Robert Rossen

Director

About

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Also Known As

Robert Rosen

Birth Place

New York City, New York, USA

Born

March 16, 1908

Died

February 18, 1966

Cause of Death

Coronary Occlusion Following Post-Operational Complications

Biography

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Former boxer whose work as a writer and director of socially conscious dramas such as "The Body Beautiful" led to a writing contract with Warner Bros. in 1936. Rossen scripted around ten features over the next seven years for directors including Lloyd Bacon, Mervyn Leroy and Lewis Milestone. His writing was influenced by his Communist affiliations and, although he had left the party in 1...

Filmography

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The Hustler (1961)

They Came to Cordura (1959)

Island in the Sun (1957)

Alexander the Great (1956)

Photos & Videos

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Sea Wolf, The (1941) -- (Movie Clip) A Criminal Offense

Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) All Life Is A Gamble

Biography

Former boxer whose work as a writer and director of socially conscious dramas such as "The Body Beautiful" led to a writing contract with Warner Bros. in 1936. Rossen scripted around ten features over the next seven years for directors including Lloyd Bacon, Mervyn Leroy and Lewis Milestone. His writing was influenced by his Communist affiliations and, although he had left the party in 1945, his involvement led to a subpoena from the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. In the four years that elapsed before Rossen was eventually tried and blacklisted, he established himself as an independent producer and director of note with films such as "Body and Soul" (1947), scripted by Abraham Polonsky, and "All the King's Men" (1949), an incisive indictment of political corruption.

After "naming names" in 1953 Rossen was allowed to continue working, but chose not to return to Hollywood. His subsequent output was uneven, but not without successes. "The Hustler" (1961) is a moody poolroom drama with its roots in an unproduced Rossen play, "Corner Pocket"; it was nominated for Academy Awards in every major category and inspired a Martin Scorsese-directed sequel, "The Color of Money" (1986), which again starred Paul Newman. "Lilith" (1964) is a tragic study of obsession set in a mental hospital and starring Warren Beatty and Jean Seberg; shot, like "The Hustler," by Eugene Shuftan, it was dismissed by US critics of that time of its release but is now regarded by many as its director's masterpiece.

Filmography

Director (Feature Film)

The Hustler (1961)

They Came to Cordura (1959)

Island in the Sun (1957)

Alexander the Great (1956)

The Brave Bulls (1951)

All the King's Men (1950)

Body and Soul (1947)

Johnny O'Clock (1947)

Writer (Feature Film)

Billy Budd (1962)

Screenplay (see note)

The Hustler (1961)

They Came to Cordura (1959)

Alexander the Great (1956)

Story and Screenplay

All the King's Men (1950)

Wrt for the Screenplay

The Accused (1949)

Contract Writer

Desert Fury (1947)

Johnny O'Clock (1947)

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

A Walk in the Sun (1946)

Rhapsody in Blue (1945)

Contract Writer

Edge of Darkness (1943)

Out of the Fog (1941)

Blues in the Night (1941)

The Sea Wolf (1941)

Flight from Destiny (1941)

Contract Writer

A Child Is Born (1940)

Dust Be My Destiny (1939)

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

Racket Busters (1938)

Original Screenplay

Fools for Scandal (1938)

Contr to Screenplay const

Heart of the North (1938)

Marked Woman (1937)

They Won't Forget (1937)

The Unknown Soldier Speaks (1934)

Producer (Feature Film)

The Hustler (1961)

Alexander the Great (1956)

Alexander the Great (1956)

The Brave Bulls (1951)

Production Companies (Feature Film)

The Hustler (1961)

The Undercover Man (1949)

Life Events

Photo Collections

The Hustler - Movie Poster

Here is an original release Half-Sheet movie poster for The Hustler (1961), starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason. Half-sheets measured 22 x 28 inches and usually featured different artwork from the movie's One-Sheet poster.

All the King's Men - Movie Posters

Here are a few original-release movie posters for Columbia Pictures' All the King's Men (1949), starring Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, and Mercedes McCambridge.

Videos

Sea Wolf, The (1941) -- (Movie Clip) A Criminal Offense First scene for both Ruth (Ida Lupino) and Van Weyden (Alexander Knox), catching a ferry out of San Francisco, her situation desperate, in Michael Curtiz's The Sea Wolf, 1941, from the Jack London novel, also starring John Garfield and Edward G. Robinson in the title role.

Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) All Life Is A Gamble Walter (Kirk Douglas) receives unexpected old pal rogue Sam (Van Heflin), when his wife Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) arrives, buttons being pushed immediately, in Lewis Milestone's The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, 1946.

Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) A Realistic Man Kirk Douglas (as Walter, in his opening scene), referring to scandalous history and losing his will, his chilly wife Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) not having any of it, in Lewis Milestone's The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, 1946.

Marked Woman (1937) -- (Movie Clip) How Do You Entertain These Men? Prosecutor Graham (Humphrey Bogart) gets the I-D from night-club hostess Mary (Bette Davis), who's worried about what her kid sister (Jane Bryan) in the gallery will think, then defends her against the attorney (Raymond Hatton) for mobster Vanning (Eduardo Cianelli), in Marked Woman, 1937.

Marked Woman (1937) -- (Movie Clip) From Tiddlywinks To Roulette Gangster Johnny Vanning (Eduardo Cianelli), his character inspired by Charles "Lucky" Luciano, surveys the goods (including staff hostesses, Bette Davis as Mary, Lola Lane as Gabby, Isabel Jewell as Emmy Lou and Mayo Methot as Estelle) in the night club he's taken over, early in Marked Woman, 1937.

Marked Woman (1937) -- (Movie Clip) There's A Law In This State! Prosecutor Graham (Humphrey Bogart) in his first interview with night club hostess Mary (Bette Davis) who he knows can put away the gangster he's after, in Warner Bros.' Marked Woman, 1937.

Billy Budd (1962) -- (Movie Clip) What Was His Crime? The merchant ship from which he was pressed still on the horizon, title character Terence Stamp is made to witness the administration of punishment by Master-At-Arms Claggart (Robert Ryan), Peter Ustinov (who also directed and co-wrote) in command, Melvyn Douglas as veteran seaman Dankser, in BIlly Budd, 1962, from the Herman Melville novel.

Billy Budd (1962) -- (Movie Clip) Too Much Perfection With officers Seymour (Paul Rogers) and Ratcliffe (John Neville), Peter Ustinov (who also directed and co-wrote) as Captain Vere considers the promotion of the the title character (Terence Stamp, not seen) and the challenge posed by his abusive Master-At-Arms, on a British fighting ship, ca. 1800, in BIlly Budd, 1962, from the Herman Melville novel.

Billy Budd (1962) -- (Movie Clip) To Subdue All Things Committing the body of a sailor whose death was caused by the cruelty of one commander (Robert Ryan as Claggart), Peter Ustinov as Captain Vere officiates, also directing, from his co-written screenplay, Melvyn Douglas joining the liturgy as Dansker, Terence Stamp as the title character reflects, Victor Brooks and Thomas Heathcote his jaded colleagues, in Billy Budd from the Herman Melville novel.

Billy Budd (1962) -- (Movie Clip) Is It Ignorance Or Irony? Part of a notable exchange, pivotal in the original Herman Melville novel, Terence Stamp as the ingenuous title character converses with his cynical Master-At-Arms Claggart (Robert Ryan), whose role in the death of a colleague he earlier exposed, on board a British man-of-war during the Napoleonic wars, in BIlly Budd, 1962, directed by co-star Peter Ustinov.

Sea Wolf, The (1941) -- (Movie Clip) You Die Too Easy! First appearance by Edward G. Robinson in the title role as sea captain "Wolf Larsen," mostly berating the rescued Van Weyden (Alexander Knox) in the Michael Curtiz version of The Sea Wolf, 1941, from the Jack London novel.

Sea Wolf, The (1941) -- (Movie Clip) Pray For The Night Memorable speech by Barry Sullivan (as "Cooky"), on the row-boat headed for the ship, warning Leach (John Garfield) what awaits, just minutes into The Sea Wolf, 1941, from the Jack London novel, directed by Michael Curtiz.

All The King's Men (1949) - (Re-issue Trailer) Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor went to All The King's Men (1949) based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren.

They Won't Forget - (Original Trailer) Bigotry flares when a Jewish businessman is accused of killing a small-town girl in the South in They Won't Forget (1937) starring Claude Rains.

Flight From Destiny - (Original Trailer) An elderly professor with six months to live plots a murder to reunite two young lovers in Flight from Destiny (1941).

Johnny O'Clock - (Re-issueTrailer) Gambling hall owners get mixed up with a cop on the take, leading to murder and mystery in Johnny O'Clock (1947).

Hustler, The - (Original Trailer) A pool shark (Paul Newman) falls into the clutches of a crooked gambler (George C. Scott).

Heart of the North - (Original Trailer) A Canadian Mounted Policeman searches for the outlaws who robbed a freighter in Heart of the North (1938).

Blues in the Night - (Original Trailer) The members of a traveling jazz band try to keep their leader (Richard Whorf) from drinking himself to death in Blues in the Night (1941).

Marked Woman - (Re-issue Trailer) Humphrey Bogart is the D.A., Bette Davis the "hostess" who ratted on the mob and is now a Marked Woman (1937).

Fools For Scandal - (Original Trailer) Carole Lombard is a Hollywood star whom a broke aristocrat tries to blackmail into marriage in Fools For Scandal (1938).

Edge of Darkness - (Original Trailer) Errol Flynn is a Norwegian fisherman turned resistance leader in Lewis Milestone's excellent wartime adventure, Edge of Darkness (1943).

Sea Wolf, The - (Original Trailer) Shipwrecked fugitives try to escape a brutal sea captain who's losing his mind in The Sea Wolf starring Edward G. Robinson.

Racket Busters - (Original Trailer) Mobster Humphrey Bogart tries to take over the trucking business in Racket Busters (1938).

Family

Carol Rossen

Daughter

Actor. Formerly married to actor Hal Holbrook, with whom she had two children, Victoria and David; survived him.

Bibliography

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