Ralph E. Winters
Encyclopedia
Ralph E. Winters born in Canada, was one of the industry's leading film editors.
After cutting his teeth on a series of B movie
s in the early 1940s, including several in the Dr. Kildare
series, his first "big" film was George Cukor
's Victorian chiller Gaslight
in 1944.
Winters won the Academy Award for Film Editing
twice (for King Solomon's Mines
in 1950 and Ben-Hur
in 1959), and received four other nominations (for Quo Vadis
in 1951, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954, The Great Race
in 1965 and Kotch
in 1971). Winters also cut together such leading films as On the Town
(1949), High Society (1956), Jailhouse Rock
(1957) and The Thomas Crown Affair
(1968).
Winters had a notable collaboration with director Blake Edwards
. Over twenty years, they made twelve films together, from The Pink Panther
(1963) to Micki + Maude
(1984). Some of the other films on which they worked together were The Party
(1968), 10
(1979) and Victor Victoria (1982).
His last film was the ill-fated pirate epic Cutthroat Island
in 1995.
Winters had been elected to membership in the American Cinema Editors
, and in 1991, Winters received their Career Achievement Award
. In 2001, Winters published his memoir, Some Cutting Remarks: Seventy Years a Film Editor.
After cutting his teeth on a series of B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s in the early 1940s, including several in the Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
series, his first "big" film was George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
's Victorian chiller Gaslight
Gaslight (1944 film)
Gaslight is a 1944 mystery-thriller film adapted from Patrick Hamilton's play, Gas Light, performed as Angel Street on Broadway in 1941. It was the second version to be filmed; the first, released in the United Kingdom, had been made a mere four years earlier...
in 1944.
Winters won the Academy Award for Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
twice (for King Solomon's Mines
King Solomon's Mines (1950 film)
King Solomon's Mines is a 1950 adventure film loosely based on the 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines by Henry Rider Haggard, starring Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger and Richard Carlson. It was adapted by Helen Deutsch, directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
in 1950 and Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
in 1959), and received four other nominations (for Quo Vadis
Quo Vadis (1951 film)
Quo Vadis is a 1951 epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic 1896 novel Quo Vadis. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography...
in 1951, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954, The Great Race
The Great Race
The Great Race is a 1965 slapstick comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood, directed by Blake Edwards, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A. Ross, and with music by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Russell Harlan. The supporting cast includes Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn,...
in 1965 and Kotch
Kotch
Kotch is a 1971 American comedy film which tells the story of an elderly man who runs away so as not to be put into a nursing home, and strikes up a friendship with a pregnant teenage girl. It stars Walter Matthau, Deborah Winters, Felicia Farr, Charles Aidman and Ellen Geer.The film was adapted...
in 1971). Winters also cut together such leading films as On the Town
On the Town (film)
On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage...
(1949), High Society (1956), Jailhouse Rock
Jailhouse Rock (1957 film)
Jailhouse Rock is an American musical film directed by Richard Thorpe for MGM. The film stars Elvis Presley in his third film and MGM debut, Judy Tyler, and Mickey Shaughnessy....
(1957) and The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)
The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1968 film by Norman Jewison starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Song with Michel Legrand's "Windmills of Your Mind"...
(1968).
Winters had a notable collaboration with director Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
. Over twenty years, they made twelve films together, from The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther (1963 film)
The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, and Claudia Cardinale...
(1963) to Micki + Maude
Micki + Maude
Micki + Maude is a 1984 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Dudley Moore. It co-stars Tony-award winning actress and dancer Ann Reinking as Micki and Amy Irving as Maude....
(1984). Some of the other films on which they worked together were The Party
The Party (film)
The Party is a 1968 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, starring Peter Sellers and Claudine Longet. The film has a very loose structure, and essentially serves as a series of set pieces for Sellers's improvisational comedy talents...
(1968), 10
10 (film)
10 is a 1979 romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Bo Derek, Dudley Moore, and Julie Andrews. Considered a trend-setting film at the time, and one of the year's biggest box office hits, the film made superstars of Derek and Moore....
(1979) and Victor Victoria (1982).
His last film was the ill-fated pirate epic Cutthroat Island
Cutthroat Island
Cutthroat Island is a 1995 action adventure film directed by Renny Harlin. The film stars Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, and Frank Langella. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a major box office bomb: listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest box office flop of...
in 1995.
Winters had been elected to membership in the American Cinema Editors
American Cinema Editors
Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
, and in 1991, Winters received their 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 2001, Winters published his memoir, Some Cutting Remarks: Seventy Years a Film Editor.