Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was an American filmmaker, known for directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed nine

Abbott and Costello Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in t ...

comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films.

Biography

Lamont was born in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Lamont came from a family of actors, being the fourth generation to be an actor. He appeared onstage while a teenager and started appearing in films from 1919. He worked as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

man before becoming assistant director. Lamont started directing comedy shorts in 1922, including for

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

and

Al Christie Charles Herbert Christie (April 13, 1882 – October 1, 1955) and Alfred Ernest Christie (November 23, 1886 – April 14, 1951) were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs. Early life Charles Herbert Christie was born between April 13, ...

. Some of Lamont's earliest directorial jobs were silent short-subject comedies for

Educational Pictures Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle (E. W.) Hammons (1882–1962). Educational p ...

. One of the studio's popular series was ''Juvenile Comedies'', featuring the child actor Malcolm "Big Boy" Sebastian. Lamont directed some of these films, as well as some of the competing " Buster Brown" comedies for

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

release. Both Educational and Universal figured prominently in Lamont's career. In 1932 Educational assigned Lamont to the "Baby Burlesk” a series, featuring four-year-old

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

. He along with his co-conspirators at Educational Pictures were responsible and helped set horrifying ways performers were treated in film before the invention of the Hays Code. By 1934 Lamont was Educational's top director, and he collaborated with

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 films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

on most of Keaton's 16 Educational shorts. After Educational shut down its Hollywood studio, Lamont was hired by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

to work with such stars as

Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...

and

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

, but his stay was short ("I had an intense hatred for olumbia president

Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His fath ...

," said Lamont to authors

Ted Okuda Ted Okuda (born December 8, 1953) is an American non-fiction author and film historian. He has many books and magazine features to his credit, under his own name and in collaboration with others. Career Okuda's long-held interest in movie comedies ...

and Edward Watz). Lamont then freelanced at various studios (and produced a few features himself) before joining Universal Pictures in 1942. Lamont always had a tremendous rapport with juvenile performers, and Universal entrusted him with a series of musical-comedy vehicles for the studio's teenage singing star Gloria Jean. Lamont emphasized the comic elements of the films, with

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred, in succession, with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talki ...

and Peggy Ryan contributing their talents, and the teen musicals were very popular with wartime audiences. Lamont directed a couple of 1945 films starring

Yvonne de Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film star and sex symbol in the 1940s a ...

and Rod Cameron, '' Salome Where She Danced'' and '' Frontier Gal'', which were not well known in the US but were popular with some French critics. Lamont's experience with limited budgets served him well at Universal, and soon he was promoted to the studio's more important productions. By 1950 he was established as one of Universal's most efficient directors. So it was with surprise and reluctance that Lamont received his new assignment: Abbott and Costello movies. These comedy features were moneymakers for the studio but had no prestige at all, and Lamont bristled at what seemed to be a backward career move. His Universal bosses explained their need for a good comedy director who could do the job indefinitely, and Lamont came to realize that "Abbott and Costello ''were'' my future." Lamont remained with the team until the studio cut them loose in 1955. Lamont also directed Universal's successful Ma and Pa Kettle comedies; his last film was the final ''

Francis the Talking Mule Francis the Talking Mule is a fictional mule who first appeared in three short stories written for ''Esquire magazine'' by David Stern, which he later combined into the 1946 novel ''Francis''. This was the basis of a series of seven Universal-I ...

'' comedy, '' Francis in the Haunted House'' (1956). Lamont died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

in 1993 at age 98.

Selected filmography

Short subjects

*''Zorro *''The Big Game'' (1923) *''Don't Play Hookey'' (1923) *''Mama's Baby Boy'' (1923) *''Hats'' (1924) *''Her City Sport'' (1924) *''Raisin' Cain'' (1925) *''Maid in Morocco'' (1925) *''Sea Scamps'' (1926) *''My Kid'' (1926) *''Brunettes Prefer Gentlemen'' (1927) *''Scared Silly'' (1927) *''Misplaced Husbands'' (1928) *''The Crazy Nut'' (1929) *''Fake Flappers'' (1929) *''Dance with Me'' (1930) *''Don't Get Excited'' (1930) *''My Kid'' (1931) *''Fast and Furious'' (1931) *''The Pie-Covered Wagon'' (1932) *''

War Babies War children are those born to a local parent and a parent belonging to a foreign military force (usually an occupying force, but also military personnel stationed at military bases on foreign soil). Having a child by a member of a belligerent ...

'' (1932) (one of eight Baby Burlesks films with

, 1932–33) *''Merrily Yours'' (1933) *'' Pardon My Pups'' (1934) *'' Managed Money'' (1934) *''

The Gold Ghost ''The Gold Ghost'' is a 1934 short American pre-code comedy film starring Buster Keaton. Plot Two wealthy fathers Jim and George try to arrange their children Gloria and Wally to marry in order to strengthen their families. Gloria refuses to ...

'' (1934) *'' Allez Oop'' (1934) *'' Palooka from Paducah'' (1935) *'' Hayseed Romance'' (1935) *'' Tars and Stripes'' (1935) *'' The E-Flat Man'' (1935) *'' Restless Knights'' (1935) *'' Three on a Limb'' (1936) *'' Grand Slam Opera'' (1936) *'' Love Nest on Wheels'' (1937) *'' Playing the Ponies'' (1937) *'' Jail Bait'' (1937) *'' Ditto'' (1937) *''The Wrong Miss Wright'' (1937) *''Calling All Doctors'' (1937)

Feature films

*'' Sons of Steel'' (1934) *''

Circumstantial Evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact, such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly, i.e., without need ...

'' (1935) *'' The Lady in Scarlet'' (1935) *'' Tomorrow's Youth'' (1935) *'' A Shot in the Dark'' (1935) *'' False Pretenses'' (1935) *'' The Dark Hour'' (1936) *'' Bulldog Edition'' (1936) *'' Below the Deadline'' (1936) *'' Lady Luck'' (1936) *'' Ring Around the Moon'' (1936) *'' Wallaby Jim of the Islands'' (1937) *'' Shadows Over Shanghai'' (1938) *'' Slander House'' (1938) *'' Cipher Bureau'' (1938) *'' International Crime'' (1938) *''

Long Shot In photography, filmmaking and video production, a wide shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or long shot) is a shot that typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surro ...

'' (1939) *'' Verbena Tragica'' (1939) *'' Unexpected Father'' (1939) *'' Pride of the Navy'' (1939) *'' Panama Patrol'' (1939) *'' Inside Information'' (1939) *'' Give Us Wings'' (1940) *'' Oh Johnny, How You Can Love'' (1940) *'' San Antonio Rose'' (1941) *'' Road Agent'' (1941) *'' You're Telling Me'' (1942) *'' Get Hep to Love'' (1942) *'' Don't Get Personal'' (1942) *'' It Comes Up Love'' (1942) *'' Almost Married'' (1942) *'' Top Man'' (1943) *'' When Johnny Comes Marching Home'' (1943) *'' Mister Big'' (1943) *'' Hit the Ice'' (1943) *'' Bowery to Broadway'' (1944) *'' Chip Off the Old Block'' (1944) *'' The Merry Monahans'' (1944) *'' Salome Where She Danced'' (1945) *'' Frontier Gal'' (1945) *'' Slave Girl'' (1947) *'' The Untamed Breed'' (1948) *'' Ma and Pa Kettle'' (1949) *'' Bagdad'' (1949) *''

Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town ''Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town'' is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the second installment of Universal-International's '' Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. Plot At the conclusion ...

'' (1950) *'' Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion'' (1950) *'' Curtain Call at Cactus Creek'' (1950) *''

I Was a Shoplifter ''I Was a Shoplifter'' is a 1950 American film noir crime film directed by Charles Lamont and starring Scott Brady and Mona Freeman. Plot A shoplifter, Faye Burton, is being watched by Herb Klaxon, a security guard at a Los Angeles department s ...

'' (1950) *'' Comin' Round the Mountain'' (1951) *'' Flame of Araby'' (1951) *'' Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man'' (1951) *'' Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd'' (1952) *''

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars ''Abbott and Costello Go to Mars'' is a 1953 American science fiction film, science fiction comedy film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and directed by Charles Lamont. It was produced by Howard Christ ...

'' (1953) *'' Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation'' (1953) *'' Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1953) *''

Ma and Pa Kettle at Home ''Ma and Pa Kettle at Home'' is a 1954 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the sixth, and also most successful, installment of Universal Pictures, Universal-International's ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and ...

'' (1954) *'' Ricochet Romance'' (1954) *'' Untamed Heiress'' (1954) *'' Carolina Cannonball'' (1955) *'' Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops'' (1955) *'' Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy'' (1955) *'' Lay That Rifle Down'' (1955) *'' The Kettles in the Ozarks'' (1956) *'' Francis in the Haunted House'' (1956)

Notes

References

External links

* *
Charles Lamont
at

Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating in Portugal and Spain, usually in triple metre, triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, tambourine or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is u ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamont, Charles Film producers from California 1895 births 1993 deaths Burials at San Fernando Mission Cemetery Film directors from San Francisco Deaths from pneumonia in California American comedy film directors Parody film directors American parodists