Albert Lewin

Albert Lewin lived a full life before ever becoming involved with film. Born in Brooklyn but raised in Newark, Lewin earned a Master's degree from Harvard, taught at the University of Missouri, and served in World War I. Following the war, he became a drama and film critic for the Jewish Tribune until he moved to Hollywood in the 1920s, where he became a script reader for Samuel Goldwyn. After acting as a script clerk he became a full-fledged screenwriter at MGM in 1924. Lewin rose to become the head of MGM's script department, and eventually became a close associate of legendary producer Irving Thalberg, earning associate producer credits on many MGM films of the era. He signed on as a producer at Paramount in 1937 and worked on films such as "True Confession," "Spawn of the North," and "Zaza." Lewin began his career directing in 1942, making films such as "The Picture of Dorian Gray," "The Private Affairs of Bel Ami," and "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman," all of which he wrote himself. He ended his career in 1957 with "The Living Idol," which he wrote, directed, and produced, but continued writing, publishing a novel, "The Unaltered Cat," in 1966.