The Human Comedy by William Saroyan is on stage at the David Schall Theatre in Hollywood courtesy of the Actors Co-op Theater Company until November 5, 2023. The production is written and directed by Thom Babbes, the Armenian Film Society reports.
Set in war front America in 1942, this coming-of-age tale tells the story of Homer Macaulay, a 14-year-old boy who delivers telegrams at night to make money for his family. During the course of two days, Homer grows from an idealistic boy to a mature young man as he struggles with the unfairness of the world around him and the pain of families to whom he delivers the War Department’s death notices.
Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, called on William Saroyan to write a treatment to raise the morale of Americans during World War II. The writer delivered the story for The Human Comedy, which MGM purchased the rights for $60,000— over $1 million, adjusted for inflation.
William Saroyan expressed interest in directing the film, and wrote and directed the 10-minute film, The Good Job, as a proof of concept. Unfortunately, he did not get the directing job for The Human Comedy— which went to Clarence Brown, who had multiple Best Director nominations under his belt by that point.
William Saroyan tried to buy back his script, and when he couldn’t, he left the studio and denounced the film. The film, which starred Mickey Rooney, was a massive success, and won William Saroyan an Oscar for Best Original Motion Picture Story at the 1943 Academy Awards.
