Dorothy Spencer
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Spencer was an American film editor. Nominated for an Academy Award on several occasions she is remembered for editing several of director
John Ford
's best known movies, including Stagecoach (1939) and what film critic Roger Ebert
calls, "Ford's greatest Western
," My Darling Clementine
.
She was born in Covington, Kentucky
, Robert Simpson, William Reynolds
and Hugh S. Fowler
.
Dorothy Spencer also edited several of Alfred Hitchcock
's films such as Foreign Correspondent
(1940) and 1944's Lifeboat
(featuring a particularly feisty and well-edited Tallulah Bankhead
performance). Spencer also edited director
Elia Kazan
's feature film debut, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
(1945).
Spencer edited the disaster film
Earthquake
(1974) starring Charlton Heston
, Ava Gardner
and George Kennedy
. Variety
s review of the film touted, "... Earthquake is an excellent dramatic exploitation
extravaganza, combining brilliant special effects with a multi-character plot line...". Dorothy Spencer was nominated for an Oscar
for Earthquake
, which was her fourth nomination after editing what still reigns as the most expensive movie ever made, Cleopatra
(1963). Her prior nominations were, Decision Before Dawn
(1951) and the John Ford
-directed, Stagecoach (1939).
, Verna Fields
, Thelma Schoonmaker
, Anne V. Coates
and Dorothy Spencer." Spencer was awarded the American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award
in 1989, and was among the first four editors to receive the Award.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
's best known movies, including Stagecoach (1939) and what film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
calls, "Ford's greatest Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
," My Darling Clementine
My Darling Clementine
My Darling Clementine is a 1946 western movie. It was directed by John Ford, and based on the story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral between the Earp brothers and the Clanton gang. It features an ensemble cast including Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, and others.The movie...
.
She was born in Covington, Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
Long Career with Many "Auteur" Directors and Varied Genres
Dorothy Spencer entered the film industry when she joined the employ of the Consolidated-Aller Lab in 1924. She moved to Fox, becoming a member of the editorial department. Worked at First National Studios assisting editors Louis Loeffler, Al DeGaetano and Irene Morra. At Fox, she and Loeffler were part of an editorial team that also included, at one time or another, Barbara McLeanBarbara McLean
Barbara McLean was an American film editor with 62 film credits. In the period Darryl F. Zanuck was dominant at the 20th Century Fox Studio, from the 1930s through the 1960s, McLean was the Studio's most conspicuous editor and ultimately the head of its editing department.She won the 1944 Academy...
, Robert Simpson, William Reynolds
William H. Reynolds
William H. Reynolds was an American film editor whose career spanned six decades. His credits include such notable films as The Sound of Music, The Godfather, The Sting, and The Turning Point...
and Hugh S. Fowler
Hugh S. Fowler
Hugh S. Fowler was an American film editor.Fowler spent his virtually his entire editing career at Twentieth Century-Fox. After spending years helping other film editors, including Louis Loeffler, Barbara McLean, William H...
.
Dorothy Spencer also edited several of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's films such as Foreign Correspondent
Foreign Correspondent (film)
Foreign Correspondent is a 1940 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which tells the story of an American reporter who tries to expose enemy spies in Britain, a series of events involving a continent-wide conspiracy that eventually leads to the events of a fictionalized World War...
(1940) and 1944's Lifeboat
Lifeboat (film)
Lifeboat is an American war film directed by Alfred Hitchcock from a story written by John Steinbeck. The film stars Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn and Canada Lee, and is set entirely on a lifeboat.The film is...
(featuring a particularly feisty and well-edited Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
performance). Spencer also edited director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
's feature film debut, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (film)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1945 film, the first film directed by Greek-American director Elia Kazan, starring James Dunn , Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner .The film is based on an American novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith first published in 1943...
(1945).
Spencer edited the disaster film
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
Earthquake
Earthquake (film)
Earthquake is a 1974 American disaster film that achieved huge box-office success, continuing the disaster film genre of the 1970s where recognizable all-star casts attempt to survive life or death situations...
(1974) starring Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
, Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
and George Kennedy
George Kennedy
George Harris Kennedy, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 film and television productions. He is perhaps most familiar as the convict Dragline in Cool Hand Luke , airline troubleshooter Joe Patroni in the Airport series of disaster movies from the 1970s and...
. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
s review of the film touted, "... Earthquake is an excellent dramatic exploitation
Exploitation
This article discusses the term exploitation in the meaning of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.- As unjust benefit :In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for...
extravaganza, combining brilliant special effects with a multi-character plot line...". Dorothy Spencer was nominated for an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Earthquake
Earthquake (film)
Earthquake is a 1974 American disaster film that achieved huge box-office success, continuing the disaster film genre of the 1970s where recognizable all-star casts attempt to survive life or death situations...
, which was her fourth nomination after editing what still reigns as the most expensive movie ever made, Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
(1963). Her prior nominations were, Decision Before Dawn
Decision Before Dawn
Decision Before Dawn is a 1951 American war film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and Hans Christian Blech. It tells the story of the American Army using potentially unreliable German prisoners of war to gather intelligence in the closing days of World War II...
(1951) and the John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
-directed, Stagecoach (1939).
One of the Top Film Editors
Varietys Eileen Kowalski notes that, "Indeed, many of the editorial greats have been women: Dede AllenDede Allen
Dorothea Carothers "Dede" Allen was an American film editor, well-known "film editing doctor" to the major American movie studios, and one of cinema's all-time celebrated 'auteur' film editors....
, Verna Fields
Verna Fields
Verna Fields was an American film editor, film and television sound editor, educator, and entertainment industry executive. In the first phase of her career, from 1954 through to about 1970, Fields mostly worked on smaller projects that gained little recognition. She was the sound editor for...
, Thelma Schoonmaker
Thelma Schoonmaker
Thelma Schoonmaker is an American film editor who has worked with director Martin Scorsese for over forty years. She has edited all of Scorsese's films since Raging Bull...
, Anne V. Coates
Anne V. Coates
Anne Voase Coates is a British film editor with a more than 40-year long career in film editing. She is perhaps best known as the editor of director David Lean's epic film, Lawrence of Arabia in 1962...
and Dorothy Spencer." Spencer was awarded the American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award
American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award
The American Cinema Editors gives one or more Career Achievement Awards each year. The first awards were given in 1987; the winners have been:*2011: Michael Kahn and Michael Brown*2010: Paul LaMastra and Neil Travis*2009: Sidney Katz and Arthur Schmidt...
in 1989, and was among the first four editors to receive the Award.
As Assistant Editor or Co-Editor
- The Strong ManThe Strong ManThe Strong Man is a 1926 American comedy silent film starring Harry Langdon and directed by Frank Capra.Along with Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, The Strong Man is Langdon's best known film...
(1926) assistant editor (directed by Frank CapraFrank CapraFrank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
) - Long PantsLong PantsLong Pants is a 1927 American comedy silent film starring Harry Langdon and directed by Frank Capra. Additional cast members include Gladys Brockwell, Alan Roscoe, Priscilla Bonner, and others.-Plot:...
(1927) assistant editor (directed by Frank CapraFrank CapraFrank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
) - Four Married Men (1929) assistant editor (directed by Marcel Silver)
- In Old ArizonaIn Old ArizonaIn Old Arizona is a 1929 American Western film directed by Irving Cummings and Raoul Walsh, nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film, which was based on the character of the Cisco Kid in the story The Caballero's Way by O...
(1929) assistant editor (directed by Raoul WalshRaoul WalshRaoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
) - Married In HollywoodMarried in HollywoodMarried in Hollywood is an American musical film. The only known footage to survive is a 12-minute fragment from the final reel in Multicolor at UCLA Film and Television Archive. The film is also known as Maritati ad Hollywood in Italy and Pantremmenoi sto Hollywood in Greece...
(1929) assistant editor (directed by Marcel Silver) - Nix On Dames (1929) assistant editor (directed by Donald GallaherDonald GallaherDonald Gallaher was an American actor.Gallaher was born in Quincy, Illinois. After moving to New York City as a child with his mother, he began acting in productions such as A Royal Family....
) - As Husbands Go (1934) assistant editor (directed by Hamilton MacFadden)
- Coming Out Party (1934) assistant editor (directed by John Blystone)
- She Was a Lady (1934) assistant editor (directed by Hamilton MacFadden)
- The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936) assistant editor (directed by William Seiter)
- The Luckiest Girl in the WorldThe Luckiest Girl in the WorldThe Luckiest Girl in the World is a 1936 comedy film by director Edward Buzzell....
(1936) assistant editor (directed by Edward BuzzellEdward BuzzellEdward Buzzell was an American film director whose credits for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer included Honolulu , the Marx Brothers films At the Circus and Go West , the musicals Best Foot Forward with Lucille Ball and Neptune's Daughter with Esther Williams, and Easy to Wed, starring Van Johnson,...
) - The Moon's Our HomeThe Moon's Our Home-Plot summary:A comedy about marriage and everything relating to it. A New York novelist Henry Fonda meets up with an actress, Margaret Sullavan, and the two date and later marry, though neither knows of the other's fame...
(1936) assistant editor (directed by William Seiter) - Stand-InStand-InStand-In is a movie about Hollywood and the film industry starring Leslie Howard, Joan Blondell, and Humphrey Bogart. It was directed by Tay Garnett, produced by Walter Wanger, and released by United Artists.- Plot :...
(1937) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by Tay GarnettTay GarnettTay Garnett was an American film director and writer.Born in Los Angeles, California, Garnett served as a naval aviator in World War I and entered films as a screenwriter in 1920. He was a gagwriter for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, then joined Pathé and began to direct films in 1928...
) - Vogues of 1938Vogues of 1938Vogues of 1938 is a 1937 musical film distributed by United Artists, directed by Irving Cummings, written by Bella Spewack and Sam Spewack, and starring by Warner Baxter and Joan Bennett...
(1937) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by Irving CummingsIrving CummingsIrving Cummings , born Irving Camisky in New York City, New York was an American movie actor, director, producer and writer....
) - BlockadeBlockadeA blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
(1938) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by William DieterleWilliam DieterleWilliam Dieterle was a German actor and film director, who worked in Hollywood for much of his career. His best known films include The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Story of Louis Pasteur and The Hunchback of Notre Dame...
) - Trade WindsTrade Winds (1938 film)Trade Winds is a 1938 comedy film distributed by United Artist. It was directed by Tay Garnett, and starred Fredric March and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell and Frank R...
(1938) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by Tay GarnettTay GarnettTay Garnett was an American film director and writer.Born in Los Angeles, California, Garnett served as a naval aviator in World War I and entered films as a screenwriter in 1920. He was a gagwriter for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, then joined Pathé and began to direct films in 1928...
) - Eternally YoursEternally YoursEternally Yours is second album released by the Australian music group The Saints in 1978. For their follow up album the band chose a bigger, more R&B-driven sound, including the addition of a horn section.The original title for the album was to be International Robots and recording initially...
(1939) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by Tay GarnettTay GarnettTay Garnett was an American film director and writer.Born in Los Angeles, California, Garnett served as a naval aviator in World War I and entered films as a screenwriter in 1920. He was a gagwriter for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, then joined Pathé and began to direct films in 1928...
) - Stagecoach (1939) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
) AAN (Nomination Academy Award) - Winter CarnivalWinter carnivalA Winter carnival is an outdoor celebration that occurs in wintertime.Winter carnivals, or festivals, are popular in places where winter is particularly long or severe, such as Scandinavia, Canada and the northern United States...
(1939) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by Charles ReisnerCharles ReisnerCharles "Chuck" Reisner was an American film director and actor of the 1920s and 1930s.He directed over 60 films between 1920 and 1950 and acted in over 20 films between 1916 and 1929...
) - Foreign CorrespondentForeign Correspondent (film)Foreign Correspondent is a 1940 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which tells the story of an American reporter who tries to expose enemy spies in Britain, a series of events involving a continent-wide conspiracy that eventually leads to the events of a fictionalized World War...
(1940) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by Alfred HitchcockAlfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
) - The House Across the BayThe House Across the BayThe House Across the Bay is a 1940 film directed by Archie Mayo, produced by Walter Wanger, written by Myles Connolly and Kathryn Scola, and released by United Artists. The picture involves a singer who waits for an imprisoned gangster to be released from Alcatraz, and also features Lloyd Nolan...
(1940) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by Archie MayoArchie MayoArchie Mayo was a movie director and stage actor who moved to Hollywood in 1915 and began working as a director in 1917....
) - Slightly HonorableSlightly Honorable- Cast :*Pat O'Brien as John Webb*Edward Arnold as Vincent Cushing*Broderick Crawford as Russ Sampson*Ruth Terry as Nightclub singer*Alan Dinehart as District Attorney Joyce*Claire Dodd as Alma Brehmer*Phyllis Brooks as Sarilla Cushing*Eve Arden as Miss Ater...
(1940) co-edited with Otho LoveringOtho LoveringOtto Lovering , also credited as Otho Lovering, was an American film editor. He edited John Ford's classic Westerns Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among many other films...
(directed by Tay GarnettTay GarnettTay Garnett was an American film director and writer.Born in Los Angeles, California, Garnett served as a naval aviator in World War I and entered films as a screenwriter in 1920. He was a gagwriter for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, then joined Pathé and began to direct films in 1928...
)
As Editor
- SundownSundown (film)Sundown is a 1941 war film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Bruce Cabot and Gene Tierney. The film's adventure story, set against a war backdrop was well received by critics, earning three Academy Award nominations and was a box office success....
(1941) (directed by Henry HathawayHenry HathawayHenry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
) - To Be or Not to BeTo Be or Not to Be (1942 film)To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. It was adapted by Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer from the story by Melchior Lengyel...
(1942) (directed by Ernst LubitschErnst LubitschErnst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
) - Happy LandHappy Land (film)Happy Land is a 1943 film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Don Ameche.-Synopsis:Lew Marsh, s pharmacist to the small community of Hartfield, Iowa, is lunching with his devoted wife Agnes when a telegram arrives notifying them that their only child, Russell, whom they called Rusty, has been...
(1943) (directed by Irwin Pichel) - Heaven Can WaitHeaven Can Wait (1943 film)Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 American comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was by Samson Raphaelson based on the play Birthday by Leslie Bush-Fekete. The music score was by Alfred Newman and the cinematography by Edward Cronjager.The film tells the story of a man who has...
(1943) (directed by Ernst LubitschErnst LubitschErnst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
) AAN (Nomination Academy Award) - LifeboatLifeboat (film)Lifeboat is an American war film directed by Alfred Hitchcock from a story written by John Steinbeck. The film stars Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn and Canada Lee, and is set entirely on a lifeboat.The film is...
(1943) (directed by Alfred HitchcockAlfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
) - Sweet and Low-DownSweet and Low-DownSweet and Low-Down is a film directed by Archie Mayo, and starring Benny Goodman and Linda Darnell. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1945.-Cast:*Benny Goodman as Himself*Linda Darnell as Trudy Wilson*Jack Oakie as Popsy...
(1944) (directed by Archie MayoArchie MayoArchie Mayo was a movie director and stage actor who moved to Hollywood in 1915 and began working as a director in 1917....
) - A Royal ScandalA Royal ScandalA Royal Scandal is a 1996 British television docudrama produced and directed by Sheree Folkson. The teleplay by Stanley Price focuses on the ill-fated marriage of George IV and Duchess Caroline of Brunswick. Dialogue from actual historical records reveals how each party tries to humiliate the...
(1945) (directed by Otto PremingerOtto PremingerOtto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
) - A Tree Grows in BrooklynA Tree Grows In Brooklyn (film)A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1945 film, the first film directed by Greek-American director Elia Kazan, starring James Dunn , Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner .The film is based on an American novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith first published in 1943...
(1945) (directed by Elia KazanElia KazanElia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
) - Cluny BrownCluny BrownCluny Brown is a 1946 film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was written by Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt, based on a novel by Margery Sharp. The music score is by Cyril J. Mockridge. The film stars Charles Boyer and Jennifer Jones...
(1946) (directed by Ernst LubitschErnst LubitschErnst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
) - Dragonwyck (1946) (directed by Joseph L. MankiewiczJoseph L. MankiewiczJoseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
) - My Darling ClementineMy Darling ClementineMy Darling Clementine is a 1946 western movie. It was directed by John Ford, and based on the story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral between the Earp brothers and the Clanton gang. It features an ensemble cast including Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, and others.The movie...
(1946) (directed by John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
) - The Ghost and Mrs. MuirThe Ghost and Mrs. MuirThe Ghost and Mrs. Muir romantic fantasy film starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. It is based on a 1945 novel written by Josephine Leslie under the pseudonym of R. A. Dick...
(1947) (directed by Joseph L. MankiewiczJoseph L. MankiewiczJoseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
) - The Snake PitThe Snake PitThe Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.The film was...
(1948) (directed by Anatole LitvakAnatole LitvakAnatole Litvak was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages...
) AAN (Nomination Academy Award) - That Lady in ErmineThat Lady in ErmineThat Lady in Ermine is a 1948 American musical film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay by Samson Raphaelson is based on the operetta Die Frau im Hermelin by Rudolph Schanzer and Ernst Welisch....
(1948) (directed by Ernst LubitschErnst LubitschErnst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
) - Down to the Sea in ShipsDown to the Sea in ShipsDown to the Sea in Ships is a 1922 American silent film about a 19th century Massachusetts whaling family. Directed by Elmer Clifton, the film stars William Walcott, Marguerite Courtot, and Clara Bow.-Plot:...
(1949) (directed by Henry HathawayHenry HathawayHenry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
) - It Happens Every SpringIt Happens Every SpringIt Happens Every Spring is a 1949 comedy film starring Ray Milland directed by Lloyd Bacon. The story of a baseball pitcher is completely fictitious, and the main character King Kelly is not based on or related to the actual player....
(1949) (directed by Lloyd BaconLloyd BaconLloyd Francis Bacon was a screen, stage, and vaudeville actor and film director.-Life:Bacon was born in San Jose California, the son of actor Frank Bacon, later the co-author and star of the long running Broadway show 'Lightnin' , and Jennie Bacon. He was not related to actor Irving Bacon whom he...
) co-edited with Bruce Pierce; Spencer left half-way through cutting to work on another picture, Pierce completed cutting - Three Came HomeThree Came HomeThree Came Home is a post-war film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, based on the memoirs of the same name by writer Agnes Newton Keith. It depicts Keith's life in North Borneo in the period immediately before the Japanese invasion in 1942, and her subsequent internment and suffering, separated from...
(1950) (directed by Jean NegulescoJean NegulescoJean Negulesco was a Romanian-born American film director and screenwriter....
) - Under My SkinUnder My Skin (film)Under My Skin is a 1950 American film directed by Jean Negulesco, starring John Garfield and Micheline Presle. It is based on the short story "My Old Man", by Ernest Hemingway, about a jockey being threatened by a mobster after winning a race he had agreed to throw.The Hemingway story was later...
(1950) (directed by Jean NegulescoJean NegulescoJean Negulesco was a Romanian-born American film director and screenwriter....
) - Decision Before DawnDecision Before DawnDecision Before Dawn is a 1951 American war film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and Hans Christian Blech. It tells the story of the American Army using potentially unreliable German prisoners of war to gather intelligence in the closing days of World War II...
(1951) (directed by Anatole LitvakAnatole LitvakAnatole Litvak was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages...
) AAN (Nomination Academy Award) - 14 Hours (1951) (directed by Henry HathawayHenry HathawayHenry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
) - Lydia BaileyLydia BaileyLydia Bailey is a 1952 film directed by Jean Negulesco, based on the historical novel by Kenneth Roberts. It stars Dale Robertson and Anne Francis.-Plot:...
(1952) (directed by Jean NegulescoJean NegulescoJean Negulesco was a Romanian-born American film director and screenwriter....
) - What Price Glory?What Price Glory? (1952 film)What Price Glory is a 1952 World War I film based on a 1924 play by Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings, though it used virtually none of Anderson's dialogue. Originally intended as a musical, it was filmed as a straight comedy, directed by John Ford and released by 20th Century Fox on 22...
(1952) (directed by John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
) - Man on a TightropeMan on a TightropeMan on a Tightrope is a 1953 American film directed by Elia Kazan, starring Fredric March, Terry Moore and Gloria Grahame. It was entered into the 3rd Berlin International Film Festival. The screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood was based on a 1952 novel of the same title by Neil Paterson...
(1953) (directed by Elia KazanElia KazanElia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
) - Tonight We SingTonight We SingTonight We Sing is a 1953 musical biopic film, directed by Mitchell Leisen, based on the life and career of the celebrated impresario Sol Hurok. It stars David Wayne and Ezio Pinza.-Cast:*David Wayne as Sol Hurok*Ezio Pinza as Feodor Chaliapin...
(1953) (directed by Mitchell LeisenMitchell LeisenMitchell Leisen was an American director, art director, and costume designer.-Film career:He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments...
) - VickyVickyVicki has multiple meanings:* pet form of Victoria , a female forename.* Vicky, a character on the Nickelodeon cartoon, The Fairly OddParents* Victor Weisz, a cartoonist.* vigneshwarababu ,a creative engineer...
(1953) (directed by Harry Horner) - Black WidowBlack Widow (1954 film)Black Widow is a 1954 mystery color film noir, written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson and starring Van Heflin, Ginger Rogers, Gene Tierney, and George Raft.-Plot:...
(1954) (directed by Nunnally JohnsonNunnally JohnsonNunnally Hunter Johnson was an American filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed motion pictures.Johnson was born in Columbus, Georgia. He began his career as a journalist, writing for the Columbus Enquirer Sun, the Savannah Press, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and the New York Herald Tribune...
) - Demetrius and the GladiatorsDemetrius and the GladiatorsDemetrius and the Gladiators is a 1954 sword and sandal drama film and a sequel to The Robe. It was made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Delmer Daves and produced by Frank Ross. The screenplay was by Philip Dunne based on characters created by Lloyd C...
(1954) (directed by Delmer DavesDelmer DavesDelmer Daves was an American screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Born in San Francisco, Delmer Daves first pursued a career as a lawyer...
) co-edited with Robert Fritsch - Night PeopleNight People (1954 film)Night People is a 1954 motion picture drama starring Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Anita Bjork and Buddy Ebsen, directed by Nunnally Johnson. It was co-written by Jed Harris, a noted theatrical producer....
(1954) (directed by Nunnally JohnsonNunnally JohnsonNunnally Hunter Johnson was an American filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed motion pictures.Johnson was born in Columbus, Georgia. He began his career as a journalist, writing for the Columbus Enquirer Sun, the Savannah Press, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and the New York Herald Tribune...
) - The Left Hand of GodThe Left Hand of GodThe Left Hand of God is a 1955 drama film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Buddy Adler, from a screenplay by Alfred Hayes, based on the novel The Left Hand of God by William Edmund Barrett. It stars Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney, with a supporting cast...
(1955) (directed by Edward DmytrykEdward DmytrykEdward Dmytryk was an American film director who was amongst the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who served time in prison for being in contempt of Congress during the McCarthy-era 'red scare'.-Early life:Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada,...
) - Prince of PlayersPrince of PlayersPrince of Players is a 1955 20th Century Fox biographical film about the 19th century American actor Edwin Booth. The film was directed and produced by Philip Dunne from a screenplay by Moss Hart, based on the book by Eleanor Ruggles. The music score was by Bernard Herrmann and the cinematography...
(1955) (directed by Philip DunnePhilip Dunne (writer)Philip Dunne was a Hollywood screenwriter, film director and producer, who worked prolifically from 1932 until 1965. He spent the majority of his career at 20th Century Fox crafting well regarded romantic and historical dramas, usually adapted from another medium...
) - The Rains of RanchipurThe Rains of RanchipurThe Rains of Ranchipur is a 1955 film drama made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Frank Ross from a screenplay by Merle Miller, based on the novel The Rains Came by Louis Bromfield. The music score was by Hugo Friedhofer and the cinematography by Milton R...
(1955) (directed by Jean NegulescoJean NegulescoJean Negulesco was a Romanian-born American film director and screenwriter....
) - Soldier of FortuneSoldier of Fortune (film)Soldier of Fortune is a 1955 adventure film about the rescue of an American held prisoner in the People's Republic of China in the 1950s. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk, starred Clark Gable and Susan Hayward and was written by Ernest K...
(1955) (directed by Edward DmytrykEdward DmytrykEdward Dmytryk was an American film director who was amongst the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who served time in prison for being in contempt of Congress during the McCarthy-era 'red scare'.-Early life:Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada,...
) - The Best Things In Life Are FreeThe Best Things in Life Are Free"The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a song by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson.-Song information:Released in 1992, the song was originally recorded for the Mo' Money soundtrack...
(1956) (directed by Michael CurtizMichael CurtizMichael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
) - The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit (1956) (directed by Nunnally JohnsonNunnally JohnsonNunnally Hunter Johnson was an American filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed motion pictures.Johnson was born in Columbus, Georgia. He began his career as a journalist, writing for the Columbus Enquirer Sun, the Savannah Press, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and the New York Herald Tribune...
) - A Hatful of RainA Hatful of RainA Hatful of Rain is a 1957 dramatic film. The movie was a rarity for its time in its frank depiction of the effect of drug addiction.It is a medically and sociologically accurate account of the effects of morphine on an addict and his family ....
(1957) (directed by Fred ZinnemannFred ZinnemannFred Zinnemann was an Austrian-American film director. He won four Academy Awards and directed films like High Noon, From Here to Eternity and A Man for All Seasons.-Life and career:...
) - The Young LionsThe Young LionsThe Young Lions is a 1958 war drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based upon the 1949 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw, and starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Dean Martin.-Outline:...
(1958) (directed by Edward DmytrykEdward DmytrykEdward Dmytryk was an American film director who was amongst the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who served time in prison for being in contempt of Congress during the McCarthy-era 'red scare'.-Early life:Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada,...
) - The JourneyThe Journey (1959 film)The Journey is a 1959 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. A group of Westerners tries to flee Hungary after the Soviet Union moves to crush the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. It stars Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Jason Robards. Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner were paired again since they...
(1959) (directed by Anatole LitvakAnatole LitvakAnatole Litvak was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages...
) edited complete cut; Bert Bates added sound effects and finished in England - A Private Affair (1959) (directed by Raoul WalshRaoul WalshRaoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
) - From the TerraceFrom the TerraceFrom the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Barbara Eden, Ina Balin, and Leon Ames....
(1960) (directed by Mark RobsonMark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
) - North to AlaskaNorth to AlaskaNorth to Alaska is a 1960 comedic western movie directed by Henry Hathaway and John Wayne . It starred Wayne along with Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian and Capucine....
(1960) (directed by Henry HathawayHenry HathawayHenry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
) - Seven ThievesSeven ThievesSeven Thieves is a 1960 20th Century Fox film noir crime drama motion picture. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Rod Steiger and Joan Collins.Directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Sydney Boehm, it was adapted for the screen by Sydney Boehm, based on the novel The Lions At The Kill by Max Catto...
(1960) (directed by Henry HathawayHenry HathawayHenry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
) - Wild in the CountryWild in the CountryWild in the Country is a 1961 film drama starring Elvis Presley in which he portrays a troubled young man from a dysfunctional family who pursues a literary career. The screenplay was written by playwright Clifford Odets.-Synopsis:...
(1961) (directed by Philip DunnePhilip Dunne (writer)Philip Dunne was a Hollywood screenwriter, film director and producer, who worked prolifically from 1932 until 1965. He spent the majority of his career at 20th Century Fox crafting well regarded romantic and historical dramas, usually adapted from another medium...
) - CleopatraCleopatra (1963 film)Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
(1963) (directed by Joseph L. MankiewiczJoseph L. MankiewiczJoseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
) AAN (Nomination Academy Award) - Circus WorldCircus World (film)Circus World, also known as Samuel Bronston's Circus World, is a 1964 drama film made by the independent production company Samuel Bronston Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
(1964) (directed by Henry HathawayHenry HathawayHenry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
) - Von Ryan's ExpressVon Ryan's ExpressVon Ryan's Express is a 1965 World War II adventure film starring Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard, based on a novel by David Westheimer, and directed by Mark Robson.-Plot:...
(1965) (directed by Mark RobsonMark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
) - Lost CommandLost CommandLost Command is a 1966 war film directed by Mark Robson and filmed in Spain. The screenplay was written by Nelson Gidding, based on the 1960 novel The Centurions by Jean Lartéguy...
(1966) (directed by Mark RobsonMark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
) - A Guide for the Married ManA Guide for the Married ManA Guide for the Married Man is a 1967 American bedroom farce comedy film starring Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, and Inger Stevens. It was directed by Gene Kelly. It features a large number of cameos, including Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Terry-Thomas, Jayne Mansfield, Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Joey...
(1967) (directed by Gene KellyGene KellyEugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
) - Valley of the DollsValley of the Dolls (film)The soundtrack was released in 1967. Dionne Warwick sang the title track; however, her version is not on the soundtrack. Warwick was signed to Scepter Records at the time and could not contractually appear...
(1967) (directed by Mark RobsonMark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
) - Daddy's Gone A-HuntingDaddy's Gone A-HuntingDaddy's Gone A-Hunting is a 1925 drama film directed by Frank Borzage based upon a play by Zoe Akins, with adaptation by Kenneth B. Clarke. The film brought together Vitagraph leading lady Alice Joyce and English actor Percy Marmont after his success with If Winter Comes. This is the only film...
(1969) (directed by Mark RobsonMark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
) - Happy Birthday, Wanda JuneHappy Birthday, Wanda JuneHappy Birthday, Wanda June is a play by Kurt Vonnegut, and a 1971 film adaptation, directed by Mark Robson.-Plot:The opening of this play is "This is a simple-minded play about men who enjoy killing, and those who don't."...
(1971) (directed by Mark RobsonMark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
) - LimboLimbo (1972 film)Limbo is a 1972 film drama directed by Mark Robson. It stars Kate Jackson, Kathleen Nolan and Katherine Justice.-Plot:Three women in Florida have husbands serving in Vietnam who are reported missing in action....
a.k.a. Woman In Limbo (1972) (directed by Mark RobsonMark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
) - EarthquakeEarthquake (film)Earthquake is a 1974 American disaster film that achieved huge box-office success, continuing the disaster film genre of the 1970s where recognizable all-star casts attempt to survive life or death situations...
(1974) (directed by Mark RobsonMark RobsonMark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
) - The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979)