Nice legacy to leave behind

• John Michael Hayes, 1919-2008.

Mr. Hayes adapted four films for Hitchcock: “Rear Window” (1954), from a story by Cornell Woolrich; “To Catch a Thief” (1955), from a novel by David Dodge; “The Trouble With Harry” (1955), from a novel by Jack Trevor Story; and the 1956 remake of “The Man Who Knew Too Much.”

...Besides his work for Hitchcock, he was known for writing the screenplay for “Peyton Place” (1957) — no enviable task given the challenges of turning Grace Metalious’s novel of small-town scandals into Hollywood fare. His screenplays for “Peyton Place” and “Rear Window” were nominated for Academy Awards.

...Mr. Hayes’s later screenplays include adaptations of “Butterfield 8” (1960), in which Elizabeth Taylor won an Oscar for best actress and “The Children’s Hour” (1961). He also wrote television movies and in the 1980s and ’90s taught film at Dartmouth College.