Name Ethel Hill | Role Screenwriter | |
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Died May 17, 1954, Hollywood, California, United States Movies The Little Princess, Twice Blessed, Party Wire, Dance Hall, Blind Date Similar People Walter Lang, Gene Markey, William A Seiter, Erle C Kenton, Harry Beaumont | ||
Ethel Hill (April 6, 1898, Sacramento, California – May 17, 1954, Hollywood, California) was an American screenwriter and race horse owner.
When Dore Schary first went to work for Columbia Pictures as a new screenwriter, he was paired with the veteran Hill to learn from her; together, they wrote the screenplay for Fury of the Jungle (1933). Hill was described by Marc Norman in his book What Happens Next: A History of American Screenwriting as "an extremely dear and generous woman [who] had an interest in horses and often wore jodhpurs and riding gear to the studio." Perhaps her best known film is The Little Princess (1939), starring Shirley Temple.
Hill bought the Thoroughbred race horse War Knight, a son of Preakness winner High Quest, as a foal "with her $1500 life savings". He went on to win 10 of 28 starts, including the 1944 Arlington Handicap. He was injured in 1945 and did not win any of his five 1946 starts leading up to the $100,000 added Santa Anita Handicap, which he proceeded to win in a photo finish. He retired to stud afterward.