Helen Deutsch; Wrote ‘National Velvet,’ ‘Lili’ Screenplays

Helen Deutsch, 86, a writer and lyricist best known for her “National Velvet” screenplay. Miss Deutsch, a founder of the New York Drama Critics Circle in 1934, wrote the 1944 movie “National Velvet,” which thrust Elizabeth Taylor to stardom and the 1953 movie “Lili,” which received an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay. She also contributed to “The Glass Slipper,” in 1955; “I’ll Cry Tomorrow,” in 1956; “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” in 1964, and “The Valley of the Dolls,” in 1967. Miss Deutsch did the television score for NBC’s “Jack and the Beanstalk” in 1956 and wrote a variety of song lyrics, including, “Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo,” “Take My Love” and “The Ballad of Jack and the Beanstalk.” On Sunday in New York City.