Made in Manhattan: George Cukor
by Ed_Jones_XLIX | created - 13 Jun 2019 | updated - 19 Jun 2019 | Public120 Years ago, George Cukor was born July 7, 1899, in Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City. The only son of Hungarian-Jewish immigrants, he embraced the ways of the new world his parents came to and shunned the traditions of his family's past.
As a child, Cukor appeared in several amateur plays and at the age of seven he performed in a recital with David O. Selznick, who in later years became a mentor and friend. Infatuated with the theater, he often cut classes at DeWitt Clinton High School to attend afternoon matinees. Little did he know was, that it would be the path to the entertainment industry in California, where George would ultimately achieve success. Before that would happen however, Broadway was in his immediate future. He did well there and in late 1928 when Hollywood began to recruit New York theater talent for sound films, he would ultimately sign a contract with Paramount Pictures. He moved to California and worked as a dialogue coach along with other miscellaneous tasks for the studio.
After moving up the ranks and doing some directing work, Cukor eventually would end up in a legal dispute with Paramount Executives over an accreditation on a movie and left with a settlement in hand and a new position at RKO Pictures. That's where he started to shine.
From this list of approximately half of his directorial credits, which one is your favorite?
After voting, please discuss here.
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1. A Bill of Divorcement (1932)
70 min | Drama
A man, Hilary Fairfield returns home after fifteen years in a mental asylum. However, he finds things are not the way they were when he left.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: John Barrymore, Katharine Hepburn, Billie Burke, David Manners
Votes: 1,447
Stars: John Barrymore, Katharine Hepburn, Billie Burke
2. Dinner at Eight (1933)
G | 111 min | Comedy, Drama
Affluent Millicent and Oliver Jordan throw a dinner for a handful of wealthy and/or well-born acquaintances, each of whom has much to reveal.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow
Votes: 7,350
Stars: Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery
3. Little Women (1933)
115 min | Drama, Family, Romance
A chronicle of the lives of a group of sisters growing up in nineteenth-century America.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas, Edna May Oliver
Votes: 6,211 | Gross: $4.58M
Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas
4. The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger (1935)
G | 130 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
A gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Freddie Bartholomew, Frank Lawton, Edna May Oliver, Elizabeth Allan
Votes: 3,651
Stars: Freddie Bartholomew, Frank Lawton, Edna May Oliver
5. Romeo and Juliet (1936)
125 min | Drama, Romance
Young love is poisoned by a generations long feud between two noble families.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, John Barrymore, Edna May Oliver
Votes: 1,686
Stars: Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, John Barrymore
6. Holiday (1938)
95 min | Comedy, Romance
A young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan, Lew Ayres
Votes: 13,837
Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan
7. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
G | 102 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well.
Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Mervyn LeRoy, Norman Taurog, Richard Thorpe, King Vidor | Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr
Votes: 365,131 | Gross: $2.08M
Uncredited additional scenes.
Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger
8. The Women (1939)
PG | 133 min | Comedy, Drama
A study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland
Votes: 12,223 | Gross: $2.27M
Stars: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell
9. Gone with the Wind (1939)
G | 238 min | Drama, History, Romance
A manipulative woman and a roguish man conduct a turbulent romance during the American Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood | Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil
Votes: 281,748 | Gross: $198.68M
Uncredited additional scenes.
Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell
10. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
PG | 112 min | Comedy, Romance
When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey
Votes: 61,708
Stars: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart
11. Gaslight (1944)
114 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Years after her aunt was murdered in her home, a young woman moves back into the house with her new husband. However, he has a secret that he will do anything to protect, even if it means driving his wife insane.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, May Whitty
Votes: 23,302
Stars: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten
12. Adam's Rib (1949)
101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday, Tom Ewell
Votes: 18,915
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday
13. Born Yesterday (1950)
103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A tycoon hires a tutor to teach his lover proper etiquette, with unexpected results.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Judy Holliday, William Holden, Broderick Crawford, Howard St. John
Votes: 9,611
Stars: Judy Holliday, William Holden, Broderick Crawford
14. The Marrying Kind (1952)
92 min | Comedy, Drama
Florence and Chet Keefer have had a troublesome marriage. Whilst in the middle of a divorce hearing the judge encourages them to remember the good times they have had hoping that the ... See full summary »
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Judy Holliday, Aldo Ray, Madge Kennedy, Sheila Bond
Votes: 1,173
Stars: Judy Holliday, Aldo Ray, Madge Kennedy
15. Pat and Mike (1952)
95 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
Pat is a women's sports sensation unless her fiancé is around. Her new shady manager Mike keeps them apart and develops feelings for her.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Aldo Ray, William Ching
Votes: 4,963
Stars: Hepburn & Tracey
16. It Should Happen to You (1954)
86 min | Comedy, Romance
When a young woman with dreams of fame rents a billboard to advertise herself, her life changes overnight.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, Peter Lawford, Michael O'Shea
Votes: 3,225 | Gross: $1.40M
Stars: Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, Peter Lawford
17. A Star Is Born (1954)
G | 154 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A film star helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career on a downward spiral.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford
Votes: 15,263 | Gross: $14.93M
Star: Judy Garland
18. Les Girls (1957)
114 min | Comedy, Musical
The former members of a dance troupe are suing because of recently published memoirs. Each one insists on own point of view.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall, Taina Elg
Votes: 2,434
Stars: Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall
19. Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
PG | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
Story of theatrical troupe that travels through the Old West.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Margaret O'Brien, Steve Forrest
Votes: 1,176
Stars: Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Margaret O'Brien
20. Let's Make Love (1960)
PG | 119 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
When billionaire Jean-Marc Clement learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue, he passes himself off as an actor playing him in order to get closer to the beautiful star of the show, Amanda Dell.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, Tony Randall, Frankie Vaughan
Votes: 6,459 | Gross: $6.54M
Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, Tony Randall
21. Camille (1936)
109 min | Drama, Romance
A Parisian courtesan must choose between the young man who loves her and the callous baron who wants her, even as her own health begins to fail.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan
Votes: 7,104 | Gross: $1.15M
Stars: Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore
22. Girls About Town (1931)
PG | 80 min | Comedy
Two gold diggers prey on old rich men, but one of them falls in love with a young, rich man.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Kay Francis, Joel McCrea, Lilyan Tashman, Eugene Pallette
Votes: 541
Stars: Kay Francis, Joel McCrea, Lilyan Tashman
23. Tarnished Lady (1931)
83 min | Drama, Romance
Tarnished Lady is a 1931 Pre-Code American drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on his short story, A Story of a New York Lady.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Tallulah Bankhead, Clive Brook, Phoebe Foster, Alexander Kirkland
Votes: 154
Stars: Tallulah Bankhead, Clive Brook, Phoebe Foster
24. The Chapman Report (1962)
125 min | Drama, Romance
Based on the best-selling novel by Irving Wallace that was inspired by the Kinsey Report on the sexual mores of suburban women, the film follows the personal (read sexual) lives of four ... See full summary »
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda, Claire Bloom
Votes: 712
Stars: Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda
25. My Fair Lady (1964)
PG | 170 min | Drama, Family, Musical
Snobbish phonetics Professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make flower girl Eliza Doolittle presentable in high society.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White
Votes: 84,298 | Gross: $72.00M
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway
26. Rich and Famous (1981)
117 min | Drama
Liz and Merry Noel become friends as college roommates and their friendship endures over the years. Liz becomes a respected "serious" novelist. Merry Noel marries, has a daughter and writes... See full summary »
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Candice Bergen, David Selby, Hart Bochner
Votes: 1,497 | Gross: $14.49M
Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Candice Bergen, David Selby
27. Wild Is the Wind (1957)
114 min | Drama
An immigrant Nevada rancher brings a woman from Italy to be his second wife but when he neglects her, she becomes involved with his trusted assistant. Nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Actor.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani, Anthony Franciosa, Joseph Calleia
Votes: 859
Stars: Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani, Anthony Franciosa
28. Keeper of the Flame (1942)
100 min | Drama, Mystery
Journalist Steve O'Malley wants to write a biography of a national hero who died when his car ran off a bridge. Steve receives conflicting reports and tales that make him question what the truth about the hero is.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Whorf, Margaret Wycherly
Votes: 2,193
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Whorf
29. Her Cardboard Lover (1942)
93 min | Comedy, Romance
A wealthy woman, trying to discourage a former boyfriend from pursuing her, hires a young songwriter who needs money to pay off his gambling debts to pretend to be her boyfriend. The ... See full summary »
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, George Sanders, Frank McHugh
Votes: 509
Stars: Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, George Sanders
30. A Woman's Face (1941)
PG | 106 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
A female blackmailer with a disfiguring facial scar meets a plastic surgeon who offers her the possibility of looking like a normal woman.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Conrad Veidt, Osa Massen
Votes: 2,662
Stars: Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Conrad Veidt
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