Howard Estabrook (July 11, 1884 – July 16, 1978) was an American actor, film director and producer, and screenwriter.
Born Howard Bolles in Detroit, Michigan, Estabrook began his career in 1904 as a stage actor in New York. He made his film debut in 1914 during the silent era, and would go on to appear in several features including Four Feathers. Estabrook left films in 1916 for a try at the business world, but returned in 1921.
Estabrook took on executive positions with various studios, and eventually began producing films in 1924. He soon found his calling in screenwriting. He was responsible for several of what have come to be regarded as classics of Hollywood including Hell's Angels (1930) and Street of Chance (1930), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. The following year, he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Cimarron, starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne. In 1935, he (along with Hugh Walpole and Lenore J. Coffee) adapted the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield for the 1935 film version starring W. C. Fields and Lionel Barrymore.
Estabrook continued in his screenwriting career for three decades, as well as directing and producing films before his death on July 16, 1978 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.
Writer
1959
The Big Fisherman (writer)
1959
The DuPont Show of the Month (TV Series) (adaptation - 1 episode) - The Human Comedy (1959) - (adaptation)
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The Millionaire (TV Series) (story by - 1 episode, 1958) (teleplay by - 1 episode, 1958) (from a story by - 1 episode, 1957) - The Doris Winslow Story (1958) - (story by) / (teleplay by)
- The Professor Amberson Adams Story (1957) - (from a story by)
1957
The Ford Television Theatre (TV Series) (teleplay - 1 episode) - The Idea Man (1957) - (teleplay)
1954
Cattle Queen of Montana (screenplay)
1948
The Girl from Manhattan (screenplay) / (story)
1946
The Virginian (adaptation)
1944
Heavenly Days (screenplay) / (story)
1944
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (adaptation) / (screenplay)
1943
The Human Comedy (screen play)
1941
The Corsican Brothers (adaptation)
1941
International Lady (screenplay)
1941
New Wine (original screenplay)
1938
The Cowboy and the Lady (contributing writer - uncredited)
1938
The Shopworn Angel (contributor to story - uncredited)
1937
Wells Fargo (contributor to screenplay construction and dialogue - uncredited)
1937
Maid of Salem (uncredited)
1935
Way Down East (screen play)
1935
Orchids to You (adaptation)
1935
David Copperfield (screenplay)
1933
The Bowery (screen play - as Howard Esterbrook)
1933
The Masquerader (adaptation and screenplay)
1933
The Devil's in Love (screenplay)
1933
Sweepings (uncredited)
1932
The Conquerors (from a story by)
1932
Maquillage (screenplay)
1932
A Bill of Divorcement (screen play)
1932
Roar of the Dragon (screen play)
1931
Are These Our Children (adaptation and dialogue)
1931
The Woman Between (adaptation and dialogue)
1931
Woman Hungry (adaptation)
1931
Cimarron (screen version) / (dialogue)
1930
Kismet (adaptation and dialogue)
1930
The Bad Man (dialogue) / (screenplay)
1930
Hell's Angels (adaptation by)
1930
Double Cross Roads (dialogue) / (screenplay)
1930
Slightly Scarlet (screenplay)
1930
Street of Chance (scenario)
1930
Behind the Make-Up (adapted by)
1929
The Virginian (screen play)
1929
The Four Feathers (screenplay)
1929
She Goes to War (scenario)
1928
The Shopworn Angel (writer)
1928
Forgotten Faces (writer)
1928
The Port of Missing Girls (screenplay) / (story)
1928
Dressed to Kill (writer)
Actor
1916
The Mysteries of Myra as
Dr. Payson Alden
1916
The Master Smiles (Short)
1915
The Closing Net as
Frank Clamart
1915
Four Feathers as
Captain Harry Faversham
1915
The Butterfly as
John Butler
1914
Officer 666 as
Travers Gladwin
Director
1931
Are These Our Children (uncredited)
1917
Giving Becky a Chance
Producer
1937
Wells Fargo (associate producer)
1937
Maid of Salem (producer)
1925
North Star (producer)
1925
The Adventurous Sex (producer - uncredited)
1924
The Price of a Party (producer)
Script Department
1930
Hell's Angels (adaptation and continuity) / (continuity - uncredited)
Miscellaneous
1927
Chasing Choo Choos (Short) (supervisor)
1927
Play Safe (supervisor)
Sound Department
1959
The Big Fisherman (dialogue director - uncredited)
Thanks
1976
That's Entertainment, Part II (Documentary) (acknowledgment: the non-musical sequences represent outstanding contributions by)
