Harriet Frank, Jr. is an American film writer and producer. Working alongside her husband, Irving Ravetch, Frank received numerous awards during her lengthy career, including the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and the Writers Guild of America Award, and several nominations. Frank and Ravetch are considered one of the all-time great screenwriting couples, and many of their works are recognised classics of their genres.
Frank began her writing career after World War II, under Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's young writer's training program, where she first met her future husband. She married Ravetch in 1946 but worked independently for ten years, finally collaborating with him in 1957, a relationship that continued for the remainder of her career. During 33 years of collaboration, they created the screenplays for a variety of films, mainly adaptations of the works of American authors.
Frank and Ravetch maintained a close working relationship with director Martin Ritt throughout their career, collaborating with him on eight occasions; after initially being suggested by Ravetch to direct The Long, Hot Summer, Ritt would eventually draw the couple out of inactivity on three occasions, hiring them to write the screenplays for Norma Rae, Murphy's Romance and Stanley & Iris. The latter was both the last film directed by Ritt and the last for which Frank and Ravetch wrote the screenplay.
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