James Cruze

Director

About

Read More
Also Known As
James C Bosen, Jens Vera Cruz Bosen
Birth Place
Five Points, Utah, USA
Born
March 27, 1884
Died
August 03, 1942

Biography

Read More
Born to Danish immigrants, he became first an actor and then, as a result of breaking his leg, a director. During the 1920s Cruze proved one of Hollywood's more varied and prolific filmmakers (and in 1927 the highest paid, earning $7,000 a week) with movies such as the lavishly produced historical epics "The Covered Wagon" (1923) and "Old Ironsides" (1926), which were noted for their alm...

Filmography

Read More
Prison Nurse (1938)
Director
Come On, Leathernecks (1938)
Director
Gangs of New York (1938)
Director
The Wrong Road (1937)
Director
Sutter's Gold (1936)
Director
Two Fisted (1935)
Director

Family & Companions

Read More
Marguerite Snow
Wife
Actor. Married in 1913; divorced in 1924; allegedly the first marriage ever recorded by a motion picture camera.
Betty Compson
Wife
Actor. Married on October 14, 1924; divorced in 1930; born in March 1897; died on April 18, 1974.
Alberta Beatrice McCoy
Wife
Married on June 30, 1941 when she was 43 years old; survived him; died on July 7, 1960.

Bibliography

Read More
"James Cruze"
Margery Wilson (1928)

Notes

Cruze told contemporary reporters various stories about his childhood, including making claims that he had anywhere from 11 to 18 to 23 siblings.

At his third marriage, the best man was cinematographer Hal Mohr and the matron of honor was Mohr's wife, actress Evelyn Venable.

Biography

Born to Danish immigrants, he became first an actor and then, as a result of breaking his leg, a director. During the 1920s Cruze proved one of Hollywood's more varied and prolific filmmakers (and in 1927 the highest paid, earning $7,000 a week) with movies such as the lavishly produced historical epics "The Covered Wagon" (1923) and "Old Ironsides" (1926), which were noted for their almost documentary-like pictorial images but were weak on character. He also scored with the inventive, somewhat surreal "One Glorious Day" (1922) and with "Beggar on Horseback" (1925), while several of Cruze's early talkies, including the modestly budgeted but maturely handled "I Cover the Waterfront" (1933) feature some of his best work. Married to silent screen star Betty Compson from 1924 to 1930.

Filmography

 

Director (Feature Film)

Prison Nurse (1938)
Director
Come On, Leathernecks (1938)
Director
Gangs of New York (1938)
Director
The Wrong Road (1937)
Director
Sutter's Gold (1936)
Director
Two Fisted (1935)
Director
David Harum (1934)
Director
Their Big Moment (1934)
Director
Helldorado (1934)
Director
Racetrack (1933)
Director
Best of Enemies (1933)
Director of retakes and added scenes
Mr. Skitch (1933)
Director
I Cover the Waterfront (1933)
Director
Sailor Be Good! (1933)
Director
If I Had a Million (1932)
["Death Cell"]
Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932)
Director
Salvation Nell (1931)
Director
The Great Gabbo (1930)
Director
Once a Gentleman (1930)
Director
She Got What She Wanted (1930)
Director
The Duke Steps Out (1929)
Director
A Man's Man (1929)
Director
On to Reno (1928)
Director
Excess Baggage (1928)
Director
The Red Mark (1928)
Director
The Mating Call (1928)
Director
The City Gone Wild (1927)
Director
We're All Gamblers (1927)
Director
Old Ironsides (1926)
Director
Mannequin (1926)
Director
The Waiter From the Ritz (1926)
Director
The Goose Hangs High (1925)
Director
Welcome Home (1925)
Director
Beggar on Horseback (1925)
Director
The Pony Express (1925)
Director
Waking Up the Town (1925)
Director
Marry Me (1925)
Director
Merton of the Movies (1924)
Director
The Garden of Weeds (1924)
Director
The Enemy Sex (1924)
Director
The Fighting Coward (1924)
Director
The Covered Wagon (1924)
Director
The City That Never Sleeps (1924)
Director
To the Ladies (1923)
Director
Ruggles of Red Gap (1923)
Director
Thirty Days (1923)
Director
Hollywood (1923)
Director
Is Matrimony a Failure? (1922)
Director
One Glorious Day (1922)
Director
The Dictator (1922)
Director
The Old Homestead (1922)
Director
Thirty Days (1922)
Director
Gasoline Gus (1921)
Director
The Dollar-a-Year Man (1921)
Director
The Fast Freight (1921)
Director
The Charm School (1921)
Director
Crazy To Marry (1921)
Director
Leap Year (1921)
Director
A Full House (1920)
Director
The Sins of St. Anthony (1920)
Director
Terror Island (1920)
Director
Food for Scandal (1920)
Director
Always Audacious (1920)
Director
Mrs. Temple's Telegram (1920)
Director
What Happened to Jones (1920)
Director
The Valley of the Giants (1919)
Director
The Dub (1919)
Director
The Love Burglar (1919)
Director
The Roaring Road (1919)
Director
You're Fired (1919)
Director
The Lottery Man (1919)
Director
An Adventure in Hearts (1919)
Director
Hawthorne of the U.S.A. (1919)
Director
Alias Mike Moran (1919)
Director
Too Many Millions (1918)
Director

Cast (Feature Film)

The Slave Market (1921)
Jack Standing
Under the Top (1919)
"Foxy" Stillmore
Johnny Get Your Gun (1919)
The Duke of Bullconia
Less Than Kin (1918)
Jinx
Believe Me Xantippe (1918)
Simp Calloway
Hidden Pearls (1918)
Koro Leon
The Source (1918)
Langlois
Wild Youth (1918)
Li Choo
The City of Dim Faces (1918)
Wing Lung
The Million Dollar Mystery (1918)
Jim Norton
What Money Can't Buy (1917)
Ferdinand Vaslof
The Call of the East (1917)
Janzo
Her Temptation (1917)
Walton Maynard
On the Level (1917)
Ozmun
The Web of Life (1917)
Tom Wilson
Nan of Music Mountain (1917)
Gale Morgan
The Snowbird (1916)
Bruce Mitchell
The Patriot and the Spy (1915)
Pietro
Armstrong's Wife (1915)
Harvey Arnold
Zudora (1915)
Cardinal Richelieu's Ward (1914)
Richelieu
Joseph in the Land of Egypt (1914)
Frou Frou (1914)
Comte Paul de Valreas
The Legend of Provence (1913)
Sir Henry

Writer (Feature Film)

Waking Up the Town (1925)
Story

Producer (Feature Film)

La fuerza del querer (1930)
Producer
The Costello Case (1930)
Producer
The Big Fight (1930)
Supervisor
Cock o' the Walk (1930)
Supervisor
Once a Gentleman (1930)
Producer
Hello Sister (1930)
Supervisor
The Night Flyer (1928)
Presented By
Wife Savers (1928)
Producer
The Covered Wagon (1924)
Producer
Merton of the Movies (1924)
Producer

Film Production - Main (Feature Film)

Good Kill (2015)
Driver

Cast (Short)

The Cry of Children (1912)

Life Events

1900

Ran away from home to San Francisco at age 15

1900

Worked as fisherman in Alaska to pay for drama school

1903

Organized own theater troupe

1906

Became member of the Belasco company and made Broadway debut

1910

Film debut in "The Usurper" for Lubin

1911

Joined the Thanhouser Company; appeared in "The Pied Piper of Hamlin" and "She"

1914

Directed "From Wash to Washington" for Thanhouser

1918

Film directing debut, "Too Many Millions"

1927

Directed first film for own production company (James Cruze Inc.), "On to Reno"

1928

First film as producer only, "Wife Savers" (dir. Ralph Cedar)

1938

Retired after heart attack

Family

May Cruze
Sister
Actor. Appeared in films in the 1910s; survived him.
Mrs W E Quillinan
Sister
Survived him.
Julie Bosen
Daughter
Born on October 24, 1913; mother, Marguerite Snow; appeared in Thanhouser films as a baby.

Companions

Marguerite Snow
Wife
Actor. Married in 1913; divorced in 1924; allegedly the first marriage ever recorded by a motion picture camera.
Betty Compson
Wife
Actor. Married on October 14, 1924; divorced in 1930; born in March 1897; died on April 18, 1974.
Alberta Beatrice McCoy
Wife
Married on June 30, 1941 when she was 43 years old; survived him; died on July 7, 1960.

Bibliography

"James Cruze"
Margery Wilson (1928)

Notes

Cruze told contemporary reporters various stories about his childhood, including making claims that he had anywhere from 11 to 18 to 23 siblings.

At his third marriage, the best man was cinematographer Hal Mohr and the matron of honor was Mohr's wife, actress Evelyn Venable.

TCM Emails

Sign Up now to stay up to date with all of the latest news from TCM.

©2024 Turner Classic Movies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
©2024 Turner Classic Movies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
By using this site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use