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| Mitchell
Leisen |
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| Director
/ Production Designer |
| 1898 - 1972 |
| Born October 6,
Menominee, Michigan, USA |
| Key
Production Country: USA |
| Key Genres: Romance,
Drama, Comedy |
| Key
Collaborators: Hans
Dreier (Production Designer), Alma Macrorie (Editor), Victor Young
(Composer),
Charles Brackett (Screenwriter/Producer), Arthur Hornblow Jr.
(Producer), Ray Milland (Leading Player), John Lund (Leading Player), Daniel Fapp (Cinematographer), Charles
Lang (Cinematographer), Robert Usher (Production Designer) |
| Highly
Recommended: To
Each His Own (1946), No Man of Her Own (1950), The Mating Season (1951) |
| Recommended: Midnight
(1939), Hold
Back the Dawn (1941), Lady in the Dark (1944) |
| Links: [
IMDB ] [ All-Movie
Guide ] [ Senses
of Cinema: Great Directors ] [ Derek
Malcolm's Century of Films: Swing High, Swing Low ] [
Wikipedia ] |
| Books: [
Mitchell
Leisen: Hollywood Director ] |
| DVD's:
[ Amazon
] |
| 1,000
Greatest Films: Midnight
(1939) |
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"The
films Leisen directed for Paramount and other studios have been
noted for their visual luster and entertaining pace. His
consistency of style was particularly impressive in view of the
thematic weakness of many of the films he was assigned to
direct. Leisen was known as a "woman's director" for the many
romantic films he made and for the strong performances he
elicited from actresses." - (The
MacMillan International Film Encyclopedia, 1994) |
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"He directed much
that was beneath his intelligence, but always with style, taste,
and decorative flair...Leisen seldom slipped below a
self-imposed standard of visual elegance, nor rose above a
stylish superficiality...That he is remembered by Cahiers du
cinéma as
little more than "a great couturier"
and by other reference books more for the writers and performers
he directed is a fate suffered by many artists of Hollywood's
1930s cinema, stronger on wit and taste than self-advertisement." -
John Baxter (International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers,
1991) |
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"His
best work may have depended on good writers, but the gentle
romanticism, the silvery visual elegance, and the relaxed
performances in those films are proof of his own light touch. He
was expert at combining comedy, melodrama, and a touch of social
comment (many of his movies concern class and money), and, as a
former costume designer and art director, alert to the
importance of decor.." - Geoff
Andrew (The Director's Vision, 1999) |
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"He paced his films leisurely, bringing out the most from
dialogue, plot, and scenic detail, but never lensed one truly
powerful or riotous classic." -
William R. Meyer (The Film Buff's Catalog, 1978) |
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