Mildred Horn

Horn was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, and studied at Academy High School.^[1] She later moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where she became a film critic for a local paper.

When Horn was sent to review Kroger Babb's production of Child Bride, she was horrified that such a "cheap, crude, mislabeled morality play would be shown in a major Indiana family theater." In Horn's opinion, the film was material for a shoddy sideshow tent at some backwoods county fair.^[2]

Babb later met with Horn, and instead of Horn writing a scathing review, they entered into a personal and professional relationship that would last 40 years until his death in 1980. They enjoyed a common-law marriage after 1944, only making it official when Babb's first wife, Toby, consented to a divorce in the late '60s.^[2]

Together with Jack Jossey, they formed Hygienic Productions (later renamed Hallmark Productions),^[3] and she wrote the screenplay for their best-known production, Mom and Dad. The film was presented in a unique way, and included lectures and the sale of hygiene books that Horn wrote.^[4]

Horn also wrote the screenplays for Why Men Leave Home, a film about female beauty, and Prince of Peace, a passion play.