In brief
Abraham Polonsky (December 5, 1910 – October 26, 1999) was an American screenwriter, director, novelist, and former lawyer whose career in Hollywood was defined by socially critical film noirs such as the screenplay for Body and Soul (1947) and his directorial debut Force of Evil (1948).
Born in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, Polonsky graduated from City College with a degree in English before earning a law degree from Columbia University in 1935, after which he practiced law while beginning to write radio scripts, novels, and essays influenced by his Marxist worldview. He joined the Communist Party of the United States around 1935–1936 but later resigned in opposition to Joseph Stalin's policies, though he maintained a commitment to Marxist theory. Transitioning to screenwriting in the mid-1940s, Polonsky earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Body and Soul, a boxing drama that critiqued exploitation under capitalism.
Abraham Polonsky was born on December 5, 1910, in New York City, as the eldest son of Russian Jewish immigrants Henry and Rebecca Polonsky (née Rosoff). His parents had arrived in the United States amid the wave of Eastern European migration at the turn of the century, settling in an urban environment marked by the challenges of industrialization and ethnic enclaves. The family initially resided in the Bronx before relocating during Polonsky's adolescence to Manhattan's East Side, near his father's pharmacy on Second Avenue, reflecting the modest economic circumstances typical of many immigrant households striving for stability.
