Guthrie McClintic (August 6, 1893 – October 29, 1961) was an American

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, film director, and producer based in New York.

Life and career

McClintic was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, attended

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

and New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and became an actor, but soon became a stage manager and

casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra for a particular role or part in a script, screenp ...

for major

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

producer

Winthrop Ames Winthrop Ames (November 25, 1870 – November 3, 1937) was an American theatre director and producer, playwright and screenwriter. For three decades at the beginning of the 20th century, Ames was an important force on Broadway, whose repertoir ...

. His Broadway directorial debut was on

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...

's ''The Dover Road''. McClintic's first major success was on ''

The Barretts of Wimpole Street ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' is a 1930 play by the Dutch/English dramatist Rudolf Besier, based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, and her father's unwillingness to allow them to marry. The play gave actress Kat ...

'' featuring his wife, the American actress Katharine Cornell, in 1931. He also directed ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' featuring

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

in New York in 1936. Katharine Cornell served on the Board of Directors of The Rehearsal Club, a place where young actresses could stay while looking for work in the theatre. McClintic sometimes found roles for the young women in his plays. In what may have been

lavender marriage A lavender marriage is a male–female mixed-orientation marriage, undertaken as a marriage of convenience to conceal the socially stigmatised sexual orientation of one or both partners. The term dates from the early 20th century and is used al ...

s, gay McClintic was married: firstly to actress

Estelle Winwood Estelle Winwood (born Estelle Ruth Goodwin, 24 January 1883 – 20 June 1984) was an English actress who moved to the United States in mid-career and became celebrated for her wit and longevity. Early life and early career Born Estelle Ruth Go ...

, and then, for forty years, to actress Katharine Cornell - herself a lesbian. After they were married, they formed a production team M.C. & C Company, which produced plays for the rest of his life. He directed every play that Cornell starred in, including '' Romeo and Juliet'', '' Candida'', '' Antony and Cleopatra'', ''

No Time for Comedy ''No Time for Comedy'' is a 1940 American comedy-drama film based on the play of the same name by S. N. Behrman, starring James Stewart, Rosalind Russell, Genevieve Tobin and Charlie Ruggles. Plot summary Gaylord Esterbrook (Stewart), a reporte ...

'', ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...

'', '' Saint Joan'', '' The Doctor's Dilemma'', '' Three Sisters'', and ''

There Shall Be No Night ''There Shall Be No Night'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Robert E. Sherwood. Production The play was presented by the Theatre Guild on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now renamed the Neil Simon Theater), from April 29 thr ...

'', and ''

The Constant Wife ''The Constant Wife'', a play written in 1926 by W. Somerset Maugham, is a comedy whose modern and amusing take on marriage and infidelity gives a quick-witted, alternative view on how to deal with an extramarital affair. A “sparkling comedy o ...

''. Their production company brought over many of the leading Shakespearean actors of the day, giving them their first prominent Broadway roles, including

, Ralph Richardson, Maurice Evans, and Laurence Olivier. McClintic died of cancer on October 29, 1961, at his home in Sneden's Landing, New York. His widow retired from acting shortly after his death, her last role being in

Jerome Kilty Jerome Timothy Kilty (June 24, 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland – September 6, 2012) was an American actor and playwright. He wrote ''Dear Liar: A Comedy of Letters.'' He worked extensively on the stage, both in the United States and abroad. Career K ...

's dramatization of ''Dear Liar'' in 1961.

Theatre

*'' The Dover Road'' (1921) *'' The Green Hat'' (1925) *'' The Letter (1927) *''

'' (1931) *''Alien Corn'' (1933) *'' Romeo and Juliet'' (1934) *'' The Old Maid'' (1935) *'' Winterset'' (1935) *''

Ethan Frome ''Ethan Frome'' is a 1911 book by American author Edith Wharton. It is set in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. The novel has been adapted into a '' film of the same name''. Plot The novel is a framed narrative. The framing sto ...

'' (1936) *'' Saint Joan'' (1936) *''

'' (1936) *'' Candida'' (1937) *'' High Tor'' (1937) *''

Key Largo Key Largo ( es, Cayo Largo) is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected by ...

'' (1939) *''

'' (1939) *'' The Doctor's Dilemma'' (1941) *''

The Playboy of the Western World ''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 26 January 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo (o ...

'' (1946) *'' Dishonored Lady'' (1947) *'' Antony and Cleopatra'' (1947) *''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

'' (1949) *''Dear Liar'' (1960)

Films

*''

On Your Back ''On Your Back'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by Guthrie McClintic and written by Howard J. Green. The film stars Irene Rich, Raymond Hackett, H. B. Warner, Wheeler Oakman, Marion Shilling and Ilka Chase. The film was releas ...

'' (1930) *''

Once a Lady ''Once a Lady'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Guthrie McClintic and starring Ruth Chatterton, Ivor Novello and Jill Esmond. The film, produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures, is a remake of the Pola Negri silent fi ...

'' (1931) *''

Once a Sinner Once a Sinner may refer to: * Once a Sinner (1950 film) ''Once a Sinner'' is a 1950 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Pat Kirkwood, Jack Watling and Joy Shelton. Plot Bank clerk John Ross (Jack Watling) falls for good ...

'' (1931)''Once a Sinner''
Retrieved 07/10/2007

References

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClintic, Guthrie 1893 births 1961 deaths American film directors American theatre directors Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Gay men LGBT theatre directors LGBT people from Washington (state) Artists from Seattle Washington University in St. Louis alumni American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni