Woody Van Dyke and his movies
Mar 21, 2019 13:29:59 GMT
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Post by teleadm on Mar 21, 2019 13:29:59 GMT
One of MGM's house directors from the early sound era to the early 1940s. Known as a reliable craftsman who made his films on schedule and under budget, he earned the name "One Take Woody" for his quick and efficient style of filming. "One Take" can also meen that thy were well prepared and rehearsed.
Little Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II was born on March 21, 1889 (130 years ago) in San Diego, California. His father was a Superior Court judge who died the day his son was born. His mother, Laura Winston, returned to her former acting career. As a child actor, Van Dyke appeared with his mother on the vaudeville circuit with traveling stock companies.
When Van Dyke was fourteen years old, he moved to Seattle to live with his grandmother. While attending business school, he worked several part-time jobs, including janitor, waiter, salesman, and railroad attendant.
In 1909, he married actress Zelda Ashford, and the two joined various touring theater companies, finally arriving in Hollywood in 1915.
In 1915, Van Dyke found work as an assistant director to D. W. Griffith on the film The Birth of a Nation. The following year, he was Griffith's assistant director on Intolerance. He also worked as assistant director to a few James Young production, including a now lost version of Oliver Twist 1916, in which he also played the role of Charles Dickens.
In 1917, Van Dyke directed his first film, The Land of Long Shadows, for Essanay Studios. During the silent era he learned his craft and by the advent of the talkies was one of MGM's most reliable directors. He came to be known as "One-Take Woody" or "One-Take Van Dyke", for the speed with which he would complete his assignments. MGM regarded him as one of the most versatile, equally at home directing costume dramas, westerns, comedies, crime melodramas, and musicals.
Many of his films were huge hits and top box office in any given year.
Van Dyke was known for allowing ad-libbing (that remained in the film) and for coaxing natural performances from his actors. He made stars of Nelson Eddy, James Stewart, Myrna Loy, Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Eleanor Powell, Ilona Massey, and Margaret O'Brien. He was often called in to work a few days (or more), uncredited, on a film that was in trouble or had gone over production schedule.
The Land of Long Shadows 1917, making his directing debut.
Daredevil Jack 1920 was a 15-part movie serial starring the popular boxer Jack Dempsey.
In 1927, he traveled to Tacoma to direct two silent films for the new, but short-lived, H.C. Weaver Productions, Eyes of the Totem (picture above) and The Heart of the Yukon (the latter is considered a lost film).
White Shadows in the South Seas 1928, The film began production in 1927 as a co-venture between documentary filmmaker Robert Flaherty, Cosmopolitan and MGM. The production was filmed in Tahiti, 4000 miles from Hollywood, a rarity for the time. A silent movie with talking sequences, sound effects and music, and also the first time Leo the Lion (MGM) roars in the introduction.
W. S. Van Dyke's Journal: White Shadows in the South Seas was published in 1991, edited by film historia Rudy Behlmer.
Van Dyke return to Tahiti to shoot The Pagan 1929, starring Ramon Novarro, Renée Adorée and Donald Crisp.
Trader Horn 1931, was the first non-documentary film shot on locations in Africa. Many of the location shots would later pop up in many MGM productions over the years to come. It starred Harry Carey, Edwina Booth and Duncan Renaldo.
Van Dyke also published a book named "Horning Into Africa" the same year.
Tarzan the Ape Man 1932, starring Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith and Maureen O'Sullivan. Stock footage made in Africa for W.S. Van Dyke's own Trader Horn was added to location work shot in the then-undeveloped Toluca Lake region north of Los Angeles.
A later days well-known mistake, the elephants they hired were Indian and not African.
Eskimo 1933, took over a year to prepare, and was shot on Alaskan location. It was the first feature film to be shot in a Native American language (Inupiat), and the first feature film shot in Alaska. starring Ray Mala, Lulu Wong Wing and Lotus Long.
Having made three and ambitious productions made on difficult locations, and proved how well he handled them, L.B. Mayer needed him closer to the MGM lot, were most of the rest of his movies where shot.
Manhattan Melodrama 1934, starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and William Powell, a pre-code crime movie. The chemistry between Loy and Powell was very much noted by Van Dyke. Maybe they should make more movies together.
The Thin Man 1934, a perfect vehicle for the chemistry of William Powell and Myrna Loy, and Skippy as Asta offcourse. Solving crimes between drinks.
The success of this movie created a whole series, and Van Dyke would also direct After the Thin Man 1936, Another Thin Man 1939 and Shadow of the Thin Man 1941. Plus one Powell-Loy outside of the series, I Love You Again 1940.
Rose Marie 1936, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Van Dyke had uncredited directed parts of their earlier vehicle Naughty Marietta, this was the first he got credit for. Both MacDonald and Eddy became personal firends with Van Dyke, and he directed them in Sweethearts 1938, New Moon 1940 (uncredited because halfway through filming he was called to save other productions), Bitter Sweet 1940, and I Married an Angel 1942.
They also performed together at Van Dyke's funeral.
San Francisco 1936, starring Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy.
The earthquake sequence in San Francisco was once considered one of the best special-effects sequences ever filmed.
To help direct, Van Dyke called upon his early mentor, D. W. Griffith, who had fallen on hard times. Van Dyke was also known to hire old-time, out-of-work actors as extras. Because of his loyalty, he was much beloved and admired in the industry.
Rosalie 1937, a vehicle built around the talents of Eleanor Powell.
Marie Antoinette 1938, starring Norma Shearer, Tyrone Power, John Barrymore and Robert Morley.
The film was the last project of Irving Thalberg who died in 1936 while it was in the planning stage.
With a budget close to two million dollars, it was one of the more expensive films of the 1930s, but also one of the bigger successes.
Relaxing between takes of Stand Up and Fight 1939, Robert Taylor, Wallace Beery and Woody.
This movie might be forgotten today, but MGM was good at this, putting a few stars together and with a good director, a reasonable story, and they made profits.
Promoted to the rank of major prior to World War II, the patriotic Van Dyke set up a Marine Corps recruiting center in his MGM office. He was one of the first Hollywood bigwigs to advocate early U.S. involvement, and he convinced stars like Clark Gable, James Stewart, Robert Taylor, and Nelson Eddy to become involved in the war effort.
Rage in Heaven 1941, starring Robert Montgomery, Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders. A psychological thriller film noir about the destructive power of jealousy.
Journey for Margaret 1942, a war time drama set in London, starring Robert Young, Laraine Day and Margaret O'Brien. It is a heart-rending movie that made 5-year-old Margaret O'Brien an overnight star.
In the latter half of 1942, despite being ill with cancer and a bad heart, Van Dyke managed to direct this movie to the finish.
Van Dyke's next project should have been Dragon Seed.
Van Dyke, a devout Christian Scientist, had refused most medical treatments and care during his final years. Following the general release of Journey for Margaret to theaters in January 1943, he said his goodbyes to his wife, children, and to studio boss Louis B. Mayer and then committed suicide on February 5.
W.S. Van Dyke directed on 91 movies, not always credited.
Thanks for watching!
Comments of all kinds are as always very welcome!
Including listing favorites.
Little Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II was born on March 21, 1889 (130 years ago) in San Diego, California. His father was a Superior Court judge who died the day his son was born. His mother, Laura Winston, returned to her former acting career. As a child actor, Van Dyke appeared with his mother on the vaudeville circuit with traveling stock companies.
When Van Dyke was fourteen years old, he moved to Seattle to live with his grandmother. While attending business school, he worked several part-time jobs, including janitor, waiter, salesman, and railroad attendant.
In 1909, he married actress Zelda Ashford, and the two joined various touring theater companies, finally arriving in Hollywood in 1915.
In 1915, Van Dyke found work as an assistant director to D. W. Griffith on the film The Birth of a Nation. The following year, he was Griffith's assistant director on Intolerance. He also worked as assistant director to a few James Young production, including a now lost version of Oliver Twist 1916, in which he also played the role of Charles Dickens.
In 1917, Van Dyke directed his first film, The Land of Long Shadows, for Essanay Studios. During the silent era he learned his craft and by the advent of the talkies was one of MGM's most reliable directors. He came to be known as "One-Take Woody" or "One-Take Van Dyke", for the speed with which he would complete his assignments. MGM regarded him as one of the most versatile, equally at home directing costume dramas, westerns, comedies, crime melodramas, and musicals.
Many of his films were huge hits and top box office in any given year.
Van Dyke was known for allowing ad-libbing (that remained in the film) and for coaxing natural performances from his actors. He made stars of Nelson Eddy, James Stewart, Myrna Loy, Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Eleanor Powell, Ilona Massey, and Margaret O'Brien. He was often called in to work a few days (or more), uncredited, on a film that was in trouble or had gone over production schedule.
The Land of Long Shadows 1917, making his directing debut.
Daredevil Jack 1920 was a 15-part movie serial starring the popular boxer Jack Dempsey.
In 1927, he traveled to Tacoma to direct two silent films for the new, but short-lived, H.C. Weaver Productions, Eyes of the Totem (picture above) and The Heart of the Yukon (the latter is considered a lost film).
White Shadows in the South Seas 1928, The film began production in 1927 as a co-venture between documentary filmmaker Robert Flaherty, Cosmopolitan and MGM. The production was filmed in Tahiti, 4000 miles from Hollywood, a rarity for the time. A silent movie with talking sequences, sound effects and music, and also the first time Leo the Lion (MGM) roars in the introduction.
W. S. Van Dyke's Journal: White Shadows in the South Seas was published in 1991, edited by film historia Rudy Behlmer.
Van Dyke return to Tahiti to shoot The Pagan 1929, starring Ramon Novarro, Renée Adorée and Donald Crisp.
Trader Horn 1931, was the first non-documentary film shot on locations in Africa. Many of the location shots would later pop up in many MGM productions over the years to come. It starred Harry Carey, Edwina Booth and Duncan Renaldo.
Van Dyke also published a book named "Horning Into Africa" the same year.
Tarzan the Ape Man 1932, starring Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith and Maureen O'Sullivan. Stock footage made in Africa for W.S. Van Dyke's own Trader Horn was added to location work shot in the then-undeveloped Toluca Lake region north of Los Angeles.
A later days well-known mistake, the elephants they hired were Indian and not African.
Eskimo 1933, took over a year to prepare, and was shot on Alaskan location. It was the first feature film to be shot in a Native American language (Inupiat), and the first feature film shot in Alaska. starring Ray Mala, Lulu Wong Wing and Lotus Long.
Having made three and ambitious productions made on difficult locations, and proved how well he handled them, L.B. Mayer needed him closer to the MGM lot, were most of the rest of his movies where shot.
Manhattan Melodrama 1934, starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and William Powell, a pre-code crime movie. The chemistry between Loy and Powell was very much noted by Van Dyke. Maybe they should make more movies together.
The Thin Man 1934, a perfect vehicle for the chemistry of William Powell and Myrna Loy, and Skippy as Asta offcourse. Solving crimes between drinks.
The success of this movie created a whole series, and Van Dyke would also direct After the Thin Man 1936, Another Thin Man 1939 and Shadow of the Thin Man 1941. Plus one Powell-Loy outside of the series, I Love You Again 1940.
Rose Marie 1936, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Van Dyke had uncredited directed parts of their earlier vehicle Naughty Marietta, this was the first he got credit for. Both MacDonald and Eddy became personal firends with Van Dyke, and he directed them in Sweethearts 1938, New Moon 1940 (uncredited because halfway through filming he was called to save other productions), Bitter Sweet 1940, and I Married an Angel 1942.
They also performed together at Van Dyke's funeral.
San Francisco 1936, starring Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy.
The earthquake sequence in San Francisco was once considered one of the best special-effects sequences ever filmed.
To help direct, Van Dyke called upon his early mentor, D. W. Griffith, who had fallen on hard times. Van Dyke was also known to hire old-time, out-of-work actors as extras. Because of his loyalty, he was much beloved and admired in the industry.
Rosalie 1937, a vehicle built around the talents of Eleanor Powell.
Marie Antoinette 1938, starring Norma Shearer, Tyrone Power, John Barrymore and Robert Morley.
The film was the last project of Irving Thalberg who died in 1936 while it was in the planning stage.
With a budget close to two million dollars, it was one of the more expensive films of the 1930s, but also one of the bigger successes.
Relaxing between takes of Stand Up and Fight 1939, Robert Taylor, Wallace Beery and Woody.
This movie might be forgotten today, but MGM was good at this, putting a few stars together and with a good director, a reasonable story, and they made profits.
Promoted to the rank of major prior to World War II, the patriotic Van Dyke set up a Marine Corps recruiting center in his MGM office. He was one of the first Hollywood bigwigs to advocate early U.S. involvement, and he convinced stars like Clark Gable, James Stewart, Robert Taylor, and Nelson Eddy to become involved in the war effort.
Rage in Heaven 1941, starring Robert Montgomery, Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders. A psychological thriller film noir about the destructive power of jealousy.
Journey for Margaret 1942, a war time drama set in London, starring Robert Young, Laraine Day and Margaret O'Brien. It is a heart-rending movie that made 5-year-old Margaret O'Brien an overnight star.
In the latter half of 1942, despite being ill with cancer and a bad heart, Van Dyke managed to direct this movie to the finish.
Van Dyke's next project should have been Dragon Seed.
Van Dyke, a devout Christian Scientist, had refused most medical treatments and care during his final years. Following the general release of Journey for Margaret to theaters in January 1943, he said his goodbyes to his wife, children, and to studio boss Louis B. Mayer and then committed suicide on February 5.
W.S. Van Dyke directed on 91 movies, not always credited.
Thanks for watching!
Comments of all kinds are as always very welcome!
Including listing favorites.
! 