Gene Milford
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Asked whether a skillful editor could transform a poor rough cut into a good film, Milford stated: "Scissors are no magic wands. The cutter does not make the picture. That is done by the director, and if he doesn't provide interesting film, there's only so much the cutter can do with it." (quoted in THE NEW YORK TIMES obituary, January 7, 1992)
Biography
Award-winning film editor who entered silent films as a stuntman and title writer before cutting his first film, "Two Can Play" starring Clara Bow in 1926. A prolific film editor for Columbia Pictures, RKO, Republic and Rank during the 1930s and 40s, Milford worked on several Frank Capra films including "Flight" (1929), "Platinum Blonde" (1931) and "Lost Horizon" (1937) for which he won the first of two Oscars. He also worked repeatedly with George B. Seitz and Victor Schertzinger.
During WWII, Milford headed the film editorial department for the Office of War Information where he worked on the feature documentary "The World at War" while continuing to edit Hollywood product. After the war Milford was made chief of the Atomic Energy Commission's film editorial department at Lookout Mountain, California. He made his directorial debut on TV with the "The Faye Emerson Show" and segments of "Omnibus" during the 1950s, and headed the editorial department for the CBS series, "See It Now." From 1955 to 1961 Milford served as president of M-K-R where he directed and edited 15 medical and scientific documentaries, many for TV.
Milford returned to feature films to work with director Elia Kazan with "On the Waterfront" (1954), for which he won his second Academy Award. He also edited Kazan's "Baby Doll" (1956), "A Face in the Crowd" (1957) and "Splendor in the Grass" (1961) as well as Arthur Penn's "The Chase" (1966) and three Terence Young films, "Wait Until Dark" (1967), "The Klansman" (1974) and the Korean financed and notably awful "Inchon" (1982).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Life Events
1926
Edited first film, Two Can Play", starring Clara Bow
1960
Directed first feature film, "The Pusher"
Videos
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Asked whether a skillful editor could transform a poor rough cut into a good film, Milford stated: "Scissors are no magic wands. The cutter does not make the picture. That is done by the director, and if he doesn't provide interesting film, there's only so much the cutter can do with it." (quoted in THE NEW YORK TIMES obituary, January 7, 1992)
