Re: RARA-AVIS: Re: "The Mouthpiece"


Jim Beaver (JUMBLEJIM@prodigy.net)
Sun, 5 Sep 1999 12:00:19 -0700


>Jim, are you sure about that source credit? _The Warner Brothers Story_
>(generally a reliable reference) says that _The Man Who Talked Too Much_
>was based on an original screenplay written by Tom Reed and Walter DeLeon.
>
>Edgar Wallace's _The Mouthpiece_ started life as a stage play ca. 1930, and
>was first novelized in 1936. I've done a bit of searching and haven't
>found any evidence that he ever published under the name Frank J. Collins.

I'm certain. I've gone through the Warner Bros. production material, and the New York Times review (for a more easily accessible source) quotes the screenplay as being based on the PLAY (my mistake) "The Mouthpiece," by Frank J. Collins. In addition, I now notice, THE MAN WHO TALKED TOO MUCH is a remake of a 1932 film, THE MOUTHPIECE, which the Times refers to as based on a "recent" play by Frank J. Collins. Is it possible that Edgar Wallace novelized Collins's play? Of course, knowing the plotline of the Wallace novel and/or play would resolve things.

Jim Beaver

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