Ernest Beaumont Schoedsack (June 8, 1893 – December 23, 1979) was an American motion picture
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
, producer, and director. Schoedsack worked as a cameraman in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, where he served in the Signal Corps. At the conclusion of the war, he stayed in Europe to further his career. He worked on several films with
Merian C. Cooper
Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker and Academy Award winner, as well as a former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Polish Air Force. In film, he is credited a ...
including ''
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
The Most Dangerous Game
"The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell, first published in ''Collier's'' on January 19, 1924, with illustrations by Wilmot Emerton Heitland. The story features a big-game hunter ...
''. He also collaborated with screenwriter and actress
Ruth Rose
Ruth Rose (January 16, 1896 – June 8, 1978) was a writer who worked on several films in the 1930s and the 1940s, most famously the original 1933 classic ''King Kong''.
Early life
Rose was born on January 16, 1896 to a playwright, Edwa ...
, whom he later married. Schoedsack died on December 23 at age 86.
Early life
Ernest B. Schoedsack was born in
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...
, on June 8, 1893. He ran away from home at age fourteen and worked with road gangs. He went to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, where he worked as a surveyor. He grew to be , and his friends called him "Shorty".
Film career
Schoedsack began his career in films in 1914 when he became a cameraman for
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.
Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...
. He continued working as a cameraman in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 1918. He also flew in combat bombing missions. After the war, he stayed in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
furthering his career as a cameraman. His eyesight was severely damaged in World War I, yet he continued to work in films afterward. In 1920, Schoedsack helped refugees in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
escape the
Polish–Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921)
* russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...
. He worked with the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
. During 1921 and 1922, he also helped refugees from the Greco-Turkish War. After training at the
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
School of Military Cinematography, he was hired by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' as a cameraman on an expedition around the world.
''Chang'' and early films
Schoedsack began as a co-director with
Merian C. Cooper
Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker and Academy Award winner, as well as a former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Polish Air Force. In film, he is credited a ...
. He first met Cooper in 1918 in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. They both later worked for ''The New York Times'', but decided to make their own films. Their first collaboration was on ''Grass'', which was produced in 1925. That same year, Schoedsack met screenwriter and former actress
Ruth Rose
Ruth Rose (January 16, 1896 – June 8, 1978) was a writer who worked on several films in the 1930s and the 1940s, most famously the original 1933 classic ''King Kong''.
Early life
Rose was born on January 16, 1896 to a playwright, Edwa ...
, and would later marry her in 1926. They met on an expedition to the Galapagos Islands, where Schoedsack was the cameraman, and Rose was the official historian.
In 1927, Cooper and Schoedsack produced the film '' Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness'' together, which depicts a man's survival in the Northern
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
ese jungle. Schoedsack and Cooper spent 18 months in the jungle in order to produce the film and photograph certain scenes. While producing the film, stampeding elephants that are featured in the movie almost ran over Schoedsack and his crew. The risk was worth it, however, and ''Chang'' was later nominated for Best Picture at the first
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
show. Schoedsack kept a print of a
Bengal tiger
The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.
The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...
pouncing with its jaws open in his office. When asked by a reporter about the photo, Schoedsack said that the tiger had sprung and he shot it.
In 1929, the duo worked to create ''
The Four Feathers
''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in t ...
'' film. It was the first fiction film that Schoedsack and Cooper collaborated on. It was also one of the last silent films of
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
.
''King Kong'' and early 1930s films
While Schoedsack and Cooper made several other films together, they are most known for directing the 1933 film ''
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
.'' After finishing production on ''
The Most Dangerous Game
"The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell, first published in ''Collier's'' on January 19, 1924, with illustrations by Wilmot Emerton Heitland. The story features a big-game hunter ...
'', Schoedsack joined Cooper in the production of ''King Kong''. Schoedsack focused on scenes with human actors, while Cooper headed the special effects. Schoedsack, Cooper, and Rose inspired the characters of John Driscoll, Carl Denham, and Ann Darrow, respectively. The script was co-written by Schoedsack's wife, Rose. This film marked a transition in the working relationship of Schoedsack and Cooper. After the film, Schoedsack only directed films, while Cooper produced them. Their partnership ended, however, in the late 1930s.
In 1932, after filming ''King Kong'', Schoedsack worked on shooting for a film that was never completed called ''Arabia''. For this project, Schoedsack went to shoot on location in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. Another film was made in the ''King Kong'' franchise. Rose wrote the screenplay for the next film, ''
Son of Kong
''The Son of Kong'' (also known and publicized simply as ''Son of Kong'') is a 1933 American Pre-Code adventure monster film produced by RKO Pictures. Directed by Ernest Schoedsack and featuring special effects by Willis O'Brien and Buzz Gibson, ...
'', which was released in 1933 by
RKO
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
. Schoedsack was the sole director of the film. Also in 1933, Rose and Schoedsack collaborated on the film ''
Blind Adventure
''Blind Adventure'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code film directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and starring Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Ralph Bellamy, and Roland Young. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures.
Later work
Schoedsack directed several other films in the 1930s including ''
The Last Days of Pompeii
''The Last Days of Pompeii'' is a novel written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. The novel was inspired by the painting '' The Last Day of Pompeii'' by the Russian painter Karl Briullov, which Bulwer-Lytton had seen in Milan. It culminates in ...
'', ''
Trouble in Morocco
''Trouble in Morocco'' is a 1937 American adventure war film directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and starring Jack Holt.
Cast
* Jack Holt ... Paul Cluett
*Mae Clarke ... Linda Lawrence
*Paul Hurst ... Tiger Malone
* C. Henry Gordon ... Captain Nar ...
'', and ''
Outlaws of the Orient
''Outlaws of the Orient'' is a 1937 American adventure film directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack.
Cast
* Jack Holt ... Chet Eaton
*Mae Clarke ... Joan Manning
*Harold Huber ... Gen. Ho-Fang
* Ray Walker ... Lucky Phelps
* James Bush ... Johnny Eat ...
''. In 1940, Schoedsack directed ''
Dr. Cyclops
''Dr. Cyclops'' is a 1940 American science fiction horror film from Paramount Pictures, produced by Dale Van Every and Merian C. Cooper, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, and starring Thomas Coley, Victor Kilian, Janice Logan, Charles Halton, ...
'', which was Hollywood's first science fiction film in
technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
. In 1949, the film '' Mighty Joe Young'' was released by RKO and directed by Schoedsack. It was a reunion film of the main ''King Kong'' creative team of Cooper, Schoedsack, and Ruth Rose. This would be the last film that Schoedsack would direct due to eye injuries received in World War II from testing photography equipment.
Later life
Ruth Rose died on Schoedsack's birthday in 1978. Schoedsack died on December 23, 1979, in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. They are interred together at
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue.
The cemetery was ...
in Los Angeles.
Filmography
References
Further reading
* Mario Gerosa, ''Il cinema di Ernest B. Schoedsack'', Il Foglio letterario, Piombino, 2015