jevne penned the original story for the MGM Laurel & Hardy vehicle Air Raid Wardens (1943). Remaining a comedy specialist, he worked on the Danny Kaye musical Wonder Man (1945) at Goldwyn. Uncharacteristically, Jack Jevne's final screenwriting credit was the 1956 Joan Crawford weeper Autumn Leaves. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi