Hunt Stromberg
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Hunt Stromberg (July 12, 1894 – August 23, 1968) was a film producer during Hollywood's Golden Age. In a prolific 30-year career beginning in 1921, Stromberg produced, wrote, and directed some of Hollywood's most profitable and enduring films, including ''
The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of ''Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main cha ...
'' series, the
Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...
/
Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...
operettas, '' The Women'', and ''
The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and Myrna L ...
'', which won the
Academy Award 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 ...
for Best Picture of 1936.


Early career

Hunt Stromberg was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1894. Leaving a career as a newspaper reporter and sports writer for the ''St. Louis Times'', he followed an advertising friend into the motion picture industry prior to World War I, becoming publicity director for the
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...
in New York. In 1918, the company sent Stromberg to California, where he developed an interest in filmmaking; by 1919 he had become the personal representative of industry pioneer
Thomas H. Ince Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mot ...
, and by 1921 he had written, produced and directed his first film. He promptly resigned from Ince's staff to form Hunt Stromberg Productions.


Independent producer

From his first independent film, ''The Foolish Age'' (1921), Stromberg quickly made his mark by turning out independent, low-budget films in increasing quantity and quality. In 1922 Stromberg signed
Bull Montana Lewis Montagna (born Luigi Montagna; May 16, 1887 – January 24, 1950), better known as Bull Montana, was an Italian-American professional wrestler, boxer and actor. Biography Born in Voghera, Italy, into a poor country family — and at a tim ...
, a popular matinee idol, to a long-term contract to star in short comedies, and hired comedy director
Mal St. Clair Malcolm St. Clair (May 17, 1897 – June 1, 1952) was a Hollywood film director, writer, producer and actor. Biography A disciple of Mack Sennett, St. Clair was an actor in many films primarily comedies. At 6'7" he can be seen in such Sennett ...
, who had worked with
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 ...
and
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
. When
Sid Grauman Sidney Patrick Grauman (March 17, 1879 – March 5, 1950) was an American showman who created two of Hollywood's most recognizable and visited landmarks, the Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre. Biography Early years Grauman was the so ...
saw a rough cut of the resulting ''A Ladies' Man'' (1922), he immediately booked the film to premiere at his
Million Dollar Theater The Million Dollar Theatre at 307 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles is one of the first movie palaces built in the United States. It opened in 1917 with the premiere of William S. Hart's '' The Silent Man''. It's the northernmost of the collect ...
in Los Angeles on April 30, 1922. Stromberg continued his string of successes with ''Breaking into Society'' (1923), which he wrote, produced and directed.


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Stromberg joined newly formed
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
in 1925 and became one of its key executives, listed as one of the studio's "Big Four" with
Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
,
Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...
, and
Harry Rapf Harry Rapf (16 October 1880, in New York City – 6 February 1949, in Los Angeles), was an American film producer. Biography Born to a Jewish family, Rapf began his career in 1917, and during a 20-year career became a well-known producer of fil ...
—later with Thalberg,
David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. E ...
, and
Walter Wanger Walter Wanger (born Walter Feuchtwanger; July 11, 1894 – November 18, 1968) was an American film producer active from the 1910s, his career concluding with the turbulent production of '' Cleopatra,'' his last film, in 1963. He began at Para ...
. He was the first production supervisor to get a "produced by" credit on-screen, well deserved considering his achievements. He produced: * all of
Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
's films *
Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
's breakthrough films *
Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
's first American film, ''
Torrent Torrent or torrents may refer to: * A fast flowing stream Animals * Torrent duck, a species of the family Anatidae * Torrent fish * Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs * Torrent robin, a bird species * Torrent salamander, a family of sala ...
'' (1926) * the
Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...
/
Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...
operetta cycle * the
William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Cha ...
/
Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...
" Thin Man" series as well as such prestige milestones as Academy Award-winning ''
The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and Myrna L ...
'' (1936), ''
Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
'' (1938), '' The Women'' (1939), and ''
Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...
'' (1940). At the height of his career, MGM was producing 52 films a year, or an average of one film a week, staying in the black despite the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Stromberg was one of the top ranked money makers of Hollywood, with a salary to match: US $8,000 a week, guaranteed. In 1937, he was included in management's inner circle and received an additional 1.5% of
Loews Theaters Loews Cineplex Entertainment, also known as Loews Incorporated, is an American theater chain operating in North America. From 1924 until 1959, it was also the parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM). The company was originally cal ...
profits. The Treasury Department listed Stromberg as one of the ten highest paid executives in the United States. But there were substantial changes in those years. Thalberg died in 1936, while Selznick and Wanger left MGM in 1937, leaving Mayer in sole, hands-on control. There are conflicting interpretations of what caused the rift, but by the end of 1941 it was over: after 18 years Stromberg walked away from a contract worth millions, and Mayer let him go on February 10, 1942.


Independent again

Hunt Stromberg was the first producer added to the
Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
in 1942 after the group had been formed by
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
,
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
,
Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...
,
Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...
,
David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. E ...
,
Walter Wanger Walter Wanger (born Walter Feuchtwanger; July 11, 1894 – November 18, 1968) was an American film producer active from the 1910s, his career concluding with the turbulent production of '' Cleopatra,'' his last film, in 1963. He began at Para ...
, and
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
.
Confounding industry expectations, Stromberg launched his own independent production company, based at
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 ...
's Encino
movie ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The fir ...
, in 1943 with the smash hit ''
Lady of Burlesque ''Lady of Burlesque'' (also known as ''The G-String Murders'' and in the UK, ''Striptease Lady'') is a 1943 American musical comedy-mystery film, produced by RKO Pictures and directed by William A. Wellman and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Micha ...
'', starring
Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
, which grossed $1.85 million. His subsequent films were not as successful and he finally retired in 1951, in the same year his wife, Katherine Kerwin (1895–1951), died. An avid horseman and a shrewd businessman, Stromberg was independently wealthy by this time as well as a founding investor in
Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...
and
Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...
s.


Death

Stromberg died on August 23, 1968. He was survived by his son Hunt Stromberg Jr., a Broadway and television producer in his own right.


Filmography


Producer


Director or Screenwriter

* ''
The Foolish Age ''The Foolish Age'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Doris May, Hallam Cooley and Otis Harlan.Munden p.259 Cast * Doris May as Margie Carr * Hallam Cooley as Homer Dean Chadwick * Otis Harlan as ...
'' (1921), writer * ''
Breaking Into Society ''Breaking Into Society'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by Hunt Stromberg and starring Carrie Clark Ward, Bull Montana, and Kalla Pasha. Plot As described in a film magazine review, the O'Toole's of Tin Can Alley inherit a gre ...
'' (1923), director *''
The Siren of Seville ''The Siren of Seville'' is a 1924 American silent adventure film directed by Jerome Storm and Hunt Stromberg, and starring Priscilla Dean. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, Gallito (Forrest), a Spanish peasant lad, longs to be a ...
'' (1924), director *''
Roaring Rails ''Roaring Rails'' is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Tom Forman and featuring Harry Carey. Cast * Harry Carey as Big Bill Benson * Frankie Darro as Little Bill * Edith Roberts as Nora Burke * Wallace MacDonald as Malcolm Greg ...
'' (1924), screenwriter * ''
The Fire Patrol ''The Fire Patrol'' is surviving American 1924 silent melodrama film directed by Hunt Stromberg and starring Anna Q. Nilsson that was based upon the 1891 play of the same name by James W. Harkins and Edwin Barbour. Stromberg also produced the fil ...
'' (1924, director * ''
Paint and Powder ''Paint and Powder'' is a surviving 1925 American silent drama film produced and released by the Chadwick Pictures. The director of the film was Hunt Stromberg, later be best known as a producer and one of Louis B. Mayer's right hand men over at ...
'' (1925, director *''
Soft Shoes ''Soft Shoes'' is a 1925 American drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and featuring Harry Carey. Plot As described in a film magazine review, Pat Halahan, Sheriff of Boulder, goes to San Francisco to see the sights. He meets Faith O’Day, i ...
'' (1925), screenwriter * ''
Winning the Futurity ''Winning the Futurity'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Scott R. Dunlap and starring Cullen Landis, Clara Horton and Ernest Hilliard.Munden p.909 Cast * Cullen Landis as Luke Allen * Clara Horton as Nelle Barkley * Ernest Hi ...
'' (1926), screenwriter *''
The White Sister ''The White Sister'' is a play in four acts by Francis Marion Crawford and Walter C. Hackett. The play was originally written by Crawford in 1907 and he later adapted the play into a serialized novel which was first published over a six month p ...
'' (1933), director *
The Strange Woman ''The Strange Woman'' is a 1946 American melodrama film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and written by Ulmer and Hunt Stromberg, starring Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders and Louis Hayward. Originally released by United Artists, the film is now in the pub ...
'' (1946), screenwriter


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stromberg, Hunt 1894 births 1968 deaths American male screenwriters American film producers American film studio executives Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives Businesspeople from Louisville, Kentucky American horse racing industry executives Writers from Louisville, Kentucky Film directors from Kentucky Screenwriters from Kentucky Film producers from Kentucky 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American businesspeople