Jean Yarbrough (August 22, 1901 – August 2, 1975) was an American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Biography

Jean Yarbrough was born in

Marianna, Arkansas Marianna is a town in and the county seat of Lee County, Arkansas, Lee County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had a population of 4,115, but by 2018 the population had dropped to an estimated 3,477. Lo ...

on August 22, 1901. He attended the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...

located in

Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home of ...

. In 1922, Yarbrough entered the film business working in silent pictures, first as a "prop man" and later rising through the ranks to become an assistant director. By 1936, he was a

bona fide In human interactions, good faith ( la, bona fides) is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case ...

director, first doing comedy and musical shorts for

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 ...

which was founded by

Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...

among others. His directorial debut for a feature-length film was ''

Rebellious Daughters ''Rebellious Daughters'' is a 1938 American crime drama film. It was the first feature film directed by Jean Yarbrough, and starred Marjorie Reynolds. The film's producer was Ben Judell of Progressive Pictures, known for low-budget exploitation fi ...

'' which was made by the low-budget studio, Progressive Pictures in 1938. His greatest success came in the 1940s and 1950s, when he directed comedy teams like

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

(five films: ''

Here Come the Co-Eds ''Here Come The Co-Eds'' is a 1945 American comedy film starring the comedy team Abbott and Costello. Plot Oliver Quackenbush, Molly McCarthy and her brother Slats who acts as her publicity agent work for the Miramar Ballroom as taxi dancers. Sla ...

'', ''

In Society ''In Society'' is a 1944 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It was the first of five Abbott and Costello films to be directed by Jean Yarbrough. It was re-released in 1953. Plot Eddie Harrington and Albert Mansfield are plumb ...

'', ''

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...

'', ''

Lost in Alaska ''Lost in Alaska'' is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. Plot The time is the 1890s, and the place is San Francisco. George Ball and Tom Watson are firemen who rescue 'Nugget' Joe McDermott from committing suicide by d ...

'', and ''

The Naughty Nineties ''The Naughty Nineties'' is a 1945 American film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film is noteworthy for containing a filmed version of the duo's famous " Who's on First?" routine. This version is shown at the National Baseba ...

''),

The Bowery Boys The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 195 ...

(five films: '' Angels in Disguise'', '' Master Minds'', '' Triple Trouble'', ''

Crashing Las Vegas ''Crashing Las Vegas'' is a 1956 American comedy film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring the comedy team The Bowery Boys. The film was released on April 22, 1956 by Allied Artists and is the 41st film in the series. It was the last of the s ...

'', and '' Hot Shots'') and horror/cult movies that are still fondly remembered to this day, such as ''

The Devil Bat ''The Devil Bat'' is a 1940 black-and-white American horror/howcatchem film produced by Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) and directed by Jean Yarborough. The film stars Bela Lugosi along with Suzanne Kaaren, Guy Usher, Yolande Mallott and ...

'', ''

King of the Zombies ''King of the Zombies'' is a 1941 American zombie comedy film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, and Mantan Moreland. The film was produced by Monogram Pictures, and was typical of its B films produced by the ...

'', '' She-Wolf of London'', and ''

House of Horrors ''House of Horrors'' is a 1946 American horror film released by Universal Pictures, starring Rondo Hatton as a madman named "the Creeper". Plot Struggling sculptor Marcel de Lange (Martin Kosleck) is depressed about events in his life, and d ...

''. Yarbrough found little difficulty in transitioning from the traditional

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

which were on the decline, to the new medium of television. He directed many episodes for different TV series throughout the 1950s and 1960s which are widely considered to be the

Golden Age of Television The first Golden Age of Television is an era of television in the Television in the United States, United States marked by its large number of live productions. The period is generally recognized as beginning in 1947 with the first episode of th ...

. In addition to directing, he had a two-year stint working as both producer and director of the very popular ''

Abbott and Costello Show Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

''. He directed some episodes of ''

The Silent Service is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaiji Kawaguchi. It was published in Kodansha's '' Weekly Morning'' manga magazine from 1988 to 1996 and collected in 32 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series was adapted into an anime tele ...

'' and '' Navy Log'', also during the 1950s, which were military dramas based on true stories of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He subsequently directed episodes of

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series ''

The Guns of Will Sonnett ''The Guns of Will Sonnett'' is a Western television series set in the 1870s that was broadcast in color on the ABC television network from 1967 to 1969. The series, which began with the working title, "Two Rode West", was the first production co ...

''. His last theatrical film was 1967's ''

Hillbillys in a Haunted House ''Hillbillys in a Haunted House'' is a 1967 American musical horror comedy film starring Ferlin Husky and Joi Lansing, and directed by Jean Yarbrough. The film is a sequel to '' The Las Vegas Hillbillys'' (1966), with Joi Lansing replacing Mamie ...

'', a mixture of comedy, horror and country music, starring

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

and

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

Partial filmography

* ''

'' (1940) * ''

'' (1941) * '' The Gang's All Here'' (1941) * '' Father Steps Out'' (1941) * ''

Let's Go Collegiate ''Let's Go Collegiate'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Jean Yarbrough and produced by Monogram Pictures. It was released as ''Farewell to Fame'' in the United Kingdom. Plot summary Frankie (Frankie Darro) is the coxswain on ...

'' (1941) * '' Good Morning, Judge'' (1943) * ''

'' (1944) * ''

Moon Over Las Vegas ''Moon Over Las Vegas'' is a 1944 American musical comedy film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Anne Gwynne, David Bruce and Barbara Jo Allen.Taylor & Jackson p.271 Plot Beautiful wife Marion Corbett (Anne Gwynne) heads for Las Vegas hop ...

'' (1944) * ''

Here Come The Co-Eds ''Here Come The Co-Eds'' is a 1945 American comedy film starring the comedy team Abbott and Costello. Plot Oliver Quackenbush, Molly McCarthy and her brother Slats who acts as her publicity agent work for the Miramar Ballroom as taxi dancers. Sla ...

'' (1945) * ''

'' (1946) * ''

Inside Job An insider threat is a malicious threat to an organization that comes from people within the organization, such as employees, former employees, contractors or business associates, who have inside information concerning the organization's security ...

'' (1946) * '' She-Wolf of London'' (1946) * '' Cuban Pete'' (1946) * ''

The Brute Man ''The Brute Man'' is a 1946 American horror thriller film starring Rondo Hatton as the Creeper, a murderer seeking revenge against the people he holds responsible for the disfigurement of his face. Directed by Jean Yarbrough, the film features ...

'' (1946) * '' Shed No Tears'' (1948) * '' The Creeper'' (1948) * '' The Challenge'' (1948) * ''

Holiday in Havana ''Holiday in Havana'' is a 1949 American musical comedy directed by Jean Yarbrough, and starring Desi Arnaz, Mary Hatcher and Ann Doran. The film is about a Cuban hotel busboy (Arnaz) who dreams of becoming a composer. According to author Mary B ...

'' (1949) * ''

Sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten seq ...

'' (1950) * ''

According to Mrs. Hoyle ''According to Mrs. Hoyle'' is a 1951 American crime film directed by Jean Yarbrough and written by Scott Darling and Barney Gerard. The film stars Spring Byington, Anthony Caruso, Tanis Chandler, Brett King, Stephen Chase and Robert Karnes. T ...

'' (1951) * ''

'' (1952) * ''

'' (1956) * ''

The Women of Pitcairn Island ''The Women of Pitcairn Island'' is a 1956 American adventure drama film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Lynn Bari, John Smith and Sue England. The film's sets were designed by the art director Dave Milton. Plot Nearly twenty years af ...

'' (1956) * '' Footsteps in the Night'' (1957) * ''

Saintly Sinners ''Saintly Sinners'' is a 1962 American comedy-drama film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Don Beddoe, Ellen Corby, Stanley Clements and Paul Bryar."'Saintly Sinners,' a Comedy, Arrives" ''New York Times'' 29 Mar 1962: 28. Plot Ex-con Josep ...

'' (1962) * ''

'' (1967) * ''

The Over-the-Hill Gang ''The Over-the-Hill Gang'' is a 1969 American made-for-television Western comedy film about a group of aging Texas Rangers, starring Walter Brennan and Pat O'Brien. Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan, Andy Devine, and Jack Elam play supporting rol ...

'' (1969) TV-movie

References

External links

Jean Yarbrough biography
Search my Trash.com; accessed March 17, 2014. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yarbrough, Jean 1901 births 1975 deaths People from Marianna, Arkansas Sewanee: The University of the South alumni Film directors from Arkansas Horror film directors