Mankiewicz began to write, finishing an original screenplay, "Please", about the last ninety minutes in the life of a suicidal young actress. It was optioned at times by three different studios, never made, but served as an example of his talent and was responsible for his first writing assignment, an episode of "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre", directed by Stuart Rosenberg. He received a credit as "Thomas F. Mankiewicz", but thought it looked so pretentious on the screen he became Tom Mankiewicz for the rest of his career.