One of Hollywood's most prolific and versatile screenwriters, John Lee Mahin spent nearly thirty-five years working with some of the best and most colorful writers and directors Hollywood has ever known. Spending most of his career at M-G-M, Mahin became the favorite screenwriter of such popular stars as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and Spencer Tracy and such legendary directors as John Ford, Victor Fleming, and Howard Hawks. While working at M-G-M in the thirties and early forties, Mahin garnered a solid reputation for writing rousing adventure stories--Red Dust (1932), Boom Town (1940)--and some of the raciest and most sophisticated sexual comedies--Bombshell (1933), Wife vs. Secretary (1936)--of that period.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Mahin acquired an interest in writing from his father who was a pioneer in newspaper advertising. While attending Harvard, Mahin worked as a movie editor for the Boston American; he later worked as a reporter for...