Furthman was born in Chicago. His brother was the writer Charles Furthman. During World War I he wrote under the pen name "Stephen Fox" as he thought Furthman sounded too German.
He wrote screenplays for a number of important or popular films, including The Docks of New York (1928), Thunderbolt (1929), Merely Mary Ann (1931), Shanghai Express (1932), Bombshell (1933), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), Come and Get It (1936), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), and Nightmare Alley (1947). He wrote credited screenplays for eight films directed by Josef Von Sternberg and an equal number for Howard Hawks.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for Mutiny on the Bounty.

Return to Jules Furthman Autograph Profile