Hellman, Lillian (1905-1984), was an American playwright and screenwriter. Her work combines tightly woven plots with insight into psychological weakness and a deep concern with the social issues of her time.
Hellman’s plays of the 1930’s and 1940’s focus on destructive selfishness and greed. In The Children’s Hour (1934), a spoiled, disturbed girl ruins the lives of two women teachers by spreading rumors that they have a lesbian relationship. Hellman wrote the screenplay for the movie version as These Three (1936). In The Little Foxes (1939), material greed and lust for power create tragic conflicts in a Southern family. Another Part of the Forest (1946) shows the roots of the family’s materialism in the deeds of the preceding generation. The family symbolizes Hellman’s disapproving view of the immorality she saw unleashed by America’s materialism and by the dominance of greed over humane values. In Watch on the Rhine (1941), the destructive evil of the Nazis disrupts the sheltered lives of a family in suburban Washington, D.C. Hellman’s other plays include The Autumn Garden (1951) and Toys in the Attic (1960).
In 1966, Hellman edited The Big Knockover, a collection of fiction by American author Dashiell Hammett, with whom she had a relationship for many years. Hellman’s introduction to the book included a portrait of Hammett and became the first of her many memoirs. In the 1970’s, Hellman continued her autobiographical writings. They include An Unfinished Woman (1969), an autobiography; Pentimento (1973), a series of portraits of people she had known; and Scoundrel Time (1976). This last book is a memoir of Hellman’s involvement in congressional investigations of Communist influence in the United States. Hellman was born on June 20, 1905, in New Orleans. She died on June 30, 1984.
