Most notable films: Brief Encounter (1945), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), A Passage to India (1984).
Whether he was directing sophisticated British comedies, or dramas of epic proportion, David Lean was one of the best known English directors for over 40 years.
With 58 nominations and 27 wins over 11 films, David Lean is ranked #14 on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born March 25, 1908, in Croyden, Surrey, England, into a strict Quaker family, young David was not allowed to attend a movie until he was 12 years old and away at school. His love of films was formed by conversations with the family charwoman. She would describe her trips to the cinema in great detail, filling the youngster's head with images of Charlie Chaplin, whose comic walk she would mimic for him. Educated at Leighton Park, a Quaker school in Reading, he developed an interest in photography and film. After graduation, Lean worked for a year in his father's accounting firm, but, after encouragement from an aunt, he applied to the Gaumont British Picture Corporation, saying, "I'll do anything - carry tea, anything". He was hired, on a trial basis, as a tea boy, then progressed to a clapper boy, messenger, and newsreel cutter. He moved up to an assistant director, and then began editing films in 1930. His first credit was The Night Porter, a comedy. He developed a solid reputation, working with top directors Anthony Asquith and Michael Powell. In 1942, renowned playwright Noel Coward, never having directed a film, asked Lean to collaborate with him on In Which We Serve. The film received two Oscar nominations, for Best Picture and Original Screenplay. It was Lean's first directing credit. He worked on three more film adaptations of Coward plays over the next few years: This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit and Brief Encounter. The latter film earned Lean his first Best Director nomination, and Celia Johnson became the first of 11 performers nominated in Lean-helmed films. Three took home the golden statue: Alec Guinness (The Bridge on the River Kwai), John Mills (Ryan's Daughter) and Peggy Ashcroft (A Passage to India). Here is a list of Lean's nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
In Which We Serve (1942) 2/-
Blithe Spirit (1945) 1/1
Brief Encounter (1945) 3/-
Great Expectations (1947) 5/2
Breaking the Sound Barrier (1952) 2/1
Summertime (1955) 2/-
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 8/7
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 10/7
Doctor Zhivago (1965) 10/5
Ryan's Daughter (1970) 4/2
A Passage to India (1984) 11/2
David Lean's next two films were adaptations of Charles Dickens novels, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. Although respected for his extreme perfectionism, his autocratic behavior could sometimes alienate his cast and crew. He continued directing modestly budgeted films until 1957, when The Bridge on the River Kwai would elevate him to the top of the filmmaking community. A major success, the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Lean received his first Best Director Oscar. He would win another in 1962, with his next blockbuster epic, Lawrence of Arabia, also a Best Picture winner. In all, Lean was nominated seven times for Best Director (Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, Summertime, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India were his others). His third successive large-scope drama was made in 1965, when Lean shifted his cameras from Arabia's sandy vistas to the snowy expanses of Russia, in Doctor Zhivago. His films show a meticulous attention to detail in the careful composition of each frame, in the precise and expressive use of sound and music, the stunning photography and dynamic performances of his actors.
In 1970, Lean tried again to depict another epic struggle, this time in Ireland, during the First World War. Ryan's Daughter was filmed in harsh conditions with award-winning cinematography, but critics did not respond warmly to the movie. Embittered, Lean would not return to directing until 1984, when his final film, A Passage to India was released. Hailed by many as a return to good form by its director, it received 11 Oscar nominations, including Picture and Director. It allowed David Lean to end his career on a positive note.
Some of David Lean's films that did not recieve Oscar consideration: This Happy Breed, Oliver Twist, Madeleine, Hobson's Choice and The Passionate Friends.
David Lean died on April 16, 1991, in London, England, of throat cancer. He was 83 years old. On the recent American Film Institute ranking of The 100 Greatest Movies, Lawrence of Arabia ranked #7, while The Bridge on the River Kwai ranked #36.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
#13 - Mervyn LeRoy - 59/9/19
Most notable films: Little Caesar (1931), Anthony Adverse (1936), Random Harvest (1942), Madame Curie (1943), Quo Vadis (1951), Mister Roberts (1955)
Some great Hollywood directors started at the bottom of the studio job ladder and worked their way up. Some had a relative get them their first break. Mervyn LeRoy combined the two elements and embarked on a near-40 year career as one of the most successful filmmakers of all time.
With 59 nominations and 9 wins over 19 films, Mervyn LeRoy ranks #13 on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born on October 15, 1900, in San Francisco, California, he was just five years old when the great earthquake of 1906 ruined his family financially. To help out, he sold newspapers and entered talent shows as a singer. This would lead him into vaudeville, where he was part of a two-man musical act. Some years later, the act broke up, and LeRoy found himself in New York. His cousin, Jesse Lasky, a producer and one of the founders of Paramount Studios, was also in New York. LeRoy sought him out, looking for a job. Lasky gave him train fare to Calfornia, and a note to the studio to give young LeRoy a position. He also told LeRoy not to mention they were related, "because that will hurt you more than anything else". The first job LeRoy was given upon reporting to the studio was folding clothes in the wardrobe department. The year was 1923. He continued working in wardrobe, and began to get some small acting roles in the silent films the studio produced. In 1925, he moved over to First National Pictures as a gag writer on comedy films. In 1927, he directed his first film, a silent romantic-comedy called No Place to Go. It was the first of 20 films he directed before moving on to MGM, where he would become the busiest director at Hollywood's busiest dream factory. One of his earliest films at First National was 1928's Oh Kay! It received an Academy Award nomination, for Title Writing, in the very first year of Academy honors. It lost out to the MGM entry, Telling the World. The category was dropped after that year. In 1931, LeRoy had a major hit with Little Caesar, one of the first great gangster pictures. That same year, he directed Five Star Final, his first film to receive a Best Picture nomination. The following year, another LeRoy film was nominated for Best Picture. I Was a Fugitive from a Chain Gang starred Paul Muni, and his nomination for Best Actor made him the first of 13 different performers to be Oscar-nominated for a LeRoy-helmed vehicle. Three would take home the big prize: Gale Sondergaard (Anthony Adverse), Van Heflin (Johnny Eager), and Jack Lemmon (Mister Roberts ). Here is a list of LeRoy's nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
Oh Kay! (1928) 1/-
Little Caesar (1931) 1/-
Five Star Final (1931) 1/-
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) 3/-
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) 1/-
Anthony Adverse (1936) 7/4
Waterloo Bridge (1940) 2/-
Blossoms in the Dust (1941) 4/1
Johnny Eager (1942) 1/1
Random Harvest (1942) 7/-
Madame Curie (1943) 7/-
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) 2/1
Little Women (1949) 2/1
Quo Vadis (1951) 8/-
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) 1/-
Mister Roberts (1955) 3/1
The Bad Seed (1956) 4/-
A Majority of One (1961) 1/-
Gypsy (1962) 3/-
Mervyn LeRoy had an uncanny ability to recognize box-office potential, and directed over 70 films in his 40-plus years in the business. He blended creativity with technical skill to consistently turn out films of high quality at a reasonable cost. He was equally adept at directing musicals (Gold Diggers of 1933, Gypsy), romantic dramas (Waterloo Bridge, Random Harvest), gangster films (Little Caesar, Johnny Eager), biographies (Madame Curie, Million Dollar Mermaid), war films (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Mister Roberts), and even a religious epic (Quo Vadis). In 1936, after the death of Irving Thalberg, LeRoy was named head of production at MGM Studios. His biggest success was 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Although LeRoy had hoped to direct the film, studio head Louis B. Mayer convinced him it would be too difficult to both produce and direct. Several directors would eventually be involved, with Victor Fleming receiving the screen credit. LeRoy cast little known Judy Garland in the lead role, despite the studio wanting Shirley Temple. When the studio wanted to cut a song performed in a barnyard, LeRoy fought for it to be retained in the final version. The song was "Over the Rainbow".
Mervyn LeRoy received an Academy Award nomination as Producer for The Wizard of Oz. He was nominated only once for Best Director, for Random Harvest, although eight of his films were nominated for Best Picture: Five Star Final, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Anthony Adverse, Blossoms in the Dust, Random Harvest, Madame Curie, Quo Vadis and Mister Roberts. In 1976, LeRoy was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award by the Motion Picture Academy.
Some of LeRoy's films that did not receive Oscar consideration: Little Johnny Jones, Three on a Match, Without Reservations, East Side West Side, Rose Marie, No Time for Sergeants, The FBI Story, The Devil at Four O'Clock and Mary Mary.
Mervyn LeRoy died on September 13, 1987, in Los Angeles, California, of Alzheimer's Disease. He was 86 years old.
Some great Hollywood directors started at the bottom of the studio job ladder and worked their way up. Some had a relative get them their first break. Mervyn LeRoy combined the two elements and embarked on a near-40 year career as one of the most successful filmmakers of all time.
With 59 nominations and 9 wins over 19 films, Mervyn LeRoy ranks #13 on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born on October 15, 1900, in San Francisco, California, he was just five years old when the great earthquake of 1906 ruined his family financially. To help out, he sold newspapers and entered talent shows as a singer. This would lead him into vaudeville, where he was part of a two-man musical act. Some years later, the act broke up, and LeRoy found himself in New York. His cousin, Jesse Lasky, a producer and one of the founders of Paramount Studios, was also in New York. LeRoy sought him out, looking for a job. Lasky gave him train fare to Calfornia, and a note to the studio to give young LeRoy a position. He also told LeRoy not to mention they were related, "because that will hurt you more than anything else". The first job LeRoy was given upon reporting to the studio was folding clothes in the wardrobe department. The year was 1923. He continued working in wardrobe, and began to get some small acting roles in the silent films the studio produced. In 1925, he moved over to First National Pictures as a gag writer on comedy films. In 1927, he directed his first film, a silent romantic-comedy called No Place to Go. It was the first of 20 films he directed before moving on to MGM, where he would become the busiest director at Hollywood's busiest dream factory. One of his earliest films at First National was 1928's Oh Kay! It received an Academy Award nomination, for Title Writing, in the very first year of Academy honors. It lost out to the MGM entry, Telling the World. The category was dropped after that year. In 1931, LeRoy had a major hit with Little Caesar, one of the first great gangster pictures. That same year, he directed Five Star Final, his first film to receive a Best Picture nomination. The following year, another LeRoy film was nominated for Best Picture. I Was a Fugitive from a Chain Gang starred Paul Muni, and his nomination for Best Actor made him the first of 13 different performers to be Oscar-nominated for a LeRoy-helmed vehicle. Three would take home the big prize: Gale Sondergaard (Anthony Adverse), Van Heflin (Johnny Eager), and Jack Lemmon (Mister Roberts ). Here is a list of LeRoy's nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
Oh Kay! (1928) 1/-
Little Caesar (1931) 1/-
Five Star Final (1931) 1/-
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) 3/-
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) 1/-
Anthony Adverse (1936) 7/4
Waterloo Bridge (1940) 2/-
Blossoms in the Dust (1941) 4/1
Johnny Eager (1942) 1/1
Random Harvest (1942) 7/-
Madame Curie (1943) 7/-
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) 2/1
Little Women (1949) 2/1
Quo Vadis (1951) 8/-
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) 1/-
Mister Roberts (1955) 3/1
The Bad Seed (1956) 4/-
A Majority of One (1961) 1/-
Gypsy (1962) 3/-
Mervyn LeRoy had an uncanny ability to recognize box-office potential, and directed over 70 films in his 40-plus years in the business. He blended creativity with technical skill to consistently turn out films of high quality at a reasonable cost. He was equally adept at directing musicals (Gold Diggers of 1933, Gypsy), romantic dramas (Waterloo Bridge, Random Harvest), gangster films (Little Caesar, Johnny Eager), biographies (Madame Curie, Million Dollar Mermaid), war films (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Mister Roberts), and even a religious epic (Quo Vadis). In 1936, after the death of Irving Thalberg, LeRoy was named head of production at MGM Studios. His biggest success was 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Although LeRoy had hoped to direct the film, studio head Louis B. Mayer convinced him it would be too difficult to both produce and direct. Several directors would eventually be involved, with Victor Fleming receiving the screen credit. LeRoy cast little known Judy Garland in the lead role, despite the studio wanting Shirley Temple. When the studio wanted to cut a song performed in a barnyard, LeRoy fought for it to be retained in the final version. The song was "Over the Rainbow".
Mervyn LeRoy received an Academy Award nomination as Producer for The Wizard of Oz. He was nominated only once for Best Director, for Random Harvest, although eight of his films were nominated for Best Picture: Five Star Final, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Anthony Adverse, Blossoms in the Dust, Random Harvest, Madame Curie, Quo Vadis and Mister Roberts. In 1976, LeRoy was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award by the Motion Picture Academy.
Some of LeRoy's films that did not receive Oscar consideration: Little Johnny Jones, Three on a Match, Without Reservations, East Side West Side, Rose Marie, No Time for Sergeants, The FBI Story, The Devil at Four O'Clock and Mary Mary.
Mervyn LeRoy died on September 13, 1987, in Los Angeles, California, of Alzheimer's Disease. He was 86 years old.
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