Post by teleadm on Dec 4, 2019 12:48:07 GMT
A former stage, screen and vaudeville actor who became a director. As a director he made films in virtually all genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, and crime dramas. He was one of the directors at Warner Bros. in the 1930s who helped give that studio its reputation for gritty, fast-paced "torn from the headlines" action films. Three of the movies he directed have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: 42nd Street 1933, Footlight Parade 1933 and Knute Rockne All American 1940.
Lloyd Bacon 1889 - 1955
Little Lloyd was born in 1889, directly into show bussiness, his father was actor and playwright Frank Bacon.
Lloyd started in films as an actor with Charlie Chaplin and Broncho Billy Anderson and appeared in more than 40 total. As an actor, he is best known for supporting Chaplin in such films as 1915's The Tramp and The Champion and 1917's Easy Street.
Lloyd with Chaplin in The Floorwalker 1916.
With America's entry into World War I in 1917, Bacon enlisted in the Navy and was assigned to the Photo Department. This began a lifelong admiration for the service and might explain the Navy being a favorite recurring theme in many of his films.
After his service in the Navy was ended, he moved over to Mack Sennet studios. Sennett, sensing a bargain, happily accommodated Lloyd's desire to become a full-time director by early 1921. The Sennett studio was already in an irreversible decline during Bacon's tenure there but it allowed the novice director to gain a wealth of experience. He continued at Sennett until joining Warner Brothers in 1925, an association that would last a remarkable 18 years.
Although Lloyd never became known for a particular style other than a well-placed close up, his ability to bring in an entertaining film on time and within budget earned him such enormous respect from the Warner Brothers that he was soon handed control over important projects, including The Singing Fool 1928, Al Jolson's follow-up to The Jazz Singer 1927, which grossed an unheard-of (for Warners, at least) $4,000,000 in domestic receipts alone. the studio's #1 hit for 1928. Bacon was rewarded by becoming the highest paid director on the studio lot, earning over $200,000 a year throughout the Depression.
Bacon continued to turn out profitable films for the studio until moving to 20th Century-Fox in 1944 (a logical move, since the recently discharged Darryl F. Zanuck knew Bacon from his early days at Warners). He stayed at Fox until 1949, then bounced among Columbia, Fox, Universal and finally the chaotically-runned RKO in 1953.
Here follows some examples of movies directed by Lloyd Bacon:
42nd Street 1933, a pre-Code musical starring Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers. The choreography was staged by Busby Berkeley. The songs were written by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics).
This backstage musical was very successful at the box office and is now considered a classic by many.
Footlight Parade 1933, a pre-Code musical film starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell and featuring Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Ruth Donnelly, with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley. The film's songs were written by Harry Warren (music), Al Dubin (lyrics), Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics), and include "By a Waterfall", "Honeymoon Hotel" and "Shanghai Lil".
Cagney struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
Wonder Bar 1934 a pre-code musical starring Al Jolson, Kay Francis, Dolores del Rio, Ricardo Cortez and Dick Powell, with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley.
For its time, Wonder Bar was considered risqué, barely passing the censors at the Hays Office.
The film was one of Warners biggest hits of the year.
Here Comes the Navy 1934, a romantic comedy starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Gloria Stuart and Frank McHugh.
A cocky guy joins the Navy for the wrong reason but finds romance and twice is cited for heroism.
Cagney-O'Brien was a popular and profitable combination.
The U.S. Navy didn't mind, and fully cooperated.
The Irish in Us 1935, a comedy starring James Cagney, Pat'Brien, Olivia de Havilland and Frank McHugh.
Two brothers, a police officer and a boxing promoter, vie for the affections of a lovely young woman.
Another big hit for the Cagney-O'Brien combination.
Cain and Mabel 1936, a romantic comedy starring Marion Davis and Clark Gable.
A talented boxer and a gifted dancer hope to increase their waning popularity by inventing a fictitious love affair for the benefit of the tabloids...
Produced within Warner Bros by Davis own production company Cosmopolitan
Marked Woman 1937, a crime drama starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. Set in the underworld of Manhattan, Marked Woman tells the story of a woman who dares to stand up to one of the city's most powerful gangsters.
The film was a major success for Warner Brothers, and was one of Davis' most important early pictures. Davis had recently filed a lawsuit against Warners, with part of her protest being the inferior quality of scripts she was expected to play. Although she lost the lawsuit, she garnered considerable press coverage, and Marked Woman was the first script she filmed upon returning to Hollywood.
Gold Diggers of 1937 1936, a musical starring Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell and Victor Moore, with production numbers created, designed, staged and directed by Busby Berkeley.
A Slight Case of Murder 1938, a gangster comedy with Edward G. Robinson spoofing his own gangster image, based on a play by Damon Runyon.
Former bootlegger Remy Marco has a slight problem with forclosing bankers, a prospective son-in-law, and four hard-to-explain corpses...
Boy Meets Girl 1938, a screwball comedy starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Marie Wilson, Frank McHugh and Ralph Bellamy.
Two zany screenwriters in a rut come up with a story idea starring a bankable cowboy and the baby of the studio's waitress...
Reviewers at the time of release thought that the requirements of the Hays Office took off the satiric bite to make it successfull, but the audiences didn't mind.
The Oklahoma Kid 1939, a western starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart.
Cagney plays an adventurous gunslinger in a broad-brimmed cowboy hat while Bogart portrays his black-clad and viciously villainous nemesis.
If nothing else, the two stars tried their hands in doing something different.
Invisible Stripes 1939, a gangster crime drama starring George Raft, Jane Bryan, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart and Flora Robson.
An ex-con who wants to go straight has difficulties trying to reintegrate into society while on parole.
Knute Rockne, All American 1940, a biographical drama which tells the story of Knute Rockne, Notre Dame football coach. It stars Pat O'Brien portraying the role of Rockne and Ronald Reagan as player George Gipp, a.k.a. "The Gipper," as well as Gale Page, Donald Crisp, Albert Bassermann, Owen Davis Jr., Nick Lukats, Kane Richmond, William Marshall and William Byrne.
"Tell 'em to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper" was voted by AFI as one of the best 100 movie quotes of all times.
Brother Orchid 1940, a crime comedy starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Donald Crisp, Ralph Bellamy and Allen Jenkins.
When retired racket boss John Sarto (Robinson) tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.
Footsteps in the Dark 1941, a light-hearted mystery movie starring Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Hale, Lee Patrick and Allen Jenkins. A respected investment advisor has a double life as a mystery writer and becomes involved in the real murder of a shady client...
Larceny, Inc. 1942, a crime comedy starring Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, and Jack Carson, and features Anthony Quinn, and Edward Brophy.
Three bumbling crooks buy a store so that they can rob the bank next door. When they soon discover the money they can make as legitimate businessmen, they abandon their plan. Trouble is, one of their cohorts, who's escaped from jail, won't let them...
Robinson took the role of Pressure Maxwell in this film to offset his "tough guy" image as established in his many appearances as gangsters or police officers in previous Warner Bros. films.
Action in the North Atlantic 1943, a war movie that stars Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as sailors in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II.
When the movie was premiered in New York City, more than a dozen merchant mariners and several hundred U.S. sailors presented Jack Warner with the Merchant Marine Victory Flag. Henry J. Kaiser, the ship-building magnate, thought the film was such a morale booster that he wanted it shown to all his employees.
The Figthing Sullivans aka The Sullivans 1944, a biographial WWII drama starring Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell, Selena Royle and featured Ward Bond and Bobby Driscoll.
The story follows the lives of the five Irish-American Sullivan brothers, who grew up in Iowa during the days of the Great Depression and served together in the United States Navy during World War II. All the brothers died.
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier 1944 a drama during wartime home front, starring Anne Baxter, John Hodiak, Charles Winninger, Anne Revere, Chill Wills and Bobby Driscoll.
A poor family in Florida saves all the money they can in order to plan something special for the soldier they've invited to Sunday dinner. They don't realize that their request to invite the soldier never got mailed. On the day of the scheduled dinner, another soldier is brought to their home...
The movie did good bussiness.
It Happens Every Spring 1949, a sports comedy starring Ray Milland, Jean Peters and Paul Douglas.
A scientist discovers a formula that makes a baseball which is repelled by wood. He promptly sets out to exploit his discovery...
Miss Grant Takes Richmond 1949, a comedy starring Lucille Ball, William Holden, Janis Carter and James Gleason.
A newly hired "dumb" secretary working for a bookie masquerading as a Realtor causes unintended troubles for her employer.
It was well received by critics and movie-goers.
Kill the Umpire 1950, a baseball comedy starring William Bendix, Una Merkel, Ray Collins and Gloria Henry.
An umpire-hating ex-baseball player loses many jobs because his passion for watching ball games during working hours but he decides to combine business with pleasure by becoming an umpire himself...
The Frogmen 1951, a World War II drama that starred Richard Widmark, Dana Andrews, and Gary Merrill.
The film's storyline is based on operations by United States Navy Underwater Demolition Teams, popularly known as "frogmen", against the Japanese Army and naval forces. It was the first such film about scuba diving and became a popular cultural hit.
She Couldn't Say No 1953, a comedy starring Jean Simmons, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Hunnicut and Edgar Buchanan. About a wealthy heiress who returns to a small Arkansas town to furtively reward the townsfolk who helped to save her life when she was a young girl.
The French Line 1953, a musical starring Jane Russell, Gilbert Roland, Arthur Hunnicut and Mary McCarty, Kim Novak made her first film appearance.
It was filmed in three strip technicolor and Dual strip polarized 3D, and seeing Jane Russell in 3D proved too much for the Catholic National Legion of Decency. The film was considered scandalous at the time. The publicity surrounding the film guaranteed a success for both the 3D and a "flat" version.
...and many, many more, the above was only a sample of his work.
1953 was the last year a movie directed by Lloyd Bacon premiered. He passed away two years later, in 1955, aged 65.
Thanks for watching!
Lloyd Bacon 1889 - 1955
Little Lloyd was born in 1889, directly into show bussiness, his father was actor and playwright Frank Bacon.
Lloyd started in films as an actor with Charlie Chaplin and Broncho Billy Anderson and appeared in more than 40 total. As an actor, he is best known for supporting Chaplin in such films as 1915's The Tramp and The Champion and 1917's Easy Street.
Lloyd with Chaplin in The Floorwalker 1916.
With America's entry into World War I in 1917, Bacon enlisted in the Navy and was assigned to the Photo Department. This began a lifelong admiration for the service and might explain the Navy being a favorite recurring theme in many of his films.
After his service in the Navy was ended, he moved over to Mack Sennet studios. Sennett, sensing a bargain, happily accommodated Lloyd's desire to become a full-time director by early 1921. The Sennett studio was already in an irreversible decline during Bacon's tenure there but it allowed the novice director to gain a wealth of experience. He continued at Sennett until joining Warner Brothers in 1925, an association that would last a remarkable 18 years.
Although Lloyd never became known for a particular style other than a well-placed close up, his ability to bring in an entertaining film on time and within budget earned him such enormous respect from the Warner Brothers that he was soon handed control over important projects, including The Singing Fool 1928, Al Jolson's follow-up to The Jazz Singer 1927, which grossed an unheard-of (for Warners, at least) $4,000,000 in domestic receipts alone. the studio's #1 hit for 1928. Bacon was rewarded by becoming the highest paid director on the studio lot, earning over $200,000 a year throughout the Depression.
Bacon continued to turn out profitable films for the studio until moving to 20th Century-Fox in 1944 (a logical move, since the recently discharged Darryl F. Zanuck knew Bacon from his early days at Warners). He stayed at Fox until 1949, then bounced among Columbia, Fox, Universal and finally the chaotically-runned RKO in 1953.
Here follows some examples of movies directed by Lloyd Bacon:
42nd Street 1933, a pre-Code musical starring Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers. The choreography was staged by Busby Berkeley. The songs were written by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics).
This backstage musical was very successful at the box office and is now considered a classic by many.
Footlight Parade 1933, a pre-Code musical film starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell and featuring Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Ruth Donnelly, with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley. The film's songs were written by Harry Warren (music), Al Dubin (lyrics), Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics), and include "By a Waterfall", "Honeymoon Hotel" and "Shanghai Lil".
Cagney struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
Wonder Bar 1934 a pre-code musical starring Al Jolson, Kay Francis, Dolores del Rio, Ricardo Cortez and Dick Powell, with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley.
For its time, Wonder Bar was considered risqué, barely passing the censors at the Hays Office.
The film was one of Warners biggest hits of the year.
Here Comes the Navy 1934, a romantic comedy starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Gloria Stuart and Frank McHugh.
A cocky guy joins the Navy for the wrong reason but finds romance and twice is cited for heroism.
Cagney-O'Brien was a popular and profitable combination.
The U.S. Navy didn't mind, and fully cooperated.
The Irish in Us 1935, a comedy starring James Cagney, Pat'Brien, Olivia de Havilland and Frank McHugh.
Two brothers, a police officer and a boxing promoter, vie for the affections of a lovely young woman.
Another big hit for the Cagney-O'Brien combination.
Cain and Mabel 1936, a romantic comedy starring Marion Davis and Clark Gable.
A talented boxer and a gifted dancer hope to increase their waning popularity by inventing a fictitious love affair for the benefit of the tabloids...
Produced within Warner Bros by Davis own production company Cosmopolitan
Marked Woman 1937, a crime drama starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. Set in the underworld of Manhattan, Marked Woman tells the story of a woman who dares to stand up to one of the city's most powerful gangsters.
The film was a major success for Warner Brothers, and was one of Davis' most important early pictures. Davis had recently filed a lawsuit against Warners, with part of her protest being the inferior quality of scripts she was expected to play. Although she lost the lawsuit, she garnered considerable press coverage, and Marked Woman was the first script she filmed upon returning to Hollywood.
Gold Diggers of 1937 1936, a musical starring Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell and Victor Moore, with production numbers created, designed, staged and directed by Busby Berkeley.
A Slight Case of Murder 1938, a gangster comedy with Edward G. Robinson spoofing his own gangster image, based on a play by Damon Runyon.
Former bootlegger Remy Marco has a slight problem with forclosing bankers, a prospective son-in-law, and four hard-to-explain corpses...
Boy Meets Girl 1938, a screwball comedy starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Marie Wilson, Frank McHugh and Ralph Bellamy.
Two zany screenwriters in a rut come up with a story idea starring a bankable cowboy and the baby of the studio's waitress...
Reviewers at the time of release thought that the requirements of the Hays Office took off the satiric bite to make it successfull, but the audiences didn't mind.
The Oklahoma Kid 1939, a western starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart.
Cagney plays an adventurous gunslinger in a broad-brimmed cowboy hat while Bogart portrays his black-clad and viciously villainous nemesis.
If nothing else, the two stars tried their hands in doing something different.
Invisible Stripes 1939, a gangster crime drama starring George Raft, Jane Bryan, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart and Flora Robson.
An ex-con who wants to go straight has difficulties trying to reintegrate into society while on parole.
Knute Rockne, All American 1940, a biographical drama which tells the story of Knute Rockne, Notre Dame football coach. It stars Pat O'Brien portraying the role of Rockne and Ronald Reagan as player George Gipp, a.k.a. "The Gipper," as well as Gale Page, Donald Crisp, Albert Bassermann, Owen Davis Jr., Nick Lukats, Kane Richmond, William Marshall and William Byrne.
"Tell 'em to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper" was voted by AFI as one of the best 100 movie quotes of all times.
Brother Orchid 1940, a crime comedy starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Donald Crisp, Ralph Bellamy and Allen Jenkins.
When retired racket boss John Sarto (Robinson) tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.
Footsteps in the Dark 1941, a light-hearted mystery movie starring Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Hale, Lee Patrick and Allen Jenkins. A respected investment advisor has a double life as a mystery writer and becomes involved in the real murder of a shady client...
Larceny, Inc. 1942, a crime comedy starring Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, and Jack Carson, and features Anthony Quinn, and Edward Brophy.
Three bumbling crooks buy a store so that they can rob the bank next door. When they soon discover the money they can make as legitimate businessmen, they abandon their plan. Trouble is, one of their cohorts, who's escaped from jail, won't let them...
Robinson took the role of Pressure Maxwell in this film to offset his "tough guy" image as established in his many appearances as gangsters or police officers in previous Warner Bros. films.
Action in the North Atlantic 1943, a war movie that stars Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as sailors in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II.
When the movie was premiered in New York City, more than a dozen merchant mariners and several hundred U.S. sailors presented Jack Warner with the Merchant Marine Victory Flag. Henry J. Kaiser, the ship-building magnate, thought the film was such a morale booster that he wanted it shown to all his employees.
The Figthing Sullivans aka The Sullivans 1944, a biographial WWII drama starring Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell, Selena Royle and featured Ward Bond and Bobby Driscoll.
The story follows the lives of the five Irish-American Sullivan brothers, who grew up in Iowa during the days of the Great Depression and served together in the United States Navy during World War II. All the brothers died.
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier 1944 a drama during wartime home front, starring Anne Baxter, John Hodiak, Charles Winninger, Anne Revere, Chill Wills and Bobby Driscoll.
A poor family in Florida saves all the money they can in order to plan something special for the soldier they've invited to Sunday dinner. They don't realize that their request to invite the soldier never got mailed. On the day of the scheduled dinner, another soldier is brought to their home...
The movie did good bussiness.
It Happens Every Spring 1949, a sports comedy starring Ray Milland, Jean Peters and Paul Douglas.
A scientist discovers a formula that makes a baseball which is repelled by wood. He promptly sets out to exploit his discovery...
Miss Grant Takes Richmond 1949, a comedy starring Lucille Ball, William Holden, Janis Carter and James Gleason.
A newly hired "dumb" secretary working for a bookie masquerading as a Realtor causes unintended troubles for her employer.
It was well received by critics and movie-goers.
Kill the Umpire 1950, a baseball comedy starring William Bendix, Una Merkel, Ray Collins and Gloria Henry.
An umpire-hating ex-baseball player loses many jobs because his passion for watching ball games during working hours but he decides to combine business with pleasure by becoming an umpire himself...
The Frogmen 1951, a World War II drama that starred Richard Widmark, Dana Andrews, and Gary Merrill.
The film's storyline is based on operations by United States Navy Underwater Demolition Teams, popularly known as "frogmen", against the Japanese Army and naval forces. It was the first such film about scuba diving and became a popular cultural hit.
She Couldn't Say No 1953, a comedy starring Jean Simmons, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Hunnicut and Edgar Buchanan. About a wealthy heiress who returns to a small Arkansas town to furtively reward the townsfolk who helped to save her life when she was a young girl.
The French Line 1953, a musical starring Jane Russell, Gilbert Roland, Arthur Hunnicut and Mary McCarty, Kim Novak made her first film appearance.
It was filmed in three strip technicolor and Dual strip polarized 3D, and seeing Jane Russell in 3D proved too much for the Catholic National Legion of Decency. The film was considered scandalous at the time. The publicity surrounding the film guaranteed a success for both the 3D and a "flat" version.
...and many, many more, the above was only a sample of his work.
1953 was the last year a movie directed by Lloyd Bacon premiered. He passed away two years later, in 1955, aged 65.
Thanks for watching!