John Hoffman (29 August 1904,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

– 6 January 1980,

Altadena, California Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

), was an American editor of montage sequences for several Hollywood studio features. He also directed a number of films, including ''

The Wreck of the Hesperus "The Wreck of the Hesperus" is a narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in ''Ballads and Other Poems'' in 1842. It is a story that presents the tragic consequences of a skipper's pride. On an ill-fated voyag ...

'' and ''

Strange Confession ''Strange Confession'' is a 1945 Inner Sanctum film noir mystery horror film, released by Universal Pictures and starring Lon Chaney Jr., J. Carrol Naish and Brenda Joyce. The film was directed by John Hoffman and was later rereleased under t ...

''. With his colleague, the Serbian montagist

Slavko Vorkapich Slavoljub "Slavko" Vorkapić ( sr-Cyrl, Славољуб "Славко" Воркапић; March 17, 1894 – October 20, 1976), known in English as Slavko Vorkapich, was a Serbian-born Hollywood montagist, an independent cinematic artist, chair ...

, Hoffman made two striking visual tone poems, ''

Moods of the Sea ''Moods of the Sea'' ( 1941) is a non-narrative experimental film by Slavko Vorkapich and John Hoffman, set to the music of Felix Mendelssohn known as the '' Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) Overture''. The film is considered to be an early example of ...

'' (a.k.a. ''

Fingal's Cave Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, known for its natural acoustics. The National Trust for Scotland owns the cave as part of a national nature reserve. It became known as Fingal' ...

'', 1941) and '' Forest Murmurs'' (1947). The former film is set to

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

's ''

Hebrides Overture ''The Hebrides'' (; german: Die Hebriden) is a concert overture that was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830, revised in 1832, and published the next year as Mendelssohn's Op. 26. Some consider it an early tone poem. It was inspired by one of ...

'' and was restored in 2004 by film preservation expert David Shepard.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Crimson Canary ''The Crimson Canary'' is a 1945 American mystery film directed by John Hoffman and written by Henry Blankfort and Peggy Phillips. The film stars Noah Beery Jr., Lois Collier, John Litel, Steven Geray, Claudia Drake and Danny Morton. The film w ...

'' (1945) * ''

The Fabulous Suzanne ''The Fabulous Suzanne'' is a 1946 American romantic comedy film directed by Steve Sekely and starring Barbara Britton, Rudy Vallee and Otto Kruger. A waitress inherits a fortune from one of her customers. Plot The young and beautiful Suzanne O' ...

'' (1946) * ''

Storm Over Tibet ''Storm Over Tibet'' is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Rex Reason and Diana Douglas. Plot During World War II, David Simms pilots supplies between India and China over the Himalaya Mountains. Cast * Rex Re ...

'' (1952)

External links

* American experimental filmmakers Filmmakers from California 1904 births 1980 deaths People from Altadena, California Hungarian emigrants to the United States {{US-film-bio-stub