John M. Stahl

Director

About

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Also Known As

John Stahl

Birth Place

New York City, New York, USA

Born

January 21, 1886

Died

January 12, 1950

Biography

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Capable craftsman, in films from 1914, with a flair for lifting trite, sentimental material to higher ground. A master of the "woman's melodrama" and a director latterly acclaimed by film critics and historians for his use of the long take years before it became common after WWII, Stahl directed the original screen versions of several classic weepies, including "Back Street" (1932), "Imi...

Filmography

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Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949)

Father Was a Fullback (1949)

The Walls of Jericho (1948)

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947)

Fill-In Director

The Foxes of Harrow (1947)

Leave Her to Heaven (1946)

Photos & Videos

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Parnell (1937) -- (Movie Clip) The Greatest Patriot

Parnell (1937) -- (Movie Clip) You Take My Breath Away

Family & Companions

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Roxana Wray

Wife

Married in 1932.

Biography

Capable craftsman, in films from 1914, with a flair for lifting trite, sentimental material to higher ground. A master of the "woman's melodrama" and a director latterly acclaimed by film critics and historians for his use of the long take years before it became common after WWII, Stahl directed the original screen versions of several classic weepies, including "Back Street" (1932), "Imitation of Life" (1934) and "Magnificent Obsession" (1935). The latter two were remade in the 1950s, in more florid style, by Douglas Sirk.

Filmography

Director (Feature Film)

Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949)

Father Was a Fullback (1949)

The Walls of Jericho (1948)

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947)

Fill-In Director

The Foxes of Harrow (1947)

Leave Her to Heaven (1946)

The Keys of the Kingdom (1945)

The Eve of St. Mark (1944)

Immortal Sergeant (1943)

Holy Matrimony (1943)

Our Wife (1941)

When Tomorrow Comes (1939)

Letter of Introduction (1938)

Magnificent Obsession (1936)

Imitation of Life (1934)

Only Yesterday (1933)

Back Street (1932)

Strictly Dishonorable (1931)

A Lady Surrenders (1930)

In Old Kentucky (1927)

The Gay Deceiver (1926)

Memory Lane (1926)

Fine Clothes (1925)

Why Men Leave Home (1924)

Husbands and Lovers (1924)

The Dangerous Age (1923)

The Wanters (1923)

One Clear Call (1922)

The Song of Life (1922)

Suspicious Wives (1921)

Sowing the Wind (1921)

The Child Thou Gavest Me (1921)

Greater Than Love (1920)

The Woman in His House (1920)

Women Men Forget (1920)

Her Code of Honor (1919)

The Woman Under Oath (1919)

Wives of Men (1918)

Suspicion (1918)

The Lincoln Cycle (1917)

Writer (Feature Film)

Too Good to Be True (1988)

Memory Lane (1926)

Husbands and Lovers (1924)

Wives of Men (1918)

Producer (Feature Film)

Marriage by Contract (1928)

Production Companies (Feature Film)

Our Wife (1941)

When Tomorrow Comes (1939)

Letter of Introduction (1938)

Magnificent Obsession (1936)

Imitation of Life (1934)

Only Yesterday (1933)

Back Street (1932)

Life Events

1901

First stage appearance, in "Du Barry"

1913

Entered film as bit player

1914

Hired by Vitagraph Studios, Brooklyn NY

1914

Directorial debut (no reliable record of early work)

1920

Moved to Hollywood; joined Louis B. Mayer in independent production (date approximate)

1926

Worked under Mayer at MGM

1927

Became vice president and producer Tiffany-Stahl Studios

1930

Returned to directing; joined Universal

Photo Collections

Leave Her to Heaven - Movie Posters

Here are a few original-release movie posters from Fox's Leave Her to Heaven (1946), starring Gene Tierney. This is an Insert poster, measuring 14 x 36 inches.

Videos

Parnell (1937) -- (Movie Clip) The Greatest Patriot Not much equivocation, in the prologue or the speech by Clark Gable as the title character, the Irish politician Charles Stewart Parnell, in MGM’s synopsis of the barnstorming tour of America the real man made in 1880, opening the romanticized biopic Parnell, 1937, co-starring Myrna Loy.

Parnell (1937) -- (Movie Clip) You Take My Breath Away Connected English political wife Katie O'Shea (Myrna Loy) has won an audience with firebrand Irish MP Parnell (Clark Gable), their first scene together though he has, it turns out, seen her before, in Parnell, 1937.

Imitation Of Life (1934) -- (Movie Clip) I Didn't Advertise Joining the intimate opening scene in which widow Bea (Claudette Colbert) bathes her child (Juanita Quigley, billed as “Baby Jane”), and the introduction of disoriented Louise Beavers as Delilah, in the first screen adaptation of the Fannie Hurst novel, Imitation Of Life, 1934.

Imitation Of Life (1934) -- (Movie Clip) I Wanna Be White First scene for Fredi Washington as the mature Peola, with candor from the original Fannie Hurst novel, extraordinary for Hollywood, expressing anxiety about her race to her mother, Louise Beavers, at a party celebrating the pancake-mix business she co-founded (with Claudette Colbert, the hostess), in Imitation Of Life, 1934.

Imitation Of Life (1934) -- (Movie Clip) The Pancake Queen At the 10th anniversary party for her pancake-mix empire, Claudette Colbert as Bea has noted the arrival of handsome Warren William as Archer, as it turns out induced to attend by her wiseacre marketing genius Elmer (Ned Sparks), in Imitation Of Life, 1934, from the Fannie Hurst novel.

Imitation Of Life (1934) -- (Movie Clip) We're Going Into Business Claudette Colbert as syrup seller Bea presses a boardwalk landlord (Clarence Hummel Wilson) for a lease then announces her hare-brained scheme to her un-salaried housekeeper Delilah (Louise Beavers), bringing their fatherless daughters and meeting the painter (Henry Armetta), in the original Imitation Of Life, 1934.

Leave Her To Heaven (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Ellen Always Wins Vacationing in New Mexico, author Richard (Cornel Wilde) encounters fellow lodge guest Ruth (Jeanne Crain), then her sister Ellen (Gene Tierney), who confides a change in her status, then host Glen (Ray Collins), in Leave Her To Heaven, 1946.

Parnell (1937) -- (Movie Clip) The Honorable Member For Cork Irish leader Charles Stewart Parnell (Clark Gable) faces down Prime Minister Gladstone (Montague Love) in Parliament and inspires in general, his paramour-to-be (Myrna Loy) attending, in an early scene from Parnell, 1937.

Leave Her To Heaven (1946) -- (Movie Clip) You Can't Have Any Secrets Now at the retreat in Maine, recently married Ellen (Gene Tierney) teasing author husband Richard (Cornel Wilde), griping, then flipping when her family (Jeanne Crain, Mary Philips) appears on the lake, in Leave Her To Heaven, 1946.

Leave Her To Heaven (1946) -- (Movie Clip) They Met On The Train At the lake in Maine, Glen (Ray Collins) initiates the elaborate flashback, in which author Richard (Cornel Wilde), introduced in the opening, meets dazzling reader Ellen (Gene Tierney), early in John M. Stahl's Leave Her To Heaven, 1946.

Leave Her To Heaven (1946) -- (Movie Clip) He's A Cripple! Ellen (Gene Tierney) consults with Dr. Mason (Reed Hadley) about his patient, her young brother-in-law, then turns duplicitous when husband Richard (Cornel Wilde) arrives, in John M. Stahl's Leave Her To Heaven, 1946.

Magnificent Obsession (1936) -- (Movie Clip) Any Poor Devil Mrs. Eden (Beryl Mercer) is among witnesses helping widow Helen (Irene Dunne) and daughter Joyce (Betty Furness) piece together the mysterious finances of Dr. Hudson after his accidental death, Ralph Morgan also waiting his turn, in the first movie version of Magnificent Obsession, 1936.

Imitation of Life (1934) - (Trailer for "Colored" Audiences) A preview for Imitation of Life (1934) intended for theatres with segregated non-white audiences.

Holy Matrimony - (Original Trailer) An artist returning from years abroad takes the identity of his dead valet to escape the attentions of the press in Holy Matrimony (1943).

Companions

Roxana Wray

Wife

Married in 1932.

Bibliography

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