Passage of Ararat

Following the popularity of “The Green Hat” Armenian Michael Arlen (Dikran Kouyoumdjian) was invited to Hollywood where he wrote screenplays for silent movies. In 1927 he made the May issue of ‘Time’ magazine. Greta Garbo and John Gilbert appeared in ‘A Woman of Affairs’ which was based on ‘The Green Hat’. In 1936 Bette Davis starred in ‘The Golden Heiress’ which was based on an Arlen novel. For years the Arlen masterpiece was described by the press as the ‘Anna Karenina’ of the 20^th century. His fame began to fade in the ‘40s. He died in 1956 in New York. His son, Michael Arlen Jr., who was a famous essayist and TV reviewer, wrote ‘Passage of Ararat’ (1976) about his roots and his journey to Armenia. It won the National Book Award.

Following the popularity of “The Green Hat” Armenian Michael Arlen (Dikran Kouyoumdjian) was invited to Hollywood where he wrote screenplays for silent movies. In 1927 he made the May issue of ‘Time’ magazine. Greta Garbo and John Gilbert appeared in ‘A Woman of Affairs’ which was based on ‘The Green Hat’. In 1936 Bette Davis starred in ‘The Golden Heiress’ which was based on an Arlen novel. For years the Arlen masterpiece was described by the press as the ‘Anna Karenina’ of the 20^th century. His fame began to fade in the ‘40s. He died in 1956 in New York. His son, Michael Arlen Jr., who was a famous essayist and TV reviewer, wrote ‘Passage of Ararat’ (1976) about his roots and his journey to Armenia. It won the National Book Award.