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Elmer Rice

エルマー・ライス

Erumā Raisu

Aliases: Elmer Leopold Reizenstein

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1892-09-28 （New York City）
Died
1967-05-08 （Southampton, Hampshire） age 74
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Religion
Atheism
Residence History
New York City → Stamford, Connecticut → Southampton, England

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Lawyer
Active Years
1914-1967
Affiliations
Playwrights' Company, Theatre Guild
Memberships
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Dramatists Guild of America, P.E.N., Federal Theatre Project (first director of New York office)
Influenced By
George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, John Galsworthy, Maxim Gorky, Frank Norris, Upton Sinclair

Education

New York Law School
Law
Degree: LLB
Year of Graduation: 1912
Country: United States
Dropped out of high school, self-studied for state exams to enter. Disliked law studies but graduated while reading plays in class. Provided material for plays.

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for Drama
1929
Work: Street Scene
Category: Drama
Organization: Columbia University
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Adding Machine

1923 Expressionist drama

Satire on regimentation in the machine age. Mr. Zero, a bookkeeper replaced by an adding machine, murders his boss and faces bizarre afterlife.

MechanizationCapitalist critiqueHuman alienation
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Adding Machine (1969)
  • [Musical] The Adding Machine (2008)

Street Scene

1929 Realist drama

Realistic chronicle of New York tenement life with fifty characters, capturing humanity in a decaying brownstone facade.

PovertyImmigrant lifeUrban isolation
Adaptations
  • [Film] Street Scene / King Vidor (1931)
  • [Opera] Street Scene (1947)

On Trial

1914 Courtroom drama

Melodramatic murder mystery using reverse-chronology, first major Broadway success.

JusticeTrial
Adaptations
  • [Film] On Trial (1917)
  • [Film] On Trial (1928)
  • [Film] On Trial (1939)

Counsellor-at-Law

1931 Courtroom drama

Vigorous realistic picture of the legal profession based on author's experience.

Legal corruptionJewish lawyer
Adaptations
  • [Film] Counsellor at Law / William Wyler (1933)

Bibliography

  • On Trial (1914)
  • The Adding Machine (1923)
  • Street Scene (1929)
  • Counsellor-at-Law (1931)
  • Dream Girl (1945)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
ExpressionismRealismSocial dramaExperimental techniques
Recurring Motifs
Mechanization and alienationClass disparityJustice and lawPolitical and social critique

Health

  • Heart attack
    1967
    Led to pneumonia and death
  • Pneumonia
    1967
    Cause of death

Legacy

Influential American playwright known for innovative expressionist and realist works, Pulitzer winner for Street Scene. Outspoken on social and political issues.

Archives

  • Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin

In Popular Culture

  • Portrayed by Jon Favreau in the 1994 film Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.

Trivia

  • Grandfather was a political activist in the 1848 German revolutions and staunch atheist.
  • Earned $100,000 from first play On Trial, more than any later work.
  • Art collector with works by Picasso, Klee, and others.