Garrett Fort

Garrett Elsden Fort (June 5, 1900 – October 26, 1945) was an American short story writer, playwright, and Hollywood screenwriter. He is mostly known for his connections with 1930s horror films, with film historian Gary Don Rhodes describing him as "one of, if not the pre-eminent horror film screenwriters of the classic era." He was a close follower of Meher Baba, and travelled to India while developing a screenplay based on Baba's philosophy. Fort was born in New York on June 5, 1900. According to Fort, he tried to make a career as an attorney in the 1920s and wrote what he described as "true confession stories as a sideline." He began working as a gateman at the Famous Players Film Company. From this position he eventually moved on as a writer under contract to Cecil B. DeMille and later at Paramount Pictures. Fort became more prominently known as a screenwriter during the early era of sound film with The Film Daily stating that he was gaining reputation as "The Edgar Wallace of the Movies" based on how he turned out adaptations and original scripts that had performed well.Film historian Gary Don Rhodes described Fort as "one of, if not the pre-eminent horror film screenwriters of the classic era." Among the films Fort was hired to work on in the 1930s included Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), Island of Lost Souls (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), Dracula's Daughter (1936), and The Devil-Doll (1936). In 1931, Fort referred to himself in an ad as "a specialist in sin and jitters." Hal Erickson also stated the Fort contributed to scripts of other non-horror film "of note", including: The Lost Patrol (1934), Panama Lady (1939), The Mark of Zorro (1940) and Blood on the Sun (1945). Erickson noted that Fort was "adept at alternating horrific highlights with bits of unexpected humor."