Former journalist and playwright ("The Front Page", "Twentieth Century") who entered films in 1927. Alone or in collaboration (often with Charles MacArthur), Hecht quickly turned out the witty, well-plotted scripts for some of Hollywood's most acclaimed films of the 1930s and 40s in every genre from screwball comedies to crime thrillers. His prolific (and highly-paid) output includes the cynical comedy classic "Nothing Sacred" (1937), the superb adaptation of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" (1939), and Hitchcock's "Notorious" (1946), which has at its center one of filmdom's most compelling
