Robert Presnell Sr.

The much-traveled Robert Presnell spent part of his childhood in Cuba and in the Phillippines. After his family settled in Chicago he attended technical school, and, subsequently, Chicago University. Graduating in 1914, Robert drifted into journalism. Between 1919 and 1923 he was employed by the Chicago Tribune as a foreign correspondent while at the same time developing his skills as a writer of plays and short stories. Before long, his work was noticed by the film community. He was signed by Jesse L. Lasky in 1928, penning several scripts in New York before moving to the West Coast. Over the years, Presnell and Lasky became good friends. As a scenarist and writer of screen adaptations (usually in a collaborative environment), or as occasional production supervisor/associate producer, Presnell worked during most of the 1930s for major studios in Hollywood, including at Paramount, Warner Brothers and Universal. In the capacity of original author he was famously credited with the story on which the classic film Meet John Doe (1941) was based. For this, he won an Oscar nomination. During World War II, Presnell rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel with the Signals Corps and became chief photographic officer for combat films in the Southwest Pacific. His work was deemed of such importance that General Douglas MacArthur permitted him to attend military staff briefings. Lasky's son, future screenwriter Jesse Lasky Jr., served under Presnell's command, as did Sergeant Bernard Small (as editor), who was the son of producer Edward Small. From 1950, Presnell was based on the East Coast, variously in the employ of the United Nations (as film promotion officer) or of private enterprise, scripting industrial and training documentaries. He spent the remainder of the decade as a freelance writer for television. Presnell's son, Robert Presnell Jr., followed in his father's footsteps as a Hollywood screenwriter.