The Screen Director (1951)

A behind-the-scenes look at all the responsibilities (and headaches) a director assumes when making a motion picture.

Stars:

Richard L. Bare, Frank Capra, Phyllis Coates

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Richard L. Bare	...	Stagehand on Telephone (uncredited)
Frank Capra	...	Himself (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)
Phyllis Coates	...	Herself - staged 'archive' footage (uncredited)
Michael Curtiz	...	Himself (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)
Roy Del Ruth	...	Himself (uncredited)
Paul Douglas	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Woman in Audience (uncredited)
John Ford	...	Himself (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)
Art Gilmore	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Creighton Hale	...	Theatre Manager (uncredited)
Ray Heindorf	...	Himself (uncredited)
John Huston	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Elia Kazan	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Burt Lancaster	...	Himself (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)
Vivien Leigh	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Storyline

A documentary short film depicting the work of the motion picture director. An anonymous director is shown preparing the various aspects of a film for production, meeting with the writer and producer, approving wardrobe and set design, rehearsing scenes with the actors and camera crew, shooting the scenes, watching dailies, working with the editor and composer, and attending the first preview. Then a number of real directors are shown in archive footage (as well as a predominance of staged 'archive' footage) working with actors and crew.

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Plot Keywords:

director | behind the scenes | movie studio | narration

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Genres:

Documentary | Short

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 1951 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

9 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Ford is shown directing John Wayne on the set of Operation Pacific, a film not directed by Ford.

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Connections

References A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

User Reviews

Fair Short About Directing

Screen Director, The (1951)

** (out of 4)

Another documentary-short in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences series that explains to viewers what the jobs of various people are. This time out we take a look at a director and learn that he has a lot more to do than just telling a story as he has to worry about the budget, costumes, art direction, making sure the actors know how to act and making sure to communicate with everyone so that the entire machine can come together. This is the second film in the series that I've seen and this one here is a tad bit more entertaining since we get a couple scenes where the director corrects some actors and makes them film a scene for a second time. We see how different an actor could play a certain scene even with the same dialogue. I found that to be the biggest highlight here but for the most part everything else is stuff most people are going to already know.