Paul Dehn

Paul Edward Dehn (/ˈdeɪn/ DAYN; 5 November 1912 – 30 September 1976) was a British screenwriter, playwright, critic, and World War II intelligence officer.

He was known for writing the screenplays to Goldfinger (1964), the John le Carré adaptations The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and The Deadly Affair (1967), the Planet of the Apes films (1970–74), and the Sidney Lumet-directed adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express (1974).

He won an Academy Award for Best Story for Seven Days to Noon (1950), and the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay for Orders to Kill (1958).

Early life

Dehn was born in 1912 in Manchester, to Jewish parents of German descent.^[1] He had a younger sister, author Olive Dehn. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and attended Brasenose College, Oxford.^[2] While at Oxford, he contributed film reviews to weekly undergraduate papers.

He began his writing career in 1936 as a film reviewer for several London newspapers. He was lead film critic for the News Chronicle until its closure in 1960 and then for the Daily Herald until 1963.^[3]

World War II

During World War II, he was stationed at Camp X in Ontario, Canada. This was one of several training facilities operated by the British Special Operations Executive to train spies and special forces teams. He was the Political Warfare officer from 1942 to 1944 and held the rank of Major. Dehn took part in missions in France and Norway,^[4] and was for a time partnered with Kim Philby.^[5] According to John le Carré, Dehn was involved in assassination operations.^[1]

Writing career

In 1949, Dehn began a collaboration with composer James Bernard. Dehn asked Bernard to collaborate with him on the original story for the Boulting Brothers film Seven Days to Noon (1950).

He narrated the 1951 documentary Waters of Time and later wrote plays, operettas and musicals for the stage. He wrote the lyrics for songs in two films, Moulin Rouge (1952) and The Innocents (1961).

Through the 1960s, Dehn concentrated on screenwriting for spy films, including Goldfinger (1964), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), and The Deadly Affair (1967). He was recommended to the latter two projects by source material author John le Carré himself, who said Dehn knew far more about espionage world than himself.^[1] Le Carré said that Dehn "[he had] a pretty startling experience of the spook world, but he was a very gentle guy, lovely to work with."^[1]

Dehn wrote the screenplay for Franco Zeffirelli's 1967 film of The Taming of the Shrew, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The film was a significant box-office hit.^[6]

He later wrote the screenplays for the second, third, and fourth original Planet of the Apes movies and received the story-by credit on the fifth. He wrote the libretto for William Walton's opera The Bear and two by Lennox Berkeley; A Dinner Engagement and Castaway.

His last screenplay was for Sidney Lumet's all-star Murder on the Orient Express (1974), based on the Agatha Christie whodunit, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Dehn resurrected or reinvented at least three genres given up for dead at the time; the British mystery, the Shakespeare adaptation, and the spy film.^[7]

Personal life

Dehn was gay, and in a long-term relationship with his oft-collaborator James Bernard.^[1]

Through his sister Olive, Dehn was uncle to actresses Kika and Petra Markham, makeup artist Sonia Markham, and poet Jehane Markham.

Death

Suffering from lung cancer for the final years of his life, Dehn died on September 30, 1976 in Chelsea.^[1]

Filmography

Documentary works

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ "Paul Dehn's life in music, poetry, films and wartime spying". www.lennoxberkeley.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
2. ^ Clifford Dyment, Roy Fuller and Montagu Slater (editors), New Poems 1952 (1952), p. 161.
3. ^ advert placed by the Daily Herald in the Coventry Evening Telegraph, 31 October 1960
4. ^ Harrison, David & Davidharrison (2010-04-17). "The secret war mission that inspired Goldfinger scene". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
5. ^ "An Evening Celebrating the Life of Paul Dehn – Screenwriter, Poet and Spy » The Cinema Museum, London". The Cinema Museum, London. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
6. ^ LoBianco, Lorraine (August 18, 2009). "The Taming of the Shrew (1967)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
7. ^ Kipen, David (2013). "Tinker Tailor Soldier Schreiber: The Unsung Achievement of Screenwriter Paul Dehn". Virginia Quarterly Review. 89 (1): 224–231. JSTOR 26446667
8. ^ "WRITING (MOTION PICTURE STORY)". THE 24TH ACADEMY AWARDS – 1952. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 20 March 1952. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
9. ^ "The 47th Academy Awards | 1975". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2025-09-21.

External links

• Paul Dehn at IMDb
• The Oscar Site
• The New York Times Movies
• Archival Material at