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Rouben Mamoulian

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Rouben Mamoulian
Ռուբեն Մամուլյան
Born
Rouben Zachary Mamoulian

(1897-10-08)October 8, 1897
Tiflis, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia)
DiedDecember 4, 1987(1987-12-04) (aged 90)
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
CitizenshipUnited States
Occupation(s)Film and stage director
Years active1927-1963
Spouse
Azadia Newman
​
(m. 1945)​

Rouben Zachary Mamoulian (October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an Armenian-American film and theater director.[1]

Mamoulian's oeuvre includes sixteen films (four of which are musicals) and seventeen Broadway productions, six of which are musicals. He was responsible for the acclaimed original stagings of Oklahoma! (1943) and Carousel (1945), as well as the first production of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1935).[2][3]

His output in the early film sound era demonstrated his talent for deploying cinematic innovations that were startling in their day. He restored mobility to the camera, and developed his own signature use of montage, close-ups, split-screens and dissolves.[4][5] Mamoulian's films garnered more in the way of critical acclaim than box office receipts: only six of his films earned a profit at their initial release: City Streets (1931), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), Love Me Tonight (1932), Queen Christina (1934), The Mark of Zorro (1940) and Blood and Sand (1941).[6][7]

Early life

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Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia), to a family of Armenian descent.[8][9][10] His mother, Virginie (née Kalantarian), from a family of wealthy landowners and financiers, served as a director of the Armenian theatre. His father, Zachary Mamoulian, was a bank president.[11]: 8 [12][13][14] They raised Mamoulian and his younger sister, Svetlana, in the Armenian Apostolic faith.[15]

By the time he was six, Mamoulian was fluent in Russian, Armenian, and Georgian. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1905, ethnic violence arose in Tiflis, and the family moved to Paris for three years, where Mamoulian became fluent in French. [16][17] In 1915, his father enrolled him at the Imperial Moscow University to study law, but Mamoulian turned to literary pursuits and student stage productions.[18][19][20] The Mamoulian family, sympathetic to the Czarist regime, fled Russia during the turmoil of the 1917 revolution and the ensuing civil war.[21]

Academic career

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In 1923,[22] Mamoulian accepted an invitation from George Eastman[11]: 17–28  to become co-director of the American Opera Company in Rochester, New York,[23] and taught at the Eastman School of Music.[24] Mamoulian produced Carmen, Faust, Boris Godunov, as well as Gilbert and Sullivan and Viennese operettas.[25][26][27]

In 1925, Mamoulian was head of the Eastman School's School of Dance and Dramatic Action, where Martha Graham taught for one year (1925–26).[24] Among other performances, together they produced a short, two-color film titled The Flute of Krishna, featuring Eastman students. Mamoulian left Eastman shortly after (1926),[24][28][29] Mamoulian recalled:

I was already seeking a truly dramatic theater, a theater that would combine all the elements of movement, dancing, acting, music, singing, decor, lighting and colour and so on."[30]

In 1930, Mamoulian became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Stage career

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Mamoulian began his Broadway director career with a production of DuBose Heyward's Porgy, which opened on October 10, 1927.[31][32][33] He also directed Wings Over Europe from late 1928 to 1929.[33] He directed the revival of Porgy in 1929 along with George Gershwin's operatic treatment Porgy and Bess, which opened on October 10, 1935.[33] Mamoulian was also the first to stage such notable Broadway works as Oklahoma! (1943), Carousel (1945), and Lost in the Stars (1949).[33]

Film career

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Mamoulian directed Applause, his first feature film in 1929, which was one of the early efforts in "talkies". It was a landmark film owing to Mamoulian's innovative use of camera movement and sound.[34][35][36]

His talents as a director were carried to his other films released in the 1930s. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) is widely considered the best version of Robert Louis Stevenson's tale.[37][38][39] Queen Christina (1933) was the last film Greta Garbo made with John Gilbert; both benefit from being made before the Hays Code came into full force. [40] The musical film Love Me Tonight was released in 1932.[41]

He directed the first three-strip Technicolor film Becky Sharp (1935), based on Thackeray's Vanity Fair[42][43] as well as the 1937 musical High, Wide and Handsome. His next two films earned him wide admiration, The Mark of Zorro (1940) and Blood and Sand (1941), both remakes of silent films.[44]

Blood and Sand, about bullfighting, was filmed in Technicolor, and used color schemes based on the work of Spanish artists such as Diego Velázquez and El Greco.[45][46] His foray into screwball comedy in 1942 was a success with Rings on Her Fingers starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney.[47]

Mamoulian's last completed musical film was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1957 film version of the Cole Porter musical Silk Stockings. This was one of Porter's less successful stage musicals and was based on the 1939 Ninotchka. The film Silk Stockings starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, with Janis Paige and Peter Lorre in supporting roles.[48]

Mamoulian's film directing career came to an end when he was fired or resigned from two consecutive films: Porgy and Bess (1959),[49] for which Mamoulian had written a complete shooting script when the Goldwyn studios set burned to the ground. When production resumed, director Mamoulian had disagreements with producer Samuel Goldwyn, and was "fired".[50][51] The second was Cleopatra (1963).[52][53]

He previously had been fired as director of Laura (1944).[54][55][56]

After directing the highly successful original stage productions of Oklahoma! and Carousel, he worked on only a few other theatrical productions, such as St. Louis Woman, which introduced Pearl Bailey to Broadway audiences.[57][58]

He personally was recruited by Directors Guild of America (DGA) co-founder King Vidor in 1936 to help unionize fellow movie directors.[59][60] 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 1950s.[61] From 1961, at age 64, until his death in 1987 at age 90, Mamoulian did not work professionally.[62]

Mamoulian died on December 4, 1987, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital of natural causes at age 90 in Woodland Hills, California.[12][63][61]

Awards and honors

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On February 8, 1960, for his contribution to the motion picture industry, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1709 Vine Street.[64][65]

He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.[66][67] In 1982 Mamoulian received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America.[68]

In 2019, Mamoulian's film Becky Sharp was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[69]

Filmography

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As director
Year Title Production co. Cast Notes
1929 Applause Paramount Helen Morgan
1931 City Streets Paramount Gary Cooper / Sylvia Sidney
1931 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Paramount Fredric March / Miriam Hopkins
1932 Love Me Tonight Paramount Maurice Chevalier / Jeanette MacDonald
1933 The Song of Songs Paramount Marlene Dietrich / Brian Aherne
1933 Queen Christina MGM Greta Garbo / John Gilbert
1934 We Live Again Samuel Goldwyn Co. Fredric March / Anna Sten
1935 Becky Sharp Pioneer Pictures Miriam Hopkins / Cedric Hardwicke first three-strip Technicolor film
1936 The Gay Desperado Pickford-Lasky Nino Martini / Ida Lupino / Leo Carrillo
1937 High, Wide and Handsome Paramount Irene Dunne / Randolph Scott / Charles Bickford
1939 Golden Boy Columbia Barbara Stanwyck / William Holden
1940 The Mark of Zorro 20th Century Fox Tyrone Power / Linda Darnell
1941 Blood and Sand 20th Century Fox Tyrone Power / Linda Darnell / Rita Hayworth Technicolor film
1942 Rings on Her Fingers 20th Century Fox Gene Tierney / Henry Fonda
1948 Summer Holiday MGM Mickey Rooney / Gloria DeHaven / Walter Huston / Agnes Moorehead / Frank Morgan / Marilyn Maxwell Technicolor film
1957 Silk Stockings MGM Fred Astaire / Cyd Charisse Metrocolor film
Other film work
Year Title Production co. Cast Notes
1944 Laura 20th Century Fox Gene Tierney / Clifton Webb / Dana Andrews fired, footage unused
1952 The Wild Heart David O. Selznick Jennifer Jones shot extra scenes for the U.S. version of Gone to Earth (GB 1950) / Technicolor film
1959 Porgy and Bess Samuel Goldwyn Co. Sidney Poitier / Dorothy Dandridge fired, one scene used / Technicolor film
1963 Cleopatra 20th Century Fox Elizabeth Taylor / Richard Burton / Rex Harrison resigned, footage unused / color film

Notes

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  1. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 11: "Born October 8, 1897
  2. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 4: "hugely successful" staging of the two musicals.
  3. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 3
  4. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. vii–viii: Foreword by Tom Milne. And: p. 2: Mamoulian "known as a technical innovator..."
  5. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 4: "Mamoulian's work can be seen as its own genre."
  6. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 5: "Mamoulian's reputation rests on his first six films."
  7. ^ Spergel, 1993 pp. 88–89: "Mamoulian had his longest and artistically most successful tenure at Paramount Pictures...The Mamoulian style and sophistication appealed to the aspirations of the Paramount studio bosses."
  8. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 9: "Mamoulian said very little about his early life" and when did discuss it, revealed "very little".
  9. ^ Milne, 1969 p. 12: "Born in Tiflis, Georgia
  10. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 9
  11. ^ a b Luhrssen, David (2013). Mamoulian: Life on Stage and Screen. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813136769
  12. ^ a b Flint, Peter B. (December 6, 1987). "Rouben Mamoulian, Broadway Director, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  13. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 11–12: "...wealthy landowners..." Virginie, (1876–1972), married at age 16 to Zachary (1866–1966). The couple "honeymooned in Paris". And: his sister, Svetlana, born 1899.
  14. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 9: "...his mother was the head of the Armenian theater in Tiflis..." And: p. 237: Lifespan of his parents here.
  15. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 8: "Raised in the Armenian Apostolic faith, he was comfortable with Christian themes and imagery."
  16. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 14
  17. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 9: "For some unspecified reason" the family "moved to Paris when Mamoulian was a boy". And learned to speak "fluent French".
  18. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 14–15
  19. ^ Milne, 1969 p. 12
  20. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 10: See here for Moscow University and growing interest in theater production.
  21. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 10: Spergel reports that Mamoulian gave the "impression" in interviews that he had not witnessed the outbreak of the Russian revolution and during interviews "had no comment to make on the subject".
  22. ^ Whiteley, Chris. "Rouben Mamoulian". Hollywood's Golden Age. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  23. ^ "Rouben Mamoulian". Hollywood Walk of Fame. October 25, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  24. ^ a b c Lenti, Vincent A. For the Enrichment of Community Life: George Eastman and the Founding of the Eastman School of Music. Rochester, New York: Meliora Press, 2004.
  25. ^ "Rouben Mamoulian interview". Sight and Sound. British Film Institute. 1961. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  26. ^ Milne, 1969 pp. 12–13
  27. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 22–24
  28. ^ Spergel, 1993 pp. 49–50: See here for Graham's comments on her experiences at Eastman and reason for leaving.
  29. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 28–29
  30. ^ Milne, 1969 pp. 12–13
  31. ^ Spergel, 1993 pp. 56–57
  32. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 34–35
  33. ^ a b c d Rouben Mamoulian at the Internet Broadway Database Edit this at Wikidata
  34. ^ Milne, 1969 p. 17: "...a real eye-opener" to contemporary audiences. And "...the elliptically swift, scene setting opening, which was to become almost a Mamoulian trademark".
  35. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 111: Though a box office "failure", the "critics hailed Applause for its technical innovations and artistry".
  36. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 59: "...sensational reviews" and "Executive suite enthusiasm" for the film.
  37. ^ Spergel, 1993 pp. 125–126: The 1941 MGM remake "lacks the explicit sexuality of the Mamoulian film and its artistry...most viewers only know the miscast and unimaginatively directed version starring Spencer Tracy..."
  38. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 75: "...fans prefer the Mamoulian's version" to MGM's 1941 remake with Spencer Tracy.
  39. ^ Milne, 1969 pp. 49–50: "Structurally, thematically and psychologically, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is masterly and superbly executed..."
  40. ^ Spergel, 1993, p. 150: The year the film was released marked the onset of "severe tightening of censorship by the Hays office" And p. 151: A number of "sexual and religious references" resulted in the film having a limited distribution in "different geographical regions".
  41. ^ Milne, 1969 p. 50: "...Mamoulian's first flawless masterpiece..." And p. 162: Filmography
  42. ^ Milne, 1969 p. 91: "...first feature in the new three-color Technicolor process".
  43. ^ Spergel, 1993 pp. 114–115: Based on the Thackeray novel Vanity Fair. And p. 155
  44. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 160: The Mark of Zorro "a new version of the Douglas Fairbanks classic..." and p. 162: Blood and Sand "a remake of the 1922 Rudolph Valentino silent" film.
  45. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 179: "Mamoulian drew on classic Spanish painting to stylize his cinematographic presentation." And: Mamoulian: Velasquez, "the master of light and shadow..."
  46. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 166: On the influence of El Greco's 1590 Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors in crafting a scene.
  47. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 171–172: Screwball: "a slight madcap comedy".
  48. ^ Spergel, 1993 pp. 216–217: "Based on the 1939 Ernst Lubitsch film Ninotchka, which starred Greta Garbo..." And: The Broadway production of Silk Stockings "was not one of Porter's greatest critical successes..."
  49. ^ Milne, 1969 pp. 173–174
  50. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 221: Spergel, based on the Arthur Marx biography on Sam Goldwyn, suggests that Mamoulian was "fired" because he failed to establish a good rapport with the film's black cast members.
  51. ^ Jensen, 2024 p. 270: Goldwyn "replaced" Mamoulian with Preminger. And p. 196: His "...replacement on Porgy and Bess..."
  52. ^ Milne, 1969 p. 174: "Mamoulian resigned" from the picture and 10 minutes of his material was incorporated into the final version.
  53. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 89: "...the 1963 film Cleopatra, Mamoulian's final project, from which he officially resigned". And: p. 232: Leading lady Elizabeth Taylor had previously asked producer Spyros Skouras to replace his with Joseph L Mankiewicz.
  54. ^ Milne 1969 p. 173: "Disagreements arose" between director Mamoulian and producer Otto Preminger. Mamoulian "resigned", and Preminger finished the film using Mamoulian's script and footage already shot.
  55. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 194: "...the first of several features from which he was fired or resigned".
  56. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 193–196: On Mamoulian's "replacement" by Darryl F. Zanuck with Preminger.
  57. ^ Spergel, 1993 pp. 201–202: Pearl Bailey's "Broadway debut" in the production.
  58. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 222–223
  59. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 168: Mamoulian was seated on the SGA board of directors from 1936 to 1939, but was only intermittently active thereafter. His association was largely based on this personal friendship with Vidor. And: "Mamoulian was not well-liked by most Hollywood directors."
  60. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 135–136: See here for Mamoulian's support for blacklisted director Irving Pichel, among the first to join the DGA.
  61. ^ a b Johnson, Carley (Winter 2013). "Mamoulian: Life on Stage and Screen". DGA Quarterly: 71–72. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  62. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 215
  63. ^ Jensen, 2024 pp. 305–307: See here for Mamoulian's final days, mental, physical condition, finances. Transferred from home to MP&TCHH on December 2, 1987, died two days later.
  64. ^ "Rouben Mamoulian | Hollywood Walk of Fame". www.walkoffame.com. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  65. ^ "Rouben Mamoulian". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  66. ^ "26 Elected to the Theater Hall of Fame", The New York Times, March 3, 1981.
  67. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 237
  68. ^ Spergel, 1993 p. 237
  69. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (December 11, 2019). "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks". Time. New York. Retrieved December 11, 2019.

References

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Further reading

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