Clooney and company could have used Sturges or, even better, Clifford Odets when it came to rewrites.

NEWYORKER: Primary Suspect

Fink (John Turturro), the protagonist, is a left-wing New York playwright obviously based on Clifford Odets who signs a contract to write screenplays in Hollywood.

NEWYORKER: Barton Fink

Being true to oneself is a key issue in Clifford Odets' dark play, "The Big Knife, " written in 1948 during the flush of postwar success, when America's focus turned toward capitalism.

WSJ: Review: Fame cuts both ways in 'The Big Knife'

Most impressive of all was Lincoln Center Theater's revival of Clifford Odets's "Golden Boy, " a 19-character play about the rise and fall of an ambitious young boxer that was originally produced on Broadway in 1937.

WSJ: Theater Once Drew Crowds Onstage, Too | Sightings by Terry Teachout

The Group Theater, headed by Harold Clurman, who helped blaze the trail for Method acting, went to see Frances Farmer in the show and hired them both for the Broadway production of Clifford Odets's play "Golden Boy" in 1937.

WSJ: Actor Harry Morgan, Who Portrayed Col. Potter on 'M*A*S*H,' Dies at 96

The revival of Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy, " a play about a young man torn between his natural talent as a violinist and the fast money and fame of being a boxer, earned eight nominations, the most for any play.

NPR: 'Kinky Boots' Gets A Leading 13 Tony Award Nods

Yes, it's a free country, and Clifford Odets had a perfect right to sell himself to the highest bidder, just as we in turn have a right to roll our eyes when Charlie throws himself a pity party onstage.

WSJ: The Sellout | The Big Knife | The Assembled Parties | Theater Reviews by Terry Teachout