Robert G. North
Robert Guilford North (January 26, 1913 – December 20, 1954) was an American film writer and producer who reportedly served as an undercover
Early life and education
Robert G. North was born on January 26, 1913, in
A skilled orator, North participated in
World War II
As the United States joined
In Honolulu after the
Film career
After the war, North settled in Los Angeles and resumed his writing partnership with Cummings, penning scripts for producer
The following year, the couple moved to Thailand, ostensibly for North to research a film project.
The company's first production was Santi-Vina, a Bildungsroman film considered a landmark in Thai film history as the first to be shot on 35-mm color film as well as the first to win international awards—at the inaugural 1954 Southeast Asian Film Festival (later known as the Asia-Pacific Film Festival) in Tokyo.[25] Its production was conceived specifically for the festival, whose deeper aim was to create a network of anti-communist film producers, and North, as a delegate for Thailand, was a strongly outspoken anti-communist voice in the festival's parent organization, the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Southeast Asia (FPA).[26]
North wrote the screenplay for Santi-Vina and co-produced the film with Rak Panyarachun.[27] Although planned as the first of many high-quality productions, it was instead his only film from Thailand, as he died unexpectedly on September 20, 1954,[24] three days after falling ill with polio.[22] He was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery on Si Lom Road.[28]
CIA connections
Several later sources have claimed that North was an undercover agent of the
E. Howard Hunt, a former CIA agent convicted in the Watergate scandal, mentioned in his memoirs that it was he who informed North of the newly formed OPC while visiting him and Maxine in Los Angeles, to which North expressed interest and Hunt promised to recommend him to the agency. He also noted that North, "posted in Bangkok, was trying to establish a Thai film industry, hoping to make a movie about an epic Thai legend".[34][c] Screenwriter Charles Bennett noted that the script for Bangkok, which he co-wrote with North in 1950, was created for the CIA, probably intended as a cover, though it was never produced.[36]
Personal life and family
North had a large social circle; an obituary for his mother in Thailand's
After North's death in 1954, Maxine, together with his mother, who had lived with the couple in Thailand, briefly returned to the United States, but later went back to Thailand and settled there permanently.[38] Maxine North would go on to establish herself as a successful businesswoman, launching, among other ventures, Polaris, the first bottled water brand in the country.[22]
Notes
- ^ According to Richard Harris Smith, these were actually Chinese nationalist troops in disguise.
- ^ Somewhat ironically, the film was also purchased for screening in the Soviet Union and communist China.[33]
- ^ This was probably a planned adaptation of the historical novel Phu Chana Sip Thit, the production of which was dropped in favor of Santi-Vina.[35]
References
- ^ Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911–1915. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts (2013), "Births Registered in the City of Boston For the Year 1913", Massachusetts, U.S., Birth Records, 1840-1915, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., p. 29
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f "Soldier-Orator to Be Guest at Heroes' Parade, Bonds Dinner and Rally". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. June 29, 1942. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "MANY TO ATTEND ORANGE BANQUET". Riverside Daily Press. Riverside, California. May 3, 1933. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "PROBATE LAWYER'S WILL". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. April 5, 1918. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "HAWAIIANS WILL DEBATE ROANOKE". The Roanoke Times. Roanoke, Virginia. March 8, 1936. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Exchange Plan Gives Students Travel Chance". The Whittier News. Whittier, California. October 15, 1934. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "University of Hawaii Debaters Here to Engage ACC Duo Tonight". Abilene Daily Reporter. Abilene, Texas. February 26, 1936. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Many Islanders Attend Stanford On Mainland". The Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii. December 11, 1936. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "LEGION POSTS BACK ORATORS". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. March 29, 1929. p. II-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nation hears debaters on statehood for Hawaii". The Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii. April 14, 1935. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "HAWAII DEBATE TEAM ARRIVES". News-Pilot. San Pedro, California. February 19, 1936. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Herbert Hoover Rests Here on Vacation Tour". Spokane Chronicle (Fireside ed.). Spokane, Washington. August 16, 1937. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gear, Eugene V. (January 7, 1938). "Hawaii Students on Mainland Campuses". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Stanford Prexy Lampooned In Skit; Honolulan Involved". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. August 24, 1938. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Wright, Virginia (September 14, 1946). "Drama". Daily News. Los Angeles, California. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Barksdale Soldier Is Contest Winner". The Shreveport Journal. Shreveport, Louisiana. June 30, 1942. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bonds For Bombers: Cousin of General Patton Aids Army Bonds Drive". Metropolitan Pasadena Star-News. Pasadena, California. November 12, 1942. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Robert G. North Trains as Flier". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. November 23, 1942. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 978-1-59921-658-4.
- ^ "Jewels of Brandenburg (1947)". AFI Catalog. American Film Institute. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ^ "Night Wind". AFI Catalog. American Film Institute. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Lilliston, Lynn (June 11, 1971). "Southlander a legend: Widow a Bangkok tycoon". The Los Angeles Times. p. IV-2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ California, Marriage Index, 1949-1959, vol. 1949, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, p. 340
- ^ S2CID 229538159.
- ^ Rithdee, Kong (2016). "Once lost, now found". Bangkok Post. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-5017-5232-2.
- hdl:10356/143158.
- ^ National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, U.S.A.; NAI Number: 302021; Record Group Title: General Records of the Department of State; Record Group Number: Record Group 59; Series Number: Publication A1 205; Box Number: 1196; Box Description: 1950-1954 Thailand A - Z (2010), "Report of the death of an American citizen (Robert Guilford North)", Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ISBN 978-0-429-70058-3.
- ISBN 978-0-470-83021-5.
- ISBN 978-0-399-11788-6.
- ISBN 9781838609252.
- ^ คนมองหนัง (July 29, 2016). "คนมองหนัง : "สันติ-วีณา" ประสบการณ์ "พิเศษ" ของคนดูหนัง". Matichon Weekly (in Thai). Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-471-78982-6.
- ^ Dusadee Nildum; Aphidech Kamsudty; Witchapat Khawhirun; Pimlapat Chaichana (January–June 2018). "อุดมการณ์ความเป็นไทยที่ถูกถ่ายทอดผ่านภาพยนตร์เรื่อง "สันติ-วีณา"" [Thai Ideology through Santi-Vina (1954)] (PDF). Saint John's Journal (in Thai). 21 (28): 285.
- ISBN 978-0-8131-4479-5.
- ^ Standard, issues 836–855. 1963. p. 5.
- ^ Pauley, Gay (December 4, 1962). "U.S. businesswomen is phenomenon in Thailand". The Record. UPI. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.