Reporter, theater manager, publicist, and screenwriter, Anthony Veiller was born in New York City, the son of Bayard Veiller, himself a screenwriter, director, and producer. Veiller came to Hollywood in 1930 to begin the screenwriting career that would last for the rest of his life.

Veiller's first work on a feature film was as a dialogue writer for Breach of Promise (1932). This picture was followed by two crime/comedy screenplays. The first was The Notorious Sophie Lang (1934), which Veiller's father produced at Paramount. Two competing criminals manage to commit all their crimes under the noses of the police. The picture received good reviews, and Veiller stayed with this type of material for his next film, Star of Midnight (1935). This time, however, the comedy was told from the point of view of the law, in this case, a private detective. The film featured William Powell, who played Clay Dalzell, a...