Michael Gordon
About
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Birth Place
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Born
September 06, 1909
Died
April 29, 1993
Cause of Death
Natural Causes
Biography
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Active with the Group Theater and such workers' filmmaking groups as Frontier Films during the 1930s and began in Hollywood as a dialogue director in 1940. Gordon's first films were insignificant B's, but he came into his own later in the decade with a series of taut melodramas and action pictures. "The Web" (1947) was a clever, strongly plotted film noir, "The Lady Gambles" (1949) gave ...
Biography
Active with the Group Theater and such workers' filmmaking groups as Frontier Films during the 1930s and began in Hollywood as a dialogue director in 1940. Gordon's first films were insignificant B's, but he came into his own later in the decade with a series of taut melodramas and action pictures. "The Web" (1947) was a clever, strongly plotted film noir, "The Lady Gambles" (1949) gave Barbara Stanwyck a good emotional workout as a gambling addict, "Woman in Hiding" (1950) put Ida Lupino in edgy peril, and "I Can Get It for Your Wholesale" (1951) offered Susan Hayward a suitably aggressive showcase as a fashion entrepreneur.
Unfortunately, Gordon fell prey to the paranoia-driven blacklisting of the era and did not return to feature films until the end of the decade. When he did come back, it was with one of his most popular and well-remembered efforts, "Pillow Talk" (1959), starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Gordon followed this enjoyable sex farce with increasingly strained and derivative imitations, however, including "Boys' Night Out" (1962), "Move Over, Darling" (1963) and "A Very Special Favor" (1965). His career as a director petered out around 1970, but he later distinguished himself as a member of UCLA's theater arts faculty. The technical competence and smooth, intelligent control of Gordon's best films, though, made one wish that his professional peak had not been so abruptly interrupted.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
How Do I Love Thee?
(1970)
Director
The Impossible Years
(1968)
Director
Texas Across the River
(1966)
Director
A Very Special Favor
(1965)
Director
Move Over, Darling
(1963)
Director
For Love or Money
(1963)
Director
Boys' Night Out
(1962)
Director
Portrait in Black
(1960)
Director
Pillow Talk
(1959)
Director
The Secret of Convict Lake
(1951)
Director
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
(1951)
Director
Cyrano de Bergerac
(1951)
Director
The Lady Gambles
(1949)
Director
Once More, My Darling
(1949)
Director
Woman in Hiding
(1949)
Director
Another Part of the Forest
(1948)
Director
An Act of Murder
(1948)
Director
The Web
(1947)
Director
Crime Doctor
(1943)
Director
One Dangerous Night
(1943)
Director
Underground Agent
(1942)
Director
Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood
(1942)
Director
Cast (Feature Film)
Schindler's List
(1993)
Mr Nussbaum
Screamtime
(1983)
Video Watcher
The Idol
(1966)
Boy
Editing (Feature Film)
The Rising of the Moon
(1957)
Editing
Curse of the Demon
(1957)
Film Editor
Safari
(1956)
Film Editor
Simba
(1955)
Editor
The Girl in the News
(1941)
Cutting
Night Train
(1940)
Cutting
Strange Boarders
(1938)
Editing
King Solomon's Mines
(1937)
Editing
Man of Affairs
(1937)
Film Editor
Seven Sinners
(1936)
Editing
Cast (Special)
Broadway Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
(1989)
Life Events
1935
Involved with New York's noted Group Theater
1940
First film as dialogue director
1942
Directed first feature films, "Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood" and "Underground Agent"
1959
Directed first film for eight years, "Pillow Talk"
1970
Directed last film, "How Do I Love Thee?"
Photo Collections
1 Photo
Woman in Hiding - Behind-the-Scenes Photo
Here is a photo taken behind-the-scenes during production of Woman in Hiding (1949), starring Ida Lupino and Stephen McNally.
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
