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IMDbPro

Mitchell Leisen(1898-1972)

  • Director
  • Art Director
  • Costume Designer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Mitchell Leisen
Mitchell Leisen was born on 6 October 1898 in Menominee, Michigan, USA. He was a director and art director, known for Death Takes a Holiday (1934), The Mating Season (1951) and Hold Back the Dawn (1941). He was married to Stella Yeager. He died on 28 October 1972 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
BornOctober 6, 1898
DiedOctober 28, 1972(74)
BornOctober 6, 1898
DiedOctober 28, 1972(74)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 4 wins & 2 nominations total

Photos9

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Known for

Fredric March and Evelyn Venable in Death Takes a Holiday (1934)
Death Takes a Holiday
6.9
  • Director
  • 1934
Gene Tierney, John Lund, and Thelma Ritter in The Mating Season (1951)
The Mating Season
7.4
  • Director
  • 1951
Olivia de Havilland, Charles Boyer, and Paulette Goddard in Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Hold Back the Dawn
7.3
  • Director
  • 1941
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in Remember the Night (1939)
Remember the Night
7.6
  • Director
  • 1939

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Director

  • Jayne Mansfield and Juliet Prowse in Spree (1967)
    Spree
    7.7
    • Director
    • 1967
  • Noel Harrison and Stefanie Powers in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966)
    The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
    6.6
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1966–1967
  • Gardner McKay in Adventures in Paradise (1959)
    Adventures in Paradise
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1961–1962
  • Tuesday Weld in Follow the Sun (1961)
    Follow the Sun
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Director (as Mitch Leisen)
    • 1961
  • John McIntire in Wagon Train (1957)
    Wagon Train
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1961
  • Open Windows
    TV Movie
    • Director
    • 1960
  • Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)
    General Electric Theater
    6.7
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1955–1960
  • Thriller (1960)
    Thriller
    8.2
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1960
  • Ray Milland in Markham (1959)
    Markham
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1960
  • Rod Serling in The Twilight Zone (1959)
    The Twilight Zone
    9.0
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1959–1960
  • Shirley Temple in Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958)
    Shirley Temple's Storybook
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1958
  • Jane Powell, Keith Andes, Tommy Noonan, and Cliff Robertson in The Girl Most Likely (1957)
    The Girl Most Likely
    5.9
    • Director
    • 1957
  • Bedevilled (1955)
    Bedevilled
    4.7
    • Director
    • 1955
  • Tonight We Sing (1953)
    Tonight We Sing
    6.1
    • Director
    • 1953
  • Nina Foch, Glenn Ford, Denise Darcel, and Ruth Roman in Young Man with Ideas (1952)
    Young Man with Ideas
    6.0
    • Director
    • 1952

Art Director

  • Claudette Colbert, Charles Laughton, Joyzelle Joyner, and Fredric March in The Sign of the Cross (1932)
    The Sign of the Cross
    6.8
    • Art Director (uncredited)
    • 1932
  • Warner Baxter in The Squaw Man (1931)
    The Squaw Man
    6.3
    • Art Director
    • 1931
  • Madam Satan (1930)
    Madam Satan
    6.3
    • Art Director
    • 1930
  • Charles Bickford and Kay Johnson in Dynamite (1929)
    Dynamite
    6.8
    • Art Director (as J. Mitchell Leisen)
    • 1929
  • Robert Armstrong, Carmencita Johnson, Billy Naylor, and Irene Rich in Ned McCobb's Daughter (1928)
    Ned McCobb's Daughter
    6.1
    • Art Director
    • 1928
  • Jeanette Loff in Love Over Night (1928)
    Love Over Night
    • Art Director
    • 1928
  • Show Folks (1928)
    Show Folks
    5.9
    • Art Director
    • 1928
  • Lina Basquette in Celebrity (1928)
    Celebrity
    6.4
    • Art Director
    • 1928
  • Alan Hale, William Boyd, Tay Garnett, Frank Hagney, and Howard Higgin in Power (1928)
    Power
    6.2
    • Art Director
    • 1928
  • Lina Basquette and Tom Keene in The Godless Girl (1928)
    The Godless Girl
    7.1
    • Art Director (as James Mitchell Leisen)
    • 1928
  • Phyllis Haver in Chicago (1927)
    Chicago
    7.3
    • Art Director (as J.M. Leisen)
    • 1927
  • Jetta Goudal in The Forbidden Woman (1927)
    The Forbidden Woman
    • Art Director
    • 1927
  • William Boyd and Bessie Love in Dress Parade (1927)
    Dress Parade
    7.5
    • Art Director
    • 1927
  • Phyllis Haver and Tom Moore in The Wise Wife (1927)
    The Wise Wife
    • Art Director
    • 1927
  • Leatrice Joy in The Angel of Broadway (1927)
    The Angel of Broadway
    6.6
    • Art Director
    • 1927

Costume Designer

  • Off to See the Wizard (1967)
    Off to See the Wizard
    6.8
    TV Series
    • Costume Designer (as Mitch Leisen)
    • 1968
  • William Shatner, John Cassavetes, Adam West, John Doucette, Simon Oakland, and Ziva Rodann in Alexander the Great (1963)
    Alexander the Great
    5.1
    TV Movie
    • Costume Designer (as Mitch Leisen)
    • 1963
  • Paulette Goddard, Macdonald Carey, and John Lund in Bride of Vengeance (1949)
    Bride of Vengeance
    5.6
    • Costume Designer
    • 1949
  • Joan Fontaine and Arturo de Córdova in Frenchman's Creek (1944)
    Frenchman's Creek
    6.1
    • Costume Designer (uncredited)
    • 1944
  • Ray Milland, Ginger Rogers, Warner Baxter, and Jon Hall in Lady in the Dark (1944)
    Lady in the Dark
    5.9
    • Costume Designer (uncredited)
    • 1944
  • Robert Benchley, Fred MacMurray, and Rosalind Russell in Take a Letter, Darling (1942)
    Take a Letter, Darling
    6.8
    • Costume Designer (uncredited)
    • 1942
  • Marlene Dietrich, David James, and Fred MacMurray in The Lady Is Willing (1942)
    The Lady Is Willing
    6.3
    • Costume Designer
    • 1942
  • Claudette Colbert, Charles Laughton, Joyzelle Joyner, and Fredric March in The Sign of the Cross (1932)
    The Sign of the Cross
    6.8
    • Costume Designer (costumes by)
    • 1932
  • Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford in The Taming of the Shrew (1929)
    The Taming of the Shrew
    6.3
    • Costume Designer (uncredited)
    • 1929
  • William Boyd and Vera Reynolds in The Road to Yesterday (1925)
    The Road to Yesterday
    6.3
    • Costume Designer
    • 1925
  • Mary Pickford in Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (1924)
    Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall
    6.9
    • Costume Designer
    • 1924
  • The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
    The Thief of Bagdad
    7.7
    • Costume Designer (as Leisen, costumes)
    • 1924
  • Enid Bennett and Charles Ray in The Courtship of Myles Standish (1923)
    The Courtship of Myles Standish
    6.1
    • Costume Designer
    • 1923
  • Mary Pickford in Rosita (1923)
    Rosita
    6.5
    • Costume Designer
    • 1923
  • Robin Hood (1922)
    Robin Hood
    7.0
    • Costume Designer (as Leisen, costumes designed by)
    • 1922

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • J. Mitchell Leisen
  • Born
    • October 6, 1898
    • Menominee, Michigan, USA
  • Died
    • October 28, 1972
    • Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA(coronary problems)
  • Spouse
    • Stella Yeager1927 - ?
  • Other works
    Unsold pilot: Directed a pilot for a proposed NBC comedy series called "The Eve Arden Show". The plot concerned a widow whose visits disrupted the households of family and friends.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 4 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Married to mezzo-soprano Stella Yeager (known professionally as Sandra Gahle), while also having relationships with costume designer Natalie Visart and choreographer Billy Daniel.
  • Quotes
    The camera never moves arbitrarily in any of my films. It follows somebody across the room or some kind of action; therefore you are not particularly conscious of the camera moving. Unnecessary camera movement destroys the concentration of the audience.
  • Trademark
      Often cast Fred MacMurray
  • Nickname
    • Mitch

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