Post by teleadm on Oct 15, 2022 22:41:04 GMT
One of the important directors during the early sound years and during the 1930's. He came via Broadway theatre were he directed both Porgy 1927, when it was a play, and Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess 1929. But before that he had been a teacher at the Eastman School of Music and was involved in directing opera and theatre. In 1925, he was head of the School of Drama, where Martha Graham (a modern dancer and choreographer) was working at the time. Among other performances, together they produced a short, two-color film titled The Flute of Krishna, featuring Eastman students.
For his director jobs in Hollywood he was never Oscar nominated.
He preferred a strong preference for a stylized look to his scenes, stating that he was more interested in creating a poetic look to his films than in showing ordinary realism.
This year we celebrate his birth 125 years ago in what is now Tblisi in Georgia.
Rouben Mamoulian (1897–1987)
He only directed 17 movies.
The Flute of Krishna 1926, the short movie he directed while teaching at Eastman's.
Applause 1929 a back stage musical.
It was shot at Paramount's Astoria Studios in Astoria, New York, during the early years of sound films. The film is notable as one of the few films of its time to break free from the restrictions of bulky sound technology equipment in order to shoot on location around Manhattan.
In 2006, it was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.
City Streets 1931, based on a story by Dashiell Hammett and starring Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney and Paul Lukas.
A Pre-Code crime film about a racketeer's daughter who is in love with a shooting gallery showman.
In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated this film for its Top 10 Gangster Films list.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1931 an adaptation of "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", the 1886 Robert Louis Stevenson tale of a man who takes a potion which turns him from a mild-mannered man of science into a homicidal maniac.
The film was a critical and commercial success upon its release.
The film was made prior to the full enforcement of the Production Code and is remembered today for its strong sexual content, embodied mostly in the character of the bar singer, Ivy Pierson, played by Miriam Hopkins. When it was re-released in 1936, the Code required 8 minutes to be removed before the film could be distributed to theaters. This footage was restored for the VHS and DVD releases.
Fredric March won the Oscar award for Best Actor.
Love Me Tonight 1932 with music by Rodgers and Hart. It stars Maurice Chevalier as a tailor who poses as a nobleman and Jeanette MacDonald as a princess with whom he falls in love.
The staging of "Isn't It Romantic?" was revolutionary for its time, combining both singing and film editing, as the song is passed from one singer (or group of singers) to another, all of whom are at different locales.
For the post-Production Code re-release (after 1934), it was trimmed to 96 minutes. The missing eight minutes of footage have never been restored and are presumed lost. Known deletions include Myrna Loy's portion of the "Mimi" song, as under the strictures of the Production Code, her negligee was deemed too revealing.
The Song of Songs 1933 starring Marlene Dietrich as a naive German peasant named Lily who moves to Berlin and suffers from a considerable amount of heartache.
The film was a box office disappointment for Paramount. And this was his last at Paramount.
Queen Christina 1933 at MGM
The film portrays the life of Queen Christina of Sweden, who became monarch at the age of six in 1632 and grew to be a powerful and influential leader. As well as coping with the demands of ruling Sweden during the Thirty Years' War, Christina is expected to marry a suitable royal figure and produce an heir.
It stars Swedish-born actress Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in their fourth and last film together.
The film was a major commercial and critical success in the United States and worldwide.
We Live Again 1934 for independent producer Samuel Goldwyn, an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1899 novel Resurrection (Voskraeseniye).
Producer Samuel Goldwyn made the film to showcase Russian actress Anna Sten, his newest discovery. It was Goldwyn who named the film "We Live Again", on the theory that it meant the same thing as "Resurrection" and was easier to understand.
Anna Sten wasn't the next Garbo or Dietrich and the film was a box office disappointment.
Becky Sharp 1935 for Pioneer Pictures and distributed by RKO.
The film was considered a landmark in cinema as the first feature film to use the newly developed three-strip Technicolor production throughout, opening the way for a growing number of color films to be made in Britain and the United States in the years leading up to World War II. Starring Miriam Hopkins who was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar.
Lowell Sherman, the original director, had fallen ill while working on Night Life of the Gods before starting Becky Sharp, but had continued to work on the project, he died of double pneumonia four weeks into production. After Sherman's death, Rouben Mamoulian was brought in to finish the film. He did not use any of the footage shot by Sherman, deciding instead to reshoot the entire film.
For many years, the original three-color Technicolor version of the film was not available for viewing, though a 16 millimeter version was available. This version had been printed (poorly) on two-color Cinecolor stock which did not accurately reproduce the colors of the original film. The smaller film gauge also resulted in a grainier, inferior image. In the 1980's, the UCLA Film and Television Archive restored the film, under the supervision of archivist Robert Gitt. Rouben Mamoulian appeared at the premiere of the restored print at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences theatre in Beverly Hills.
The Gay Desperado 1936, independently produced by Mary Pickford. A largely forgotten comedy film starring Ida Lupino, Leo Carrillo, and Nino Martini.
The film was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Mary Pickford Foundation, and released on DVD in 2006 by Milestone Pictures after being out of distribution for many years.
He personally was recruited by Directors Guild of America (DGA) co-founder King Vidor in 1936 to help unionize fellow movie directors. Mamoulian's lifelong allegiance to the DGA, and more so his general unwillingness to compromise, contributed to his being targeted in the Hollywood blacklisting of the 1950's. His work at DGA also took up more and more of his time.
High, Wide and Handsome 1937, a one-off at Paramount, written by Oscar Hammerstein II and George O'Neil, with lyrics by Hammerstein and music by Jerome Kern. This musical starred Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, Alan Hale, Sr., Charles Bickford, and Dorothy Lamour.
The film was not a success when released, partly because it was shown in roadshow format, which caused it to lose more money than it normally would have.
Golden Boy 1939 for Columbia, based on a play by Clifford Odets and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou and a newcomer named William Holden.
In 1938, Columbia purchased the rights to Odets' play for $100,000, intending to produce a film starring Jean Arthur and directed by Frank Capra. Actors considered for the role of Joe Bonaparte included John Garfield, who played Joe in the play, Elia Kazan, Richard Carlson, and Tyrone Power. However, director Rouben Mamoulian expressed interest in Holden after seeing his screen test, and convinced Columbia to purchase 50 percent of Holden's contract from Paramount Pictures. Golden Boy was Holden's first starring role and jumpstarted his career. The producers were initially unhappy with Holden's work and tried to dismiss him, but Stanwyck insisted that he be retained.
The climactic boxing scene was filmed on location at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Then it was off to 20th Century Fox for three movies
The Mark of Zorro 1940 starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Basil Rathbone.
The film was named to the National Film Registry in 2009 by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant", and to be preserved for all time.
The film was a huge box-office success, said to be due to Mamoulian keeping the story "tongue in cheek" and etching out a performance by Tyrone Power that made the character more interesting.
Blood and Sand 1941 starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth.
Unlike most films at the time, Blood and Sand was not previewed, but premiered uncut at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in May 1941.
The film was a big hit at the box-office.
The film won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, shared between Ernest Palmer and Ray Rennahan.
Rings on Her Fingers 1942 a comedy starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney. About a poor man who gets mistaken for a millionaire and is swindled out of his life savings.
Though popular it still made a small loss at the box-office.
His last two completed movies was made at MGM.
Summer Holiday 1948 a musical version of Eugene O'Neill's Ah Wilderness. Though completed in October 1946, this film sat on the shelf until 1948.
Director Rouben Mamoulian saw this project as an opportunity to create a very different kind of “musical play” and he gave songwriters Ralph Blane (lyrics) and Harry Warren (music) specific instructions on what he wanted to do. The result can be seen in the opening sequence, “Our Home Town,” begun by Nat Miller, who introduces us to the town and to the family. The sequence segues back and forth and back again into lines that are sung, lines that are spoken in rhyme, and lines that are read straight, and ends in the soda fountain. The length of this sequence may be the root of the incorrect idea that the whole film is written in rhyme.
While a box-office disappointment at the time. Today it is considered a minor classic, "largely because of Mamoulian’s innovative approach."
While not directing movies he directed on Broadway the original versions of Oklahoma! 1943 and Carousel 1945.
Silk Stockings 1957 a musical remake of Ninotchka 1939, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, with songs and lyrics by Cole Porter.
His career as a director came to an end when he was fired from his last two films, Porgy and Bess 1959 one scene used and Cleopatra 1963 footage unused (which was started in 1959).
"I visualize a whole film before I come to the set and then I try to match it."
Always included a cat in his films as a good luck token
First published in 2012.
Thanks for watching!
Opinions of all kinds are welcome!
For his director jobs in Hollywood he was never Oscar nominated.
He preferred a strong preference for a stylized look to his scenes, stating that he was more interested in creating a poetic look to his films than in showing ordinary realism.
This year we celebrate his birth 125 years ago in what is now Tblisi in Georgia.
Rouben Mamoulian (1897–1987)
He only directed 17 movies.
The Flute of Krishna 1926, the short movie he directed while teaching at Eastman's.
Applause 1929 a back stage musical.
It was shot at Paramount's Astoria Studios in Astoria, New York, during the early years of sound films. The film is notable as one of the few films of its time to break free from the restrictions of bulky sound technology equipment in order to shoot on location around Manhattan.
In 2006, it was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.
City Streets 1931, based on a story by Dashiell Hammett and starring Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney and Paul Lukas.
A Pre-Code crime film about a racketeer's daughter who is in love with a shooting gallery showman.
In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated this film for its Top 10 Gangster Films list.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1931 an adaptation of "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", the 1886 Robert Louis Stevenson tale of a man who takes a potion which turns him from a mild-mannered man of science into a homicidal maniac.
The film was a critical and commercial success upon its release.
The film was made prior to the full enforcement of the Production Code and is remembered today for its strong sexual content, embodied mostly in the character of the bar singer, Ivy Pierson, played by Miriam Hopkins. When it was re-released in 1936, the Code required 8 minutes to be removed before the film could be distributed to theaters. This footage was restored for the VHS and DVD releases.
Fredric March won the Oscar award for Best Actor.
Love Me Tonight 1932 with music by Rodgers and Hart. It stars Maurice Chevalier as a tailor who poses as a nobleman and Jeanette MacDonald as a princess with whom he falls in love.
The staging of "Isn't It Romantic?" was revolutionary for its time, combining both singing and film editing, as the song is passed from one singer (or group of singers) to another, all of whom are at different locales.
For the post-Production Code re-release (after 1934), it was trimmed to 96 minutes. The missing eight minutes of footage have never been restored and are presumed lost. Known deletions include Myrna Loy's portion of the "Mimi" song, as under the strictures of the Production Code, her negligee was deemed too revealing.
The Song of Songs 1933 starring Marlene Dietrich as a naive German peasant named Lily who moves to Berlin and suffers from a considerable amount of heartache.
The film was a box office disappointment for Paramount. And this was his last at Paramount.
Queen Christina 1933 at MGM
The film portrays the life of Queen Christina of Sweden, who became monarch at the age of six in 1632 and grew to be a powerful and influential leader. As well as coping with the demands of ruling Sweden during the Thirty Years' War, Christina is expected to marry a suitable royal figure and produce an heir.
It stars Swedish-born actress Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in their fourth and last film together.
The film was a major commercial and critical success in the United States and worldwide.
We Live Again 1934 for independent producer Samuel Goldwyn, an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1899 novel Resurrection (Voskraeseniye).
Producer Samuel Goldwyn made the film to showcase Russian actress Anna Sten, his newest discovery. It was Goldwyn who named the film "We Live Again", on the theory that it meant the same thing as "Resurrection" and was easier to understand.
Anna Sten wasn't the next Garbo or Dietrich and the film was a box office disappointment.
Becky Sharp 1935 for Pioneer Pictures and distributed by RKO.
The film was considered a landmark in cinema as the first feature film to use the newly developed three-strip Technicolor production throughout, opening the way for a growing number of color films to be made in Britain and the United States in the years leading up to World War II. Starring Miriam Hopkins who was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar.
Lowell Sherman, the original director, had fallen ill while working on Night Life of the Gods before starting Becky Sharp, but had continued to work on the project, he died of double pneumonia four weeks into production. After Sherman's death, Rouben Mamoulian was brought in to finish the film. He did not use any of the footage shot by Sherman, deciding instead to reshoot the entire film.
For many years, the original three-color Technicolor version of the film was not available for viewing, though a 16 millimeter version was available. This version had been printed (poorly) on two-color Cinecolor stock which did not accurately reproduce the colors of the original film. The smaller film gauge also resulted in a grainier, inferior image. In the 1980's, the UCLA Film and Television Archive restored the film, under the supervision of archivist Robert Gitt. Rouben Mamoulian appeared at the premiere of the restored print at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences theatre in Beverly Hills.
The Gay Desperado 1936, independently produced by Mary Pickford. A largely forgotten comedy film starring Ida Lupino, Leo Carrillo, and Nino Martini.
The film was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Mary Pickford Foundation, and released on DVD in 2006 by Milestone Pictures after being out of distribution for many years.
He personally was recruited by Directors Guild of America (DGA) co-founder King Vidor in 1936 to help unionize fellow movie directors. Mamoulian's lifelong allegiance to the DGA, and more so his general unwillingness to compromise, contributed to his being targeted in the Hollywood blacklisting of the 1950's. His work at DGA also took up more and more of his time.
High, Wide and Handsome 1937, a one-off at Paramount, written by Oscar Hammerstein II and George O'Neil, with lyrics by Hammerstein and music by Jerome Kern. This musical starred Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, Alan Hale, Sr., Charles Bickford, and Dorothy Lamour.
The film was not a success when released, partly because it was shown in roadshow format, which caused it to lose more money than it normally would have.
Golden Boy 1939 for Columbia, based on a play by Clifford Odets and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou and a newcomer named William Holden.
In 1938, Columbia purchased the rights to Odets' play for $100,000, intending to produce a film starring Jean Arthur and directed by Frank Capra. Actors considered for the role of Joe Bonaparte included John Garfield, who played Joe in the play, Elia Kazan, Richard Carlson, and Tyrone Power. However, director Rouben Mamoulian expressed interest in Holden after seeing his screen test, and convinced Columbia to purchase 50 percent of Holden's contract from Paramount Pictures. Golden Boy was Holden's first starring role and jumpstarted his career. The producers were initially unhappy with Holden's work and tried to dismiss him, but Stanwyck insisted that he be retained.
The climactic boxing scene was filmed on location at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Then it was off to 20th Century Fox for three movies
The Mark of Zorro 1940 starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Basil Rathbone.
The film was named to the National Film Registry in 2009 by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant", and to be preserved for all time.
The film was a huge box-office success, said to be due to Mamoulian keeping the story "tongue in cheek" and etching out a performance by Tyrone Power that made the character more interesting.
Blood and Sand 1941 starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth.
Unlike most films at the time, Blood and Sand was not previewed, but premiered uncut at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in May 1941.
The film was a big hit at the box-office.
The film won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, shared between Ernest Palmer and Ray Rennahan.
Rings on Her Fingers 1942 a comedy starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney. About a poor man who gets mistaken for a millionaire and is swindled out of his life savings.
Though popular it still made a small loss at the box-office.
His last two completed movies was made at MGM.
Summer Holiday 1948 a musical version of Eugene O'Neill's Ah Wilderness. Though completed in October 1946, this film sat on the shelf until 1948.
Director Rouben Mamoulian saw this project as an opportunity to create a very different kind of “musical play” and he gave songwriters Ralph Blane (lyrics) and Harry Warren (music) specific instructions on what he wanted to do. The result can be seen in the opening sequence, “Our Home Town,” begun by Nat Miller, who introduces us to the town and to the family. The sequence segues back and forth and back again into lines that are sung, lines that are spoken in rhyme, and lines that are read straight, and ends in the soda fountain. The length of this sequence may be the root of the incorrect idea that the whole film is written in rhyme.
While a box-office disappointment at the time. Today it is considered a minor classic, "largely because of Mamoulian’s innovative approach."
While not directing movies he directed on Broadway the original versions of Oklahoma! 1943 and Carousel 1945.
Silk Stockings 1957 a musical remake of Ninotchka 1939, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, with songs and lyrics by Cole Porter.
His career as a director came to an end when he was fired from his last two films, Porgy and Bess 1959 one scene used and Cleopatra 1963 footage unused (which was started in 1959).
"I visualize a whole film before I come to the set and then I try to match it."
Always included a cat in his films as a good luck token
First published in 2012.
Thanks for watching!
Opinions of all kinds are welcome!
