Robert Towne, screenwriter of Chinatown, The Firm and Mission Impossible, dies at 89

Robert Towne, the Hollywood screenwriter behind the masterpiece Chinatownoften described as the best screenplay ever written, died on July 1 in Los Angeles at the age of 89. The American, who won an Oscar for the screenplay, left us, “peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family”confirmed his agent Carri McClure, in a statement to AFP.

He had established himself as a figure of the New Hollywood of the 1970s, and was also known for having written the first two parts of the saga Mission Impossible. Several classic films have benefited from his contribution, although his name does not appear in the credits. Among others, Bonnie and Clyde et The Godfather. He worked on the first one as a «consultant»at the beginning of his career in the 1960s. For The GodfatherRoberto Towne had been greeted on the Oscar stage by Francis Ford Coppola, who had been awarded the statuette for best screenplay. The director had paid tribute to him for “the beautiful scene between Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in the garden”.

Chinatown by Roman Polanski in 1974, screenplay by Robert Towne, with Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston…

This mention had propelled Robert Towne to the firmament of New Hollywood. At his peak, he was nominated three years in a row for the Oscar for best screenplay in the mid-1970s, and won the award for Chinatown. The film stars Jack Nicholson as a 1930s private detective whose investigation of a cheating husband uncovers a world of corruption in Los Angeles. Its intricate plot, wise-but-dark dialogue, and bold themes make Chinatown a script revered in film schools, even if its director Roman Polanski opted for a much more terrifying ending than the one initially envisaged by Robert Towne.

Robert Towne has also directed a few films during his career. As a screenwriter, he teamed up with Tom Cruise on Days of Thunderreleased in 1990. A collaboration that the duo had renewed on the first two Mission Impossible. Finally, this great servant of cinema will also have acted as consulting producer on the famous television series Mad Men.