Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893 – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker.
47-471: Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film Hungry Lions (1919) for the producer. By the early 1920s, he had moved over to features including Asleep at the Switch (1923), The Hollywood Kid (1924), Eve's Lover (1925) and The Little Irish Girl (1926). Following several more titles, many now lost, he directed The First Auto (1927),
94-507: A Lady (1944) and Broadway Rhythm (1944). Del Ruth was the second highest paid director in Hollywood during the period 1932 to 1941 according to Box Office and Exhibitor magazine. Del Ruth was one of seven directors on the successful Ziegfeld Follies (1946), which featured an all-star cast of Fred Astaire , Lucille Ball , Fanny Brice , Judy Garland , Gene Kelly , Lena Horne , Red Skelton , and William Powell . From there, he helmed
141-515: A big box office hit. Having successfully segued into the talkie era, Del Ruth directed two more two-strip color musicals, Hold Everything (1930) and The Life of the Party (1930), before directing James Cagney and Joan Blondell in the cheerfully amoral pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film, Blonde Crazy (1931). That same year, he directed the first version of Dashiell Hammett 's novel, The Maltese Falcon (1931). Ricardo Cortez portrayed
188-581: A bizarre tale about humans being partially transformed into alligators in the Deep South. After his film Why Must I Die? (1960), Del Ruth retired. Roy Del Ruth died on April 27, 1961, at 67 years of age from a heart attack and was interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California . For his contributions to the motion picture industry, he was awarded
235-512: A charming look at the introduction of the first automobile to a small rural town. Also once believed lost, the film's almost entirely unsynchronised soundtrack features several elaborate sound effects for the time. Del Ruth directed another half dozen projects before the musical The Desert Song (1929), the first color film ever released by Warner Bros. That same year, Del Ruth directed Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929), Warner's second two-strip Technicolor , all-talking feature that also became
282-534: A couple of his Bing Crosby two-reelers to theaters, nothing happened. Sennett did appear in front of the camera, however, in Hollywood Cavalcade (1939), itself a thinly disguised version of the Mack Sennett-Mabel Normand romance. In 1949, he provided film footage for the first full-length comedy compilation film, Down Memory Lane (1949), written and narrated by Steve Allen . Sennett made
329-555: A guest appearance in the film, and received a special "Mack Sennett presents" credit. Sennett wrote a memoir, King of Comedy , in collaboration with Cameron Shipp. The book was published in 1954, prompting TV producer Ralph Edwards to mount a tribute to Sennett for the television series This Is Your Life . Sennett made a cameo appearance (for $ 1,000) in Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955). Sennett's last appearance in
376-435: A secure and valued place in the history of screen comedy, it is surely not as a developer of individual talents... Chaplin, Langdon, and Lloyd were all on the lot at one point or another, but developed their styles only in spite of Sennett, and grew to their artistic peaks only away from his influence... screen comedy followed Chaplin's lead and began to focus more on personality than situation." Sennett's first female comedian
423-613: A skating exhibition lands her on the cover of Life magazine. The film was originally called They Met in College and started in April 1938. In March Richard Greene was signed to be her leading man. Rehearsals started in April with over 300 ballet skaters. Buddy Ebsen was borrowed from MGM. In April the title was changed to My Lucky Star . 20th Century Fox found this the easiest of Henie's films to make to date. s o The film went six days over schedule. Filmink summarized it as having
470-536: A small Eastern Townships village. At that time, Sennett's grandparents were living in Danville, Quebec. Sennett moved to Connecticut when he was 17 years old. He lived for a while in Northampton, Massachusetts , where, according to his autobiography, he first got the idea to become an opera singer after seeing a vaudeville show. He said that the most respected lawyer in town, Northampton mayor (and future President of
517-617: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6150 Hollywood Blvd. In 2019, Del Ruth's film Employees' Entrance was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott ; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who
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#1732876071502564-656: A vigorous new style of motion picture comedy founded on speed, insolence and destruction, which won them the undying affection of the French Dadaists …" —Film historian Richard Koszarski Dubbed the King of Hollywood's Fun Factory , Sennett's studios produced slapstick comedies that were noted for their hair-raising car chases and custard pie warfare, especially in the Keystone Cops series . The comic formulas, however well executed, were based on humorous situations rather than
611-687: The Keystone Cops films. He also produced short features that displayed his Bathing Beauties , many of whom went on to develop successful acting careers. After struggling with bankruptcy and the dominance of sound films in the early 1930s, Sennett was presented with an honorary Academy Award in 1938 for his contributions to the film industry, with the Academy describing him as a "master of fun, discoverer of stars, sympathetic, kindly, understanding comedy genius". Born Michael Sinnott in Danville, Quebec , he
658-826: The New York Motion Picture Company , Sennett founded Keystone Studios in Edendale, California – now a part of Echo Park – in 1912. The original main building which was the first totally enclosed film stage and studio ever constructed, is still standing, as of 2023. Many successful actors began their film careers with Sennett, including Marie Dressler , Mabel Normand , Charlie Chaplin , Harry Langdon , Roscoe Arbuckle , Harold Lloyd , Raymond Griffith , Gloria Swanson , Ford Sterling , Andy Clyde , Chester Conklin , Polly Moran , Louise Fazenda , The Keystone Cops , Bing Crosby , and W. C. Fields . "In its pre-1920s heyday [Sennett's Fun Factory] created
705-458: The 1930s, Sennett tried to come to Columbia but they wouldn't have him. He was finished, and the studio was happy with Jules." Sennett did sell some scripts and stories to Jules White, receiving screen credit as "Michael Emmes" (the "Emmes" being formed by Sennett's initials). Columbia really didn't need Sennett's services; the studio already had four producers and six directors on its short-subject payroll. Mack Sennett went into semi-retirement at
752-895: The Crosby and Fields shorts, Sennett's studio did not survive the Depression. Sennett's partnership with Paramount lasted only one year and he was forced into bankruptcy in November 1933. On January 12, 1934, Sennett was injured in an automobile accident that killed blackface performer Charles Mack in Mesa, Arizona . His last work, in 1935, was as a producer-director for Educational, in which he directed Buster Keaton in The Timid Young Man and Joan Davis in Way Up Thar . The 1935 Vitaphone short subject Keystone Hotel featured several alumni from
799-537: The Keystone trademark and produced a cheap series of comedy shorts that were "Keystones" in name only: they were unsuccessful, and Sennett had no connection with them. Sennett went on to produce more ambitious comedy short films and a few feature-length films. Many of Sennett's films of the early 1920s were inherited by Warner Bros. after Warner had merged with the original distributor, First National. Warner added music and commentary to several of these short subjects, and
846-506: The Mack Sennett studios: Ben Turpin, Ford Sterling, Hank Mann, and Chester Conklin. Actually, Sennett was not involved in the making of this film; it was directed by Ralph Staub . Sennett made one last attempt to continue working in the comedy field. By this time he had been supplanted as the major producer of two-reel comedies by Jules White at Columbia Pictures . White's brother, Jack White, recalled: "When Jules and I were at Columbia in
893-621: The United States) Calvin Coolidge , as well as Sennett's mother, tried to talk him out of his musical ambitions. In New York City, he took on the stage name Mack Sennett and became an actor, singer, dancer, clown , set designer , and director for the Biograph Company . A distinction in his acting career, often overlooked, is that he played Sherlock Holmes 11 times, albeit as a parody , between 1911 and 1913. With financial backing from Adam Kessel and Charles O. Bauman of
940-577: The actor's few musicals, Born to Dance (1936). He followed with the Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), before guiding ice skating star Sonja Henie through My Lucky Star (1938) and Happy Landing (1938). Del Ruth continued churning out product for the studios, helming competent films like The Star Maker (1939), Here I Am Stranger (1939), He Married His Wife (1940) and Topper Returns (1941). After working solo on The Chocolate Soldier (1941), Maisie Gets Her Man (1942), DuBarry Was
987-404: The age of 55, having produced more than 1,000 silent films and several dozen talkies during a 25-year career. His studio property was purchased by Mascot Pictures (later part of Republic Pictures ), and many of his former staffers found work at Columbia. In March 1938, Sennett was presented with an honorary Academy Award : "for his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen,
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#17328760715021034-491: The ailing Ruth's declining health. Del Ruth remained unsatisfied with the results, and the film received largely negative reviews from critics. He directed George Raft again in the noir crime drama Red Light (1949), Milton Berle and Virginia Mayo in the comedy Always Leave Them Laughing (1949), and James Cagney in the vibrant The West Point Story (1950). Two Doris Day musicals, On Moonlight Bay and Starlift (both 1951), Stop, You're Killing Me (1952) and
1081-460: The basic principles of which are as important today as when they were first put into practice, the Academy presents a Special Award to that master of fun, discoverer of stars, sympathetic, kindly, understanding comedy genius – Mack Sennett." Rumors abounded that Sennett would be returning to film production (a September 1938 publicity release indicated that he would be working with Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy ), but apart from Sennett reissuing
1128-462: The cartoonish silent films but ludicrous in the new, realistic atmosphere of talking pictures. Sennett was also having financial problems during the Great Depression . One of his biggest stars, Andy Clyde, left the studio after Sennett, wanting to economize, tried to cut Clyde's salary. In 1932 Sennett attempted to re-enter the feature-film market on a grand scale with Hypnotized . Remembering
1175-420: The cheerfully ambitious Christmas-themed comedy It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947), an appealing entertainment that was compared to It's a Wonderful Life (1946). The comedy stars Don DeFore and Ann Harding. Del Ruth next directed The Babe Ruth Story (1948), with Babe Ruth played by William Bendix . Bending historical truths lest he offend, Del Ruth's biopic was rushed through production amidst news of
1222-460: The crime drama Taxi! (1932) and then directed the comedy Blessed Event (1932) starring the fast-talking Lee Tracy . Del Ruth subsequently oversaw such pictures as The Little Giant (1933) starring Edward G. Robinson , Lady Killer (1933) with James Cagney, Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) featuring Bette Davis , Employees' Entrance (1933) with Warren William and Loretta Young , Upper World (1934) with Ginger Rogers , and
1269-594: The day. Sennett wanted W. C. Fields to star as a carnival hypnotist, but Fields declined and the role went to Ernest Torrence , sharing the spotlight with blackface comedians Moran and Mack , "The Two Black Crows". Production was completed in August 1932, but fell far short of Sennett's grandiose predictions. The finished film ran an ordinary 70 minutes and was released through ordinary channels by World Wide Pictures (Educational's feature-film outlet) in December 1932. Sennett
1316-550: The film industry. Also beginning in 1915, Sennett assembled a bevy of women known as the Sennett Bathing Beauties to appear in provocative bathing costumes in comedy short subjects, in promotional material, and in promotional events such as Venice Beach beauty contests. The Sennett Bathing Beauties continued to appear through 1928. In 1917, Sennett gave up the Keystone trademark and organized his own company, Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation. Sennett's bosses retained
1363-469: The grosses for himself. Sennett told him to go to hell." Sennett left Educational and signed with Paramount Pictures . Sennett signed both Bing Crosby and W. C. Fields for two-reel comedies. Fields wrote and starred in four famous Sennett-Paramount comedies. Two other Sennett shorts were made with Fields scripts: The Singing Boxer (1933) with Donald Novis and Too Many Highballs (1933) with Lloyd Hamilton . Despite Paramount's wide distribution of
1410-513: The immunity of the Shetland pony...you can have her fall into mud puddles. They will laugh at that. But the spectacle of a girl dripping with pie is unpleasing...movie fans don't like to see pretty girls smeared up with pastry. Shetland ponies and pretty girls are immune."— Max Sennett, from The Psychology of Film Comedy , November 1918 Film historian Richard Koszarski qualifies "fun factory" influence on comedic film acting: "While Mack Sennett has
1457-545: The military musical About Face (1953) followed. He went on to direct Jane Powell and Gordon MacRae in Three Sailors and a Girl (1953), He then took a short excursion into the initially short-lived 3D process with a horror film starring Karl Malden Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954). Away from the director's chair for the next five years, Del Ruth returned to helm the horror picture The Alligator People (1959),
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1504-509: The musical comedy Kid Millions (1934) starring Eddie Cantor . He directed Ronald Colman in his second and final appearance as Bulldog Drummond in the detective mystery Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934), and helmed the backstage showbiz musical Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) for MGM , starring Jack Benny and Eleanor Powell . After returning to the realm of crime for It Had to Happen (1936) with George Raft and Rosalind Russell , Del Ruth directed James Stewart in one of
1551-586: The national media was in the NBC radio program Biography in Sound , relating memories of working with W.C. Fields. The program was broadcast February 28, 1956. Sennett was never married, but his tumultuous relationship with actress Mabel Normand was widely publicized in the press at the time. According to the Los Angeles Times , Sennett reportedly lived a "madcap, extravagant life", often throwing "lavish parties", and at
1598-497: The new talking-picture technology. Sennett's enthusiasm for talking pictures was such that he was the first to get a talkie short subject on the market, in 1928. His leading star at the time, Ben Turpin , was suddenly unemployed and moved to the Weiss Brothers studio. Sennett made a reasonably smooth transition to sound films , releasing them through Educational. Sennett occasionally experimented with color as well. In 1932, he
1645-429: The new versions were released to theaters between 1939 and 1945. Many of Sennett's First National films physically deteriorated due to inadequate storage. Hence, many of Sennett's films from his most productive and creative period no longer exist. In the mid-1920s, Sennett moved to Pathé Exchange distribution. In 1927, Hollywood's two most successful studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures , took note of
1692-581: The peak of his career he owned three homes. On March 25, 1932, he became a United States citizen. Sennett died on November 5, 1960, in Woodland Hills, California , aged 80. He was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California . For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Sennett was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard . He
1739-484: The personal traits of the comedians; the various social types, often grotesquely portrayed by members of Sennett's troupe, were adequate to render the largely "interchangeable routines: "Having a funny moustache, or crossed-eyes, or an extra two-hundred pounds was as much individualization as was required." "It is an axiom of screen comedy that a Shetland pony must never be put in an undignified position. People don't like it...immunity of pretty girls doesn't go as far as
1786-567: The profits being made by smaller companies such as Pathé Exchange and Earle Hammons 's Educational Pictures . MGM took over the Hal Roach comedy shorts from Pathé, and Paramount reactivated its short subjects. Hundreds of other independent exhibitors and moviehouses switched from Pathé to the new MGM or Paramount shorts, but Sennett remained loyal to Pathé and fulfilled his contract to deliver silent comedies through 1929. In 1928 Sennett canceled all of his talent contracts and retooled his studio for
1833-412: The roguish private eye whose investigation of a murder case entwines him in a plot involving unsavory people searching for a fabled, jewel-encrusted falcon. While the plot somewhat mirrors the 1941 remake , this pre-Code version features sexual innuendo, including Bebe Daniels bathing in the nude, overt references to homosexuality and one instance of cursing. Del Ruth reunited with James Cagney for
1880-409: The son of a department store owner, enrolls the store's sports clerk Krista Nielsen ( Sonja Henie ) at a university to use her as an advertisement for their fashion department. George is trying to pay off cabaret singer Marcelle La Verne, who wants to annul their brief elopement. Marcelle threatens to name Krista as a co-respondent in her lawsuit. Krista has fallen for Larry Taylor at the college, where
1927-425: The successful campaign for his very first feature-length comedy Tillie's Punctured Romance , which in 1914 was the longest comedy film ever produced, Sennett planned Hypnotized along similar lines as an epic production that would be shown first-run in select roadshow engagements. Sennett announced that Hypnotized would run 15 reels, or two-and-a-half hours, more than twice the length of a typical comedy feature of
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1974-624: Was Mabel Normand, who became a major star under his direction and with whom he embarked on a tumultuous romantic relationship. Sennett also developed the Kid Comedies , a forerunner of the Our Gang films, and in a short time, his name became synonymous with screen comedy which were called "flickers" at the time. In 1915, Keystone Studios became an autonomous production unit of the ambitious Triangle Film Corporation , as Sennett joined forces with D. W. Griffith and Thomas Ince , both powerful figures in
2021-416: Was also having differences with his distributor, Earle Hammons of Educational. Jack White , Educational's leading producer, explained, "We put Mack Sennett out of business. Theaters had [our] comedies booked solid. Sennett was very temperamental and wanted the exhibitor to do certain things, but they wouldn't stand for it. Sennett wouldn't stand for Hammons not telling him how much [money] he was cutting out of
2068-471: Was also inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2014. The building of Sennett's original studio in Echo Park was deemed a historical landmark by The City of Los Angeles in 1982. Further reading My Lucky Star (1938 film) My Lucky Star is a 1938 American romantic comedy film . This was Norwegian ice-skating Olympic champion Sonja Henie 's fourth film. George Cabot Jr. ( Cesar Romero ),
2115-412: Was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec , in 1908, he started acting in films in the Biograph Company of New York City , and later opened Keystone Studios in Edendale, California in 1912. Keystone possessed the first fully enclosed film stage, and Sennett became famous as the originator of slapstick routines such as pie-throwing and car-chases, as seen in
2162-672: Was nominated for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film in the comedy division for producing The Loud Mouth (with Matt McHugh , in the sports-heckler role later taken in Columbia Pictures remakes by Charley Chase and Shemp Howard ). Sennett also won an Academy Award in the novelty division for his film Wrestling Swordfish , also in 1932. Mack Sennett often clung to outmoded techniques, making his early-1930s films seem dated and quaint: he dressed some of his actors in eccentric makeups and loud costumes, which were amusing in
2209-501: Was the son of Irish Catholic John Sinnott and Catherine Foy. His parents married in 1879 in Tingwick , Quebec and moved the same year to Richmond, Quebec where Sinnott was hired as a laborer. By 1883, when Sennett's brother George was born, Sinnott was working as an innkeeper, a position he held for many years. Sennett's parents had all their children and raised their family in Richmond, then
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