HENRY HATHAWAY
INFORMATION FROM IMDb
Date of birth
13 March 1898
Sacramento, California, USA
Date of death
11 February 1985
Hollywood, California, USA. (heart attack)
Birth name
Marquis Henri Leonard de Fiennes
Trivia
Hathaway's grandfather was commissioned to acquire the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) by the King of Belgians, hence Hathaway inherited the title Marquis.
Son of actress Jean Hathaway and actor Rhody Hathaway.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 441-446. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
Personal quotes
"Being educated is making the pictures themselves, if you make it your business to pay attention."
"To be a good director you've got to be a bastard. I'm a bastard and I know it."
"You don't have to hold an inquest to find out who killed Marilyn Monroe. Those bastards in the big executive chairs killed her."
"When I went to work in Universal Studios in 1914, there were five women directors. Lois Weber made the biggest pictures. John Ford and I alternated as a prop man for this great director. If women haven't got a good directing job now, it's their own fault."
"There's lots of nice guys walking around Hollywood but they're not eating."
Mini biography
Henry Hathaway, a son of a stage actress and manager, started his career as a child actor in Westerns directed by Allan Dwan. His movie career was interrupted by World War I. After his discharge, he briefly tried a career in finance but then returned to Hollywood to work as an assistant director under such directors as Frank Lloyd, Paul Bern, Josef von Sternberg, and Victor Fleming. Hathaway credited Fleming for his eventual success. In 1932, he directed his first picture, "Heritage of the Desert", a Western. His approach has been described as uncomplicated and straightforward, while at the same time, many of his films are noted for their striking visual effects and unusual locations. He had a reputation as being difficult on actors, but some stars such as John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe benefited under his direction. Although, Hathaway was a highly successful and reliable director working within the Hollywood studio system, his work has received little attention from critics.
IMDb mini-biography by
Amy Harper
Mini Biography-2
from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Though he lacks the reputation of his contemporaries Ford and Hawks, Hathaway spent more than 40 years turning out quality Westerns and thrillers, many of which have attained classic status. He began as a protégé to Allan Dwan, appearing as a child actor in countless silent Westerns during the teens. In 1919 he graduated to assistant director, working with such giants as Victor Fleming and Josef Von Sternberg. (He even assisted in the filming of the chariot race for the silent Ben-Hur.) He began directing B Westerns at Paramount in 1932 (beginning with Wild Horse Mesa moving up to the big time in 1935 with The Lives of a Bengal Lancer which starred old friend Gary Cooper, and got him his only Oscar nomination as Best Director. He also made his most unusual (and atypical) film with Cooper that year, the ethereally romantic Peter Ibbetson The following year, he directed the first outdoor film in full Technicolor, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine and handled Mae West in Go West, Young Man Other high points include the gangster drama Johnny Apollo (1940), the WW2 epic A Wing and a Prayer (1944), the influential "realistic" spy drama The House on 92nd St (1945), the legendary crime thriller Kiss of Death (1947), the journalistic mystery Call Northside 777 (1948), the suicide drama Fourteen Hours (1951, Grace Kelly's first film), the blindman mystery 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956), the gold-rush comedy North to Alaska (1960), three-fifths of How the West Was Won (1962), and two late John Wayne hits, The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) and True Grit (1969). Oddly, his last film,Superdude (1974), placed him in the alien world of blaxploitation. All of them were marked by slick production, solid acting, and thorough professionalism. Actors who worked with him also vividly recall his fiery temper and disregard of social amenities on the set.
OTHER FILMS INCLUDE: 1937: Souls at Sea 1938: Spawn of the North 1939: The Real Glory 1940: Johnny Apollo, Brigham Young-Frontiersman 1942: China Girl 1944: Home in Indiana 1946: The Dark Corner, 13 Rue Madeleine 1949: Down to the Sea in Ships 1951: Rawhide, The Desert Fox 1953: Niagara 1954: Prince Valiant 1957: Legend of the Lost 1960: Seven Thieves 1964: Circus World 1966:Nevada Smith 1968: 5 Card Stud 1971: Raid on Rommel, Shootout.
Copyright © 1994 Leonard Maltin, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.
Filmography
Director
1. Hangup (1974)
... aka Super Dude
2. Shoot Out (1971)
3. Raid on Rommel (1971)
4. Airport (1970) (uncredited) (winter outdoor scenes)
5. True Grit (1969)
6. 5 Card Stud (1968)
7. The Last Safari (1967)
8. Nevada Smith (1966)
9. The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
10. Circus World (1964)
... aka Samuel Bronston's Circus World
... aka The Magnificent Showman (UK)
11. How the West Was Won (1962) (segments "The Rivers", "The Plains" and "The Outlaws")
12. North to Alaska (1960)
13. Seven Thieves (1960)
14. Woman Obsessed (1959)
15. From Hell to Texas (1958)
... aka Manhunt (UK)
16. Legend of the Lost (1957)
... aka Timbuctù (Italy)
17. 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
18. The Bottom of the Bottle (1956)
... aka Beyond the River (UK)
19. The Racers (1955)
... aka Such Men Are Dangerous (UK)
20. Garden of Evil (1954)
21. Prince Valiant (1954)
22. White Witch Doctor (1953)
23. Niagara (1953)
24. O. Henry's Full House (1952) (segment "The Clarion Call")
... aka Full House (UK)
25. Diplomatic Courier (1952)
26. The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)
... aka Rommel, Desert Fox (UK)
... aka The Desert Fox (USA: short title)
27. Rawhide (1951)
... aka Desperate Siege (USA: reissue title)
28. Fourteen Hours (1951)
29. You're in the Navy Now (1951)
... aka U.S.S. Teakettle (USA)
30. The Black Rose (1950)
31. Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
32. Call Northside 777 (1948)
... aka Calling Northside 777
33. Kiss of Death (1947)
34. 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
35. The Dark Corner (1946)
36. The House on 92nd Street (1945)
37. Nob Hill (1945)
38. Wing and a Prayer (1944)
39. Home in Indiana (1944)
40. A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) (uncredited)
... aka The Cowboy and the Girl
41. China Girl (1942)
42. Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942)
43. Sundown (1941)
44. The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)
45. Brigham Young (1940)
... aka Brigham Young: Frontiersman (UK) (USA: promotional title)
46. Johnny Apollo (1940)
47. The Real Glory (1939)
48. Spawn of the North (1938)
49. Souls at Sea (1937)
50. Lest We Forget (1937)
51. Go West Young Man (1936)
52. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936)
53. I Loved a Soldier (1936)
... aka Hotel Imperial (USA)
54. Peter Ibbetson (1935)
55. The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)
56. Now and Forever (1934)
57. The Last Round-Up (1934)
58. The Witching Hour (1934)
59. Come on Marines (1934)
60. To the Last Man (1933)
... aka Law of Vengeance (USA: reissue title)
61. Man of the Forest (1933)
... aka Challenge of the Frontier (USA: reissue title)
62. Sunset Pass (1933)
63. Under the Tonto Rim (1933)
64. The Thundering Herd (1933)
... aka Buffalo Stampede (USA: reissue title)
65. Wild Horse Mesa (1932)
66. Heritage of the Desert (1932) -
... aka When the West Was Young (USA: reissue title)
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
1. Morocco (1930) (second unit director) (uncredited)
2. The Texan (1930) (assistant director)
3. The Virginian (1929) (assistant director) (uncredited)
4. The Wolf Song (1929) (assistant director)
5. Redskin (1929) (assistant director)
6. The Love Doctor (1929) (assistant director) (uncredited)
7. The Rough Riders (1927) (assistant director)
... aka The Trumpet Calls (USA)
8. Hula (1927) (assistant director)
9. Underworld (1927) (second unit director) (uncredited)
... aka Paying the Penalty (UK)
10. Mantrap (1926) (assistant director)
11. Bachelor Brides (1926) (assistant director)
12. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) (assistant director)
... aka Ben-Hur (USA: short title)
13. The Thundering Herd (1925) (second unit director)
... aka In the Days of the Thundering Herd (USA)
Producer
1. The Last Safari (1967) (producer)
2. Nevada Smith (1966) (producer)
3. North to Alaska (1960) (producer)
4. Legend of the Lost (1957) (producer)
... aka Timbuctù (Italy)
5. Souls at Sea (1937) (producer)
Miscellaneous Crew
1. Of Human Bondage (1964) (director: additional scenes)
2. The Ten Commandments (1923) (assistant: Mr. De Mille) (uncredited)
Actor
1. The Storm Woman (1917)
Himself
1. Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic (2004) (TV) .... Himself/interviewee (1976 interview)
2. The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors (1993) .... Himself
3. "Hollywood" (1980) (mini) TV Series .... Himself
... aka Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film (USA: video box title)
4. 75 Years of Cinema Museum (1972) .... Himself
