Jane Murfin
American dramatist
title: "Jane Murfin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1884-births", "1955-deaths", "film-producers-from-michigan", "burials-at-valhalla-memorial-park-cemetery", "american-women-film-directors", "film-directors-from-michigan", "people-from-quincy,-michigan", "american-women-screenwriters", "american-women-dramatists-and-playwrights", "20th-century-american-dramatists-and-playwrights", "20th-century-american-women-writers", "women-film-pioneers", "screenwriters-from-michigan", "american-women-film-producers", "20th-century-american-screenwriters"] description: "American dramatist" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Murfin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American dramatist ::
::data[format=table title="infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Jane Murfin |
| image | Jane-Murfin-1923.jpg |
| caption | Jane Murfin in 1923 |
| birth_name | Jane Macklem |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Quincy, Michigan, United States |
| death_date | |
| death_place | California, United States |
| occupation | Playwright, screenwriter, producer, director |
| years_active | 1919–1944 |
| spouse | {{plainlist |
| * {{marriage | James Murfin |
| * {{marriage | Donald Crisp |
| partner | Laurence Trimble (c. 1920–1925) |
| :: |
|name=Jane Murfin |image=Jane-Murfin-1923.jpg |caption=Jane Murfin in 1923 |birth_name=Jane Macklem |birth_date= |birth_place=Quincy, Michigan, United States |death_date= |death_place=California, United States |occupation=Playwright, screenwriter, producer, director | years_active = 1919–1944 | spouse = {{plainlist|
| partner = Laurence Trimble (c. 1920–1925)
Jane Murfin, née Macklem (October 27, 1884 – August 10, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. The author of several successful plays, she wrote some of them with actress Jane Cowl—most notably Smilin' Through (1919), which was adapted three times for motion pictures. In Hollywood Murfin became a popular screenwriter whose credits include What Price Hollywood? (1932), for which she received an Academy Award nomination. In the 1920s she lived with Laurence Trimble, writing and producing films for their dog Strongheart, the first major canine star.
Life and career
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Murfin-Strongheart-1923.jpg" caption="Jane Murfin with [[Strongheart]] (1923)"] ::
Jane Macklem was born October 27, 1884, in Quincy, Michigan. In 1907 she married attorney James Murfin, and retained his surname when the marriage ended fewer than five years later.
Murfin began her career with the play Lilac Time, which she co-wrote with actress Jane Cowl. The Broadway production opened February 6, 1917, and ran for 176 performances. Later that year the two women began collaborating, often under pseudonym Allan Langdon Martin, on a series of revivals of World War I melodramas. The pair later collaborated on Daybreak, followed by Information Please (1918) and Smilin' Through (1919).
In Hollywood, Murfin became a leading screenwriter, writing many romantic comedies and dramas by herself or in collaboration.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Jane-Murfin-Directing-1924.jpg" caption="Murfin ordering the placement of lights while directing ''[[Flapper Wives]]'' (1924)"] ::
In 1920, director Laurence Trimble persuaded Murfin to purchase a German Shepherd dog—Strongheart—that became the first major canine film star. Strongheart starred in four films that Trimble directed from Murfin's screenplays: The Silent Call (1921), Brawn of the North (1922), The Love Master (1924) and White Fang (1925).
Murfin is credited with directing one film, Flapper Wives (1924), before the dissolution of her partnership with Trimble. Film historian Kevin Brownlow described this partnership as both professional and personal; although some sources describe Trimble and Murfin as a husband-and-wife filmmaking team, no marriage has been substantiated.
Murfin's later screenwriting credits include Way Back Home (1931), Our Betters (1933), The Little Minister (1934), Spitfire (1934), Roberta (1935), Alice Adams (1935), The Women (1939), Pride and Prejudice (1940), and Dragon Seed (1944).
Personal life
Murfin was married first to lawyer James Murfin from 1907 to 1912. Her second marriage was to actor Donald Crisp, for whom she would write parts in her scripts; the marriage lasted from 1932 to 1944.
Accolades
Murfin and Adela Rogers St. Johns were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Story for What Price Hollywood? (1932). Frances Marion received the award for The Champ.
Theatre credits
::data[format=table]
| Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| February 6 – July 1917 | Lilac Time | Theatre Republic, New York City; written with Jane Cowl |
| Basis for the 1928 film | ||
| August 14 – October 1917 | Daybreak | Harris Theatre, New York City; written with Jane Cowl |
| Basis for the 1918 film | ||
| October 2 – November 1918 | Information Please | Selwyn Theatre, New York City |
| Basis for the film A Temperamental Wife (1919) | ||
| December 30, 1919 – May 1920 | Smilin' Through | 1922]], 1932 and 1941 |
| October 21 – November 1929 | Stripped | Ambassador Theatre, New York City |
| :: |
Select filmography
Murfin is credited as a writer; additional production credits are noted. | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 220 | image1 =Marie, Ltd (1919) - Ad 1.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 =Ad for Marie, Ltd. (1919) | image2 =Brawn-of-the-North-1922-Poster.jpg | alt2 = | caption2 =Poster for Brawn of the North (1922) | image3 =Strongheart-Jule-The-Love-Master-Postcard.jpg | alt3 = | caption3 =Postcard for The Love Master (1924) | image4 =Norma Shearer in "Slave to Fashion".jpg | alt4 = | caption4 =Norma Shearer in A Slave of Fashion (1925) | image5 =What Price Hollywood window card.jpg | alt5 = | caption5 =Window card for What Price Hollywood? (1932) | image6 =The Women 1939.jpg | alt6 = | caption6 =Lobby card for The Women (1939) ::data[format=table]
References
References
- "Jane Murfin – Women Film Pioneers Project".
- Katz, Ephraim. (1998). "The Film Encyclopedia". HarperPerennial.
- Trimble, Laurence. (1926). "Strongheart; The Story of a Wonder Dog". [[Whitman Publishing]] Company.
- (February 10, 1954). "Laurence Trimble Dies". [[The New York Times]].
- (June 25, 1929). "Dog Hero of Films Dies". The New York Times.
- "Strongheart". American Film Institute.
- "Flapper Wives". [[American Film Institute]].
- (September 27, 2013). "Jane Murfin". Center for Digital Research and Scholarship, [[Columbia University Libraries]].
- Mordaunt Hall. (February 24, 1933). "Constance Bennett, Violet Kemble-Cooper and Grant Mitchell in a Film of a Somerset Maugham Play". The New York Times.
- [https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/results/?state=&date1=1914&date2=1914&proxtext=mrs.+james+murfin&x=0&y=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&rows=20&searchtype=basic The Detroit Times] June 4, 1914 LAST EDITION, Page 2..retrieved July 31, 2019
- "Jane Murfin". [[Internet Broadway Database]].
- "Jane Murfin". American Film Institute.
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