Name Arthur Jr. | ||
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Born March 15, 1893 ( 1893-03-15 ) New York City Died July 17, 1976, New York City, New York, United States Books Insects Do the Strangest Things Parents Natalie Lambert, Arthur Hornblow Movies Witness for the Prosecution, Gaslight, I Wanted Wings, The Asphalt Jungle, Hold Back the Dawn Similar People Myrna Loy, Charles Brackett, Virginia Van Upp, Mitchell Leisen, Gene Markey | ||
Arthur Hornblow Jr. | Best Movie Scenes | Movieclips
Arthur Hornblow Jr. (March 15, 1893 – July 17, 1976) was an American film producer.
Contents
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) (Trailer)
Biography
Hornblow was the son of Arthur Hornblow Sr. (1865–1942), a writer who edited Theatre Magazine in New York City. (He allowed a version of his last name be used by C. S. Forester for the fictional sea captain Horatio Hornblower after meeting writer Forester at a New York cocktail party.)
Hornblow graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School, New York City, in 1911, before studying at Dartmouth College and New York Law School, and was a member of the fraternity Theta Delta Chi. He served in counter-intelligence during World War I, and then tried his hand at playwriting. He was then hired as a production supervisor by Sam Goldwyn at Paramount in 1927.
Initially, he specialized in the popular screwball comedies, eventually giving Billy Wilder his first directing job, and producing several films starring Bob Hope. These included The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Ghost Breakers (1940) and Nothing But the Truth (1941). In 1942 he moved to MGM where he produced several film noir. In the 1950s, now an independent producer rather that a studio employee, he worked on musicals and other films including Oklahoma, Ruggles of Red Gap and Gaslight.
He gave aspiring actress Marie Windsor her first screen test, and Constance Ockelman her new name, Veronica Lake.
Oscar nominations
As a producer he was nominated for an Academy Award 'Best Picture' Oscar four times, but failed to win.
Selected filmography
Books by Arthur and Leonora Hornblow
The Hornblows, Frith, and Random House collaborated to produce numerous sequels, Birds Do the Strangest Things (1965), and so on.