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William Cameron Menzies

William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American filmmaker who pioneered the discipline of production design, a job title he invented.[1][2] His career spanned five decades, during which time he also worked as an art director, director, producer, and special effects artist. He began his career during the silent era, and later pioneered the use of color in film for dramatic effect.[2]

William Cameron Menzies
Menzies in 1925
Born(1896-07-29)July 29, 1896
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedMarch 5, 1957(1957-03-05) (aged 60)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationYale University, University of Edinburgh
Occupation(s)Production designer, film director
Years active1917–1956
AwardsAcademy Award for Best Art Direction
1928 The Dove ; Tempest
Academy Honorary Award
1939 Gone with the Wind

Over the course of his career, Menzies was nominated for six Academy Awards and won two - one for Best Art Direction, and an Honorary Oscar for his work on Gone with the Wind. He is considered one of the most influential figures of the Golden Age of Hollywood,[3] described by Martin Scorsese as a “genius, [whose] influence was incalculable.”[4]

Early years

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Menzies was born in New Haven, Connecticut,[5] to Scottish immigrant parents, Charles A. and Helen originally from Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross. He studied at Yale and the University of Edinburgh and, after serving in the United States Army during World War I, he attended the Art Students League of New York.

Career

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Menzies joined Famous Players–Lasky, later to evolve into Paramount Pictures, working in special effects and design. He soon worked on such films as Robin Hood (1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924), The Bat (1926), The Dove (1927), Sadie Thompson (1928), and Tempest (1928). His contributions to The Dove (1927), as well as Tempest (1928) led to Menzies receiving the first Academy Award for Best Production Design, an accolade for achievement in art direction. In 1929, Menzies formed a partnership with producer Joseph M. Schenck to create a series of early sound short films visualizing great works of music, including a 10-minute version of Dukas's The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and created the production design and special effects for Schenck's feature film The Lottery Bride (1930).

Menzies's work on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) prompted David O. Selznick to hire him for Gone with the Wind (1939).[6] Selznick's faith in Menzies was so great that he sent a memorandum to everyone at Selznick International Pictures who was involved in the production reminding them that "Menzies is the final word" on everything related to Technicolor, scenic design, set decoration, and the overall look of the production.[7] His work on the film would also net Menzies an Honorary Academy Award for "for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood."[8]

"Production designer" (which is sometimes used interchangeably with "art director") was coined specifically for Menzies, to refer to his being the final word on the overall look of the production; it was intended to describe his ability to translate Selznick's ideas to drawings and paintings from which he and his fellow directors worked.[citation needed]

Menzies was the director of the burning of Atlanta sequence in Gone with the Wind. He also re-shot the Salvador Dalí dream sequence of Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945).[9]

In addition, Menzies directed dramas and fantasy films. He made two science-fiction films: Things to Come (1936), based on a novel by H.G. Wells, for producer Alexander Korda which predicted war and technical advancement; and Invaders from Mars (1953), which mirrored many fears about aliens and outside threats to humanity in the 1950s.

Death

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Shortly after completing his work as an associate producer on Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Menzies died of cancer. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Accolades

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At the first Academy Awards, held on May 16, 1929, Menzies won for Best Art Direction for The Dove and Tempest. He was the first to win the Academy Award for art direction. The following year he was nominated in the same categories for his work on Bulldog Drummond, Alibi, and The Awakening, but lost to Cedric Gibbons.

At the 12th Academy Awards held on February 29, 1940, Menzies won an Academy Honorary Award "for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood" in the production of Gone With the Wind.

Legacy

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In 2005, Menzies was in the first group of art directors and production designers inducted into the Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame.[10]

Several of Menzies home movies are part of the collection of the Academy Film Archive and were preserved by the archive in 2015.[11]

Filmography

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Silent Films, 1918-1930

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Year Title Studio Director Photography Notes
1917 The Mark of Cain Astra Film/Pathé George Fitzmaurice Arthur C. Miller Menzies assistant to "Settings" director Anton Grot
1918 The Naulahka Astra Film/Pathé George Fitzmaurice Arthur C. Miller Menzies set associate to Anton Grot
Innocent Astra Film Corp/Pathé George Fitzmaurice Percy Hilburn With Anton Grot; Menzies joined the U.S. Navy before the film's completion.
1919 The Test of Honor Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures John S. Robertson Jacques Monteran Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged" (uncredited)
Redhead Select Pictures Corp./Select Film Corp. Charles Maigne Al Liguori Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged." (uncredited)
Come Out of the Kitchen Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures John S. Robertson Jacques Monteran Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged." (uncredited)
The Avalanche Famous Players–Lasky/Artcraft Pictures George Fitzmaurice Arthur C. Miller Fitzmaurice is credited with set design. Menzies' reports "staging" the picture. (uncredited)
The Firing Line Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures-Artcraft George Fitzmaurice Al Liguori Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged." (uncredited)
His Wedding Night Select Pictures Corp./Select Pictures Corp. George Fitzmaurice Jacques Monteran Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged." (uncredited)
A Society Exile Famous Players–Lasky/Artcraft Pictures George Fitzmaurice Arthur C. Miller Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged." (uncredited)
The Misleading Widow Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures-Artcraft John S. Robertson Roy Overbaugh Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged." (uncredited)
The Witness for the Defense Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures-Artcraft George Fitzmaurice Hal Young Menzies credited for "Settings"
The Teeth of the Tiger Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures-Artcraft Chet Withey Al Liguori Menzies credited for "Settings"
His Wife's Friend Thomas H. Ince/Paramount Pictures-Artcraft Joseph De Grasse John S. Stumar Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged [art direction]." (uncredited)
1920 Sinners Realart Pictures Inc./Realart Pictures Inc. Kenneth Webb George Folsey Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged [art direction]." (uncredited)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures-Artcraft John S. Robertson Roy Overbaugh Menzies provided a draft summary for the film.(uncredited)
The Deep Purple Mayflower Photoplay Company/Realart Pictures Inc. Raoul Walsh Jacques Bizeul Menzies credited for "Settings"
1921 Scrambled Wives Margaret Clark Productions/First National Pictures Edward H. Griffith William McCoy, Ray June Menzies reports this "a movie I have staged [art direction]." (uncredited)
The Oath Mayflower Photoplay Corp/Associated First National Raoul Walsh Dal Clawson Menzies credited for "Settings"
Serenade R.A.Walsh Productions/Associated First National Raoul Walsh George Peters Menzies credited for "Settings"
1922 Kindred of the Dust R.A.Walsh Productions/Associated First National Raoul Walsh Charles Van Enger, H. Lyman Broening Menzies credited for "Settings"
1923 Rosita Mary Pickford Company/United Artists Ernst Lubitsch Charles Rosher Menzies credited as "Art Director"
1924 The Thief of Bagdad Douglas Fairbanks| Pictures/United Artists Raoul Walsh Arthur Edeson Menzies credited as "Art Director"
The Only Woman Joseph M. Schenck Productions/First National Pictures Sidney Olcott Antonio Gaudio Menzies credited for "Settings"
Her Night of Romance Norma Talmadge Production Corporation/First National Pictures Sidney Franklin Ray Binger, Victor Milner Menzies credited for "Art Direction"
1925 The Lady Joseph M. Schenck Productions/First National Pictures Frank Borzage Antonio Gaudio Menzies credited for "Settings"
Learning to Love Norma Talmadge Production Corporation]]/First National Pictures Sidney Franklin Victor Milner Menzies credited for "Settings"
Her Sister from Paris Norma Talmadge Production Corporation/First National Pictures Sidney Franklin Arthur Edeson Menzies credited as "Art Director"
Graustark Joseph M. Schenck Productions/First National Pictures Dimitri Buchowetzki Gaetana Gaudio Menzies credited for "Settings"
The Dark Angel Samuel Goldwyn Productions/First National Pictures George Fitzmaurice George Barnes Menzies credited for "Settings"
The Eagle Art Finance Corporation/United Artists] Clarence Brown George Barnes Menzies credited for "Settings"
Cobra Ritz-Carlton Pictures/Paramount Pictures Joseph Henabery George Barnes Menzies credited for "Settings"
1926 The Wanderer Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures Raoul Walsh Victor Milner Menzies credited for "Settings"
The Bat Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures Roland West Arthur Edeson Menzies credited for "Settings"
Kiki Joseph M. Schenck Productions/First National Clarence Brown Oliver Marsh Menzies credited for "Settings"
The Son of the Sheik Feature Productions/United Artists George Fitzmaurice George Barnes Menzies credited for "Settings"
Fig Leaves 20th Century Fox Howard Hawks Joseph August Menzies and William S. Darling credited for "Settings" Menzie's contribution was only to the Garden of Eden sequence at opening of the picture.
The Duchess of Buffalo Talmadge Production Corporation/First National Pictures Sydney Franklin Oliver Marsh Menzies credited as "Art Director"
1927 The Beloved Rogue Feature Productions/United Artists Alan Crosland Joseph August Menzies credited as "Art Director"
Venus of Venice Talmadge Production Corporation/First National Pictures Marshall Neilan George Barnes Menzies credited as "Art Director"
Camille Joseph M. SchenckProductions/First National Pictures Fred Niblo Oliver Marsh Menzies credited as "Art Director"
Topsy and Eva Feature Productions/United Artists] Del Lord, D. W. Griffith (uncredited) John W. Boyle Menzies credited as "Art Director"
Two Arabian Knights The Caddo Company/United Artists Lewis Milestone Antonio Guidio, Joseph August (uncredited) Menzies credited as "Art Director"
Sorrell and Son Joseph M. Schenck Productions/First National Pictures Herbert Brenon James Wong Howe Menzies credited as "Art Director"
Quality Street Joseph M. Schenck Productions/First National Pictures Sydney Franklin Hendrik Sartov Menzies uncredited, but designed the film's Green Willow Village on the M-G-M lot.
The Dove Joseph M. Schenck Productions/First National Roland West Oliver Marsh Menzies credited for "Settings"
1928 Sadie Thompson Gloria Swanson Productions, Inc./United Artists Raoul Walsh Oliver Marsh Menzies credited as "Art Director"
What Price Beauty? S. George Ulman Productions/Pathe Tom Buckingham J.D. Jennings Menzies credited as "Art Director"
Drums of Love Feature Productions/United Artists D. W. Griffith Karl Struss, G.W. Bitzer Menzies credited for "Settings"
"The Garden of Eden Feature Productions/United Artists Lewis Milestone John Arnold (Technicolor sequence) Menzies credited as "Art Director"
The Love of Zero Florey-Menzies Productions/(first Los Angeles showing) Robert Florey Edward Fitzgerald Menzies credited with "Staging"
Drums of Love Feature Productions/United Artists John W. Considine Jr. Charles Rosher Menzies credited as "Art Director"
The Woman Disputed Joseph M. Schenck Productions/United Artists Henry King, Sam Taylor Oliver Marsh Menzies credited as "Art Director"
The Battle of the Sexes Art Cinema Corporation/United Artists D. W. Griffith Karl Struss, G.W. Bitzer Menzies credited for "Settings"
Revenge Edwin Carewe Productions/United Artists Edwin Carewe Albert Kurrie, Alfred E. Green Menzies credited as "Art Director"
The Awakening Samuel Goldwyn Productions/United Artists Victor Fleming George Barnes Menzies credited as "Art Director""
1929 The Rescue Samuel Goldwyn Productions/United Artists Herbert Brenon George Barnes, Joseph F. Biroc Menzies credited as "Art Director""
Lady of the Pavements Art Cinema Corporation/United Artists D. W. Griffith Karl Struss, G.W. Bitzer Menzies credited for "Settings" Released in an 8-reel silent version
Coquette Mary Pickford Film Corporation]/United Artists Sam Taylor Karl Struss Menzies credited for "Settings"; silent version planned, Pickford cancelled it
Alibi Feature Productions/United Artists Roland West Ray June Menzies credited as "Art Director""; released in 8-reel silent version
This is Heaven Samuel Goldwyn Productions/United Artists Alfred Santell George Barnes, Gregg Toland Menzies credited as "Art Director""
Bull Drummond Samuel Goldwyn Productions/United Artists F. Richard Jones George Barnes, Gregg Toland Menzies credited for "Settings""; released in 7-reel silent version
Three Live Ghosts Feature Productions/United Artists Thornton Freeland Robert Planck Menzies credited as "Art Director""
Impressions of Tchaikovsky's Overture 1812 Feature Productions/United Artists Hugo Riesenfeld (producer) Karl Struss Menzies credited with "Pictorial Effects"
The Taming of the Shrew Mary Pickford Corporation, Elton Corporation/United Artists Sam Taylor Karl Struss Menzies credited as "Art Director"
The Locked Door Feature Productions/United Artists George Fitzmaurice Ray June Menzies credited with "Settings"
Condemned Samuel Goldwyn Productions/United Artists Wesley Ruggles George Barnes Menzies credited with "Settings"; also released in an 8-reel silent version
Irish Fantasy Feature Productions/United Artists Orville O. Dull Paul Perry Menzies credited as "Producer" (with Hugo Riesenfeld)
New York Nights Joseph M. Schenck Productions/United Artists Lewis Milestone Ray June Menzies credited as "Art Director""; released in 8-reel silent version
1930 Lummox Feature Productions/United Artists Herbert Brenon Karl Struss Menzies credited with "Settings"

Sound Era: 1930-1955

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Year Title Studio Director Photography Notes
1930 Glorious Vamps Feature Productions/United Artists Orville O. Dull Robert Planck Menzies credited as "Producer" (with Hugo Riesenfeld)
Be Yourself! Joseph M. Schenck Productions/United Artists Thornton Freeland Karl Struss Menzies credited as "Associate Producer" (with John W. Considine Jr.) and for "Settings"
Puttin' on the Ritz Joseph M. Schenck Productions/United Artists Edward Sloman Ray June Menzies credited as "Associate Producer" (with John W. Considine Jr.) and for "Settings"
The Wizard's Apprentice Feature Productions/United Artists Sydney Levee Alfred Schmidt Menzies credited as "Producer" with John W. Considine Jr.
One Romantic Night Joseph M. Schenck Productions/United Artists Paul S. Stein Karl Struss Menzies credited for "Settings"
The Bad One Joseph M. Schenck Productions/United Artists George Fitzmaurice Karl Struss Menzies credited as "Art and Technical Director"
Hungarian Rhapsody Feature Productions/United Artists Eugene Forde Robert Planck Menzies credited as "Producer" (with Hugo Riesenfeld)
Raffles Samuel Goldwyn Productions/United Artists Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, George Fitzmaurice George Barnes, Gregg Toland Menzies credited for "Art Direction"
Forever Yours Mary Pickford Film Corporation/never distributed Marshall Neilan Karl Struss Menzies credited as "Art Director"; project abandoned after 6 weeks of shooting. Reshot as Secrets in 1933
Zampa Feature Productions/United Artists Eugene Forde Karl Struss Menzies credited as "Producer" (with Hugo Riesenfeld)
Du Barry, Woman of Passion Feature Productions/United Artists Sam Taylor Oliver Marsh Menzies credited with "Settings"
The Lottery Bride Joseph M. Schenck Productions/United Artists Paul L.Stein Ray June Menzies credited with "Settings and Effects"
Abraham Lincoln Feature Productions/United Artists D. W. Griffith Karl Struss Menzies credited with "Settings"
1931 Reaching for the Moon Feature Productions/United Artists Edmund Goulding Ray June, Robert Planck Menzies credited with "Settings"
Kiki Feature Productions/United Artists Earle Browne Karl Struss Menzies credited with "Settings"
Always Goodbye 20th Century Fox William Cameron Menzies, Kenneth MacKenna Arthur Edeson Menzies credited only as co-director, William S. Darling for Art Direction
The Spider 20th Century Fox William Cameron Menzies, Kenneth MacKenna James Wong Howe Menzies credited as co-director, Gordon Wiles for Art Direction
1932 Almost Married 20th Century Fox William Cameron Menzies, Marcel Varnel John J. Mescall Menzies credited as co-director, Gordon Wiles for Art Direction
Chandu the Magician 20th Century Fox Marcel Varnel, William Cameron Menzies James Wong Howe Menzies credited as co-director, Max Parker for Art Direction
1933 Cavalcade 20th Century Fox Frank Lloyd, William Cameron Menzies Ernest Palmer Menzies credited with directing "War Scenes", William Darling for Art Direction
Trick for Treat 20th Century Fox Hamilton MacFadden O. W. O'Connell Menzies credited for "Technical Effects", Duncan Cramer for Art Direction
I Loved You Wednesday 20th Century Fox Henry King, William Cameron Menzies Hal Mohr Menzies credited as co-director, Joseph C. Wright for Art Direction
Alice in Wonderland Paramount Pictures/Paramount Pictures Norman Z. McLeod, William Cameron Menzies (uncredited) Harry Sharp, Bert Glennon Menzies uncredited co-director and co-screenwriter, Technical Effects by Gordon Jennings, Farciot Edouart
1934 Wharf Angel Paramount Pictures/Paramount Pictures William Cameron Menzies, George Somnes Victor Milner Art Directors Hans Dreier, John Goodman
The Notorious Sophie Lang Paramount Pictures/Paramount Pictures Ralph Murphy, William Cameron Menzies (uncredited) Alfred Gilks Art Directors Hans Dreier, Robert Odell
Cleopatra Paramount Pictures/Paramount Pictures Cecil B. DeMille, William Cameron Menzies Alfred Gilks Menzies credited with "Montage"; Art Directors Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson
1936 Things to Come London Film Company/United Artists William Cameron Menzies Georges Périnal, Edward Cohen Special Effects Ned Mann
1937 The Green Cockatoo New World Pictures/20th Century Fox William Cameron Menzies Mutz Greenbaum Menzies uncredited co-producer with William K. Howard
Nothing Sacred Selznick International/United Artists William A. Wellman W. Howard Greene Menzies assistant to Producer David O. Selznick
1938 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Selznick International/United Artists William Cameron Menzies James Wong Howe Art Director Lyle R. Wheeler; Cave sequence designed by Menzies
The Young in Heart Selznick International/United Artists Richard Wallace, Lewis Milestone (uncredited) Leon Shamroy Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Lyle R. Wheeler Art Director
1939 Made for Each Other Selznick International/United Artists John Cromwell Leon Shamroy Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Lyle R. Wheeler Art Director
Gone With the Wind Selznick International/United Artists Victor Fleming Leon Shamroy Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Lyle R. Wheeler Art Director
1940 Cavalcade of the Academy Awards Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences/Warner Bros. Numerous contributors Numerous contributors Menzies appears briefly in this 17 minute production, accepting a special award for Gone With the Wind.
Rebecca Selznick International/United Artists Alfred Hitchcock, William Cameron Menzies (uncredited) George Barnes Menzies directed the shots at Manderlay, and the beach cottage scenes with the dog Jasper; Lyle R. Wheeler Art Director
Our Town Principal Artists/United Artists Sam Wood Bert Glennon Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Lewis J. Rachmil Art Director
Foreign Correspondent Walter Wanger Productions/United Artists Alfred Hitchcock Rudolph Mate Menzies credited for "Special Production Effects"; Alexander Golitzen Art Director
The Thief of Bagdad Alexander Korda Productions/United Artists Michael Powell, William Cameron Menzies (uncredited) Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell Menzies co-director (uncredited)
1941 Meet John Doe Frank Capra Productions/Vitagraph Studios Frank Capra George Barnes Menzies reports working on this project for a month, and publicity indicated that he was production designer (uncredited), Stephen Goosson Art Director
So Ends Our Night David L. Loew-Albert Lewin, Inc./United Artists John Cromwell William Daniels Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Jack Otterson Art Director
The Devil and Miss Jones Frank Ross-Norman Krasna, Inc./RKO Pictures Sam Wood Harry Stradling Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Van Nest Polglase Art Director
1942 Kings Row Warner Bros./Warner Bros. Sam Wood James Wong Howe Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Carl Jules Weyl Art Director
1943 The Pride of the Yankees Samuel Goldwyn Productions/RKO Pictures Sam Wood Rudolph Mate Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Perry Ferguson Art Director
Mr. Lucky RKO Pictures H. C. Potter George Barnes Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Albert S. D'Agostino, Mark-Lee Kirk Art Directors
For Whom the Bell Tolls Paramount Pictures/Paramount Pictures Sam Wood Ray Rennahan Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; Hans Dreier, Akim Tamiroff Art Directors
The North Star Samuel Goldwyn Productions/RKO Radio Pictures Lewis Milestone James Wong Howe Menzies credited as "Associate Producer"; Perry Ferguson Art Director
1944 Address Unknown Address Unknown, Inc. (Sam Wood)./Columbia Pictures William Cameron Menzies Rudolph Maté Menzies listed as "Producer-Director"
1945 Spellbound Vanguard Films/United Artists Alfred Hitchcock George Barnes Menzies "consulted on the dream sequence...based on designs by Salvador Dalí."; James Basevi, Art Director
1946 Duel in the Sun Vanguard Films/RKO Radio Pictures King Vidor Lee Garmes, Hal Rosson Menzies listed as a "Second Unit Director" (uncredited), on loan from RKO, he directed the "barbecue sequence" during his 5 days on the project.
Deadline at Dawn RKO Radio Pictures/RKO Radio Pictures Harold Clurman, William Cameron Menzies (uncredited) Nicholas Musuraca Albert S. D'Agostino, Jack Okey Art Directors
It's a Wonderful Life Liberty Films/RKO Radio Pictures Frank Capra, Joseph Walker, Joseph Biroc Menzies consulted on a number of sequences, and observed some of the shooting. (uncredited), Jack Okey Art Director
1947 Ivy Inter-Wood Productions/Universal International Sam Wood Russell Metty Menzies credited as "Producer" Richard H. Riedel, Art Director
1948 Arch of Triumph Arch of Triumph, Inc. (Enterprise)/Universal International Lewis Milestone Ray Rennahan Menzies credited as "Production Designer"; William E. Flannery, Art Director
1949 The Tell-Tale Heart Menzies-Finney/Telepak William Cameron Menzies Nominated for Emmy Award for Best Film Made for Television, 1948. Released on ABC TV Actors Studio
A Terribly Strange Bed Telepak/ Post Pictures Corp. William Cameron Menzies Nominated for Emmy Award for Best Film Made for Television, 1948.
The Marionette Mystery Menzies-Finney/Telepak William Cameron Menzies William O'Connell Nominated for Emmy Award for Best Film Made for Television, 1948.
Reign of Terror Walter Wanger Pictures, Inc./Eagle-Lion Films Anthony Mann Ray Rennahan Menzies credited as "Producer", film re-titled The Black Book before October 1949 opening in New York
1951 The Whip Hand RKO Radio Pictures/RKO Radio Pictures William Cameron Menzies Nicholas Musuraca Menzies also credited as "Production Designer", Albert S. D'Agostino, Carroll Clark Art Directors
Drums in the Deep South King Brothers Productions/RKO Radio Pictures William Cameron Menzies Lionel Lindon Menzies also credited as "Production Designer", Frank Paul Sylos Art Director
1952 The Zayat Kiss Herles Enterprises William Cameron Menzies Edward Hyland Airtime for the TV production not established, made in New York, April 1952
The Wild Heart London Films, Vanguard Films/RKO Radio Pictures Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, William Cameron Menzies (uncredited) Chris Challis Menzies "made retakes and directed added scenes, February 1951. Titled Gone to Earth in British release.
We're Not Married! 20th Century-Fox Edmond Goulding Leo Tover Menzies served as "montage director". At his request, he was not extended any credit or publicity for his work.
1953 Androcles and the Lion RKO Radio Pictures/RKO Radio Pictures Chester Erskine Harry Stradling Harry Horner credited as "Production Designer", Menzies uncredited. Albert S. D'Agostino, Charles F. Pike Art Directors
Invaders from Mars National Pictures Corp./20th Century-Fox William Cameron Menzies John Seitz Menzies also credited as "Production Designer", Boris Leven Art Director
The Maze Allied Artists William Cameron Menzies Harry Neumann Menzies also credited as "Production Designer", David Scott Milton Art Director
1954 A String of Beads Everest Productions/Allied Artists William Cameron Menzies George E. Diskant A TV pilot for CBS's Four Star Playhouse
Star Studded Ride Universal Pictures William Cameron Menzies Short subject assembled from Sol Lesser's Three-D Follies
Autumn in Rome Selznick Releasing Organization/Columbia Pictures William Cameron Menzies James Wong Howe Short film to serve as a prologue to Indiscretion of an American Wife, vocals by Patti Page, score Alessandro Cicognini.
The Halls of Ivy, 39-episode TV production Television Programs of America William Cameron Menzies, Norman Z. McLeod Robert Picttack, Alfred Gilks Menzies directed half of the episodes that comprised the series.
1955 Johnny and the Gaucho William Cameron Menzies Menzies directed the pilot for this TV program
1956 Around the World in Eighty Days Michael Todd Co./United Artists Michael Anderson Lionel Lindon Menzies credited as "Associate Producer" and "Production Designer", James W. Sullivan Art Director

Theatre credits

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Year Title Author Theater Director Notes
1923 (opened 8 October) The Lullaby Edward Knoblock Knickerbocker Theatre Fred G. Latham Scenery and costumes designed by William Cameron Menzies
1931 (Opened 21 January) The Ambulance Chaser Bella and Samuel Spewack Hollywood Playhouse Scenery designed by William Cameron Menzies
1932 (opened 28 December) Grand Guignol H. F. Maltby, Andre de Lorde, et al. Hollywood Music Box Robert Vignola, Donald Crisp, Reginald Berkeley Scenery designed by William Cameron Menzies
1941 (opened 30 July) Anna Christie Eugene O'Neill Lobero Theatre, (Santa Barbara, California John Houseman Sketches for scenery design by William Cameron Menzies. (Two-week showing in San Francisco's Curran Theatre, opened 4 August 1941)

DVD release

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In October 2009, Alpha Video released the public domain collection The Fantastic World of William Cameron Menzies on DVD,[12] which included four early experimental films created by Menzies and Joseph M. Schenck, shorts that visualize great works of classical music:

According to Dave Kehr, The Wizard's Apprentice "clearly influenced Disney's version in Fantasia.[12]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Cairns, David (March–April 2011). "The Dreams of a Creative Begetter". The Believer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2011. Menzies was an art director, production designer (a title he invented himself), producer, and director, the man who created the look of Gone with the Wind, unifying the work of a posse of directors.
  2. ^ a b Curtis, James (November 17, 2015). William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come. Pantheon. ISBN 978-0375424724.
  3. ^ https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/man-who-made-gone-with-wind-glorious-william-cameron-menzies-and-art-of-production-design. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ "WILLIAM CAMERON MENZIES". Film Forum. "'Menzies, the man who more or less invented the idea of production design in movies, [was] a genius, pure and simple, and his influence was incalculable.' – Martin Scorsese"
  5. ^ Schneider, Steven Jay, ed. (2007). 501 Movie Directors. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 89. ISBN 9781844035731. OCLC 1347156402.
  6. ^ Memo from David O. Selznick, selected and edited by Rudy Behlmer, Viking Press, 1972, p. 156.
  7. ^ Memo from David O. Selznick, p. 196.
  8. ^ "Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Awards – Academic Honors". academichonors.usc.edu. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Dalí, Surrealism and cinema by Elliott H. King, Kamera Books, 2007, p. 85–86.
  10. ^ "Ninth Annual Art Directors Guild Awards for Excellence in Production Design, Saturday, February 12, Beverly Hilton Hotel". Press release. Business Wire via FindArticles. February 11, 2005. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  11. ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
  12. ^ a b "Another Trippy Rabbit Hole". The New York Times. February 26, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  13. ^ "The Fantastic World Of William Cameron Menzies with Rediscovered Shorts of the 1930s DVD info, Oldies.com". Retrieved October 23, 2009.

References

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  • Curtis, James. (2015). William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come, Pantheon Books, ISBN 978-0-375-42472-4
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