I.A.R. Wylie Movies

Ida Alexa Ross Wylie, better known as I.A.R. Wylie, was one of the most respected authors of her generation. She was an established poet and novelist honored by the journalistic and literary establishments of her time, and known around the world. Her dozen novels sold well enough to earn her a living, but Wylie's non-fiction (including her autobiographical work) was equally well-received, and she was unusual as an author in that she enjoyed both popular and critical success. Born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1885, she was taken by her parents to London in 1888, where her mother died soon after. She was raised by her father, Alexander Coghill Wylie, who utilized his own notions of bringing up children -- she was kept out of school and given large numbers of books to read, and she was taught to rely on her instincts until she was in her teens. She spent three years in finishing school in Belgium, and then studied in England, followed by years of studying in Germany, where she also taught and began writing. She became involved in the women's suffrage movement in England during the early teens, and made her first visit to America, which became her permanent home decades later in 1917.

Wylie's wide range of education turned her into a true citizen of the world, and an author and traveler. These elements became a central virtue in her stories, taking place in various locales. Wylie's writing career took off in the teens, and her novel, The Red Mirage, was brought to the screen in 1915 as The Unknown. Four more of her stories were turned into movies over the next five years, but she fully hit her stride in the decade that followed. In 1920, Wylie published her first major novel, Toward Morning, which dealt with life in Germany. One of her later books, To the Vanquished, was an account of the changes that took place in Germany during the Nazi occupation. She also traveled to the Soviet Union and later wrote Furious Young Man, which is the story of a British youth who is frustrated with the shortcomings of his homeland's society and embraces communism. Nine movies based on her work (including a fresh adaptation of The Red Mirage as The Foreign Legion) were filmed during the '20s, and 10 more in the '30s. The most memorable screen adaptation of a Wylie novel, however, was Keeper of the Flame (1942), with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The film is not a comedy, but one of the most sophisticated thrillers ever to come out of Hollywood -- a startling work issued from a major studio in wartime, dealing with the investigation of a deceased, wealthy and supposedly ultra-patriotic man whose unsavory secrets are revealed. The suspense elements in Keeper of the Flame rival the work of Alfred Hitchcock, and it contains political elements that seem almost subversive. It marked the peak of Wylie's influence as an author in Hollywood. Two more movies based on her work would follow in the '50s -- Phone Call From a Stranger (1952) and Torch Song (1953). She receded in prominence through the last years of her life.

Wylie was the kind of female public figure that Katharine Hepburn often played onscreen. In 1946, she was one of 11 women in public life cited for her achievements by the Women's National Press Club. She was something of a literary celebrity for more than three decades, and from 1935 onward, she resided in the United States in the area around Princeton, NJ, with the exception of a short stint in Hollywood. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide