Rex Ingram
AMG AllMovie Guide:
Top
Rex Ingram
Biography
Not to be confused with the African American actor of the same name, Irish-born actor/director Rex Ingram was a set designer and painter before entering films as a performer in 1914's Necklace of Rameses. Handsome enough to thrive as a film star, Ingram was more attracted to directing, making his debut in this capacity with the 1916 feature The Great Problem. A consummate artist, Ingram disliked the crass business haggling of Hollywood, and was particularly disenchanted with the level of American writing. He was drawn to the mystical, tragic novels of Spanish author Vicente Blasco Ibanez; many of these were unfilmable, but one Ibanez adaptation, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1922), was not only a hit for Ingram but secured the stardom of Rudolph Valentino. Unwilling to submit to rushed production schedules and tight budgets, Ingram was not well loved in Hollywood, though he found a kindred spirit in fellow director Erich Von Stroheim, who like Ingram was meticulous in detail but careless in spending studio money. When Von Stroheim completed the eight-hour film drama McTeague, Ingram volunteered out of friendship to cut the film down to a more playable length. When Ingram's cut was whittled down further by MGM and released as Greed (1924), Ingram decided that he was sick of the so-called "butchers" of Hollywood and retreated to France, where he set up his own studios in Nice to direct films of his own choosing with his wife Alice Terry as star. Visually exquisite, with richly toned photography and beautifully tinted film stock, Ingram's features were artistic successes but box-office disappointments. Seen today, such Ingram films as Mare Nostrum (1926) and The Magician (1927) are feasts for the eye, but rather stodgy and slow; moreover, though he fancied himself a writer, Ingram's screenplays are often confusing and disorganized. Still, he was a staunch individualist in a world of cookie-cutter studio directors, and Ingram had a loyal following, even if his films lost money for his Anerican distributors. Utterly opposed to the introduction of talking pictures, Ingram made one sound film, Baroud (1931), which was filmed in Morocco. Thereafter, Ingram abandoned filmmaking for the tenets of Islam, devoting the last two decades of his life to introspective worship, writing, and sculpting. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviRelated Videos:
Top
Rex Ingram
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Rex Ingram (director)
- For the African-American actor of the same name, see Rex Ingram (actor) (1895–1969).
| Rex Ingram | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Reginald Ingram Montgomery Hitchcock January 15, 1892 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | July 21, 1950 (aged 58) North Hollywood, California |
| Spouse | Doris Pawn (m.1917) Alice Terry (1921-1950) |
| Awards | Walk of Fame - Motion Picture 1651 Vine Street |
Rex Ingram (15 January 1892 – 21 July 1950) was an Irish film director, producer, writer and actor. Legendary director Erich von Stroheim once called him "the world's greatest director."[1]
|
Contents
|
Early life
Born Reginald Ingram Montgomery Hitchcock in Dublin, Ireland, the son of a clergyman.[2] He was educated at Saint Columba's College, near Rathfarnam, County Dublin.[2] He spent most of his adolescent life living in the Old Rectory, Kinnitty, Birr, County Offaly where his father was the Church of Ireland rector.[2] He emigrated to the United States in 1911.[2] His brother Francis Clere Hitchcock went on to join the British army and fought during World War I where he was awarded the Military Cross and rose to the rank of Colonel.
Career
Ingram studied sculpture at the Yale University School of Art, but soon moved into film, first taking acting work from 1913 and then writing, producing and directing.[2] His first work as producer-director was in 1916 on the romantic drama The Great Problem.[2] He worked for Edison Studios, Fox Film Corporation, Vitagraph Studios, and then MGM, directing mainly action or supernatural films.[2] In 1920, he moved to Metro, where he was under supervision of executive June Mathis. Mathis and Ingram would go on to make four films together, Hearts are Trump, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Conquering Power, and Turn to the Right. It is believed the two were romantically involved. Ingram and Mathis had begun to grow distant when her new find, Rudolph Valentino, began to overshadow his own fame. Their relationship ended when Ingram eloped with Alice Terry in 1921.
He married twice, first to actress Doris Pawn in 1917; this ended in divorce in 1920.[2] He then married Alice Terry in 1921, with whom he remained for the rest of his life. In 1925, Ingram and Fred Niblo directed the hugely successful epic Ben-Hur, filming parts of it in Italy. He and his wife decided to move to the French Riviera. They formed a small studio in Nice and made several films on location in North Africa, Spain, and Italy for MGM and others.[4]
Amongst those who worked for Ingram at MGM on the Riviera during this period was the young Michael Powell, who later went on to direct (with Emeric Pressburger) The Red Shoes and other classics. By Powell's own account, Ingram was a major influence on him.[2] Indeed Ingram's influence on Powell's later work can be detected, especially in its themes in illusion, dreaming, magic and the surreal. David Lean also admitted he was deeply indebted to Ingram,[2] and MGM studio chief Dore Schary once listed the top creative people in Hollywood as D. W. Griffith, Ingram, Cecil B. DeMille, and Erich von Stroheim (in declining order of importance).[2]
Unimpressed with sound, Rex Ingram made only one talkie, Baroud, filmed for Gaumont British Pictures in Morocco. The film was a not a commercial success and Ingram left the film business, returning to Los Angeles to work as a sculptor and writer. Interested in Islam as early as 1927,[5] he converted to the faith in 1933.[6]
Rex Ingram's films were considered by many contemporary directors to be artistic and skillful, with an imaginative and bold visual style. In 1949, the Directors Guild of America bestowed an Honorary Life Membership on him. For his contribution to the motion picture industry he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1651 Vine Street.
He also wrote two novels, Mars in the House of Death and The Legion Advances.
Death
Rex Ingram died from a cerebral hemorrhage[7] on 21 July 1950 and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.[8]
Filmography
Ingram's complete filmography as a director:
- The Symphony of Souls (1-reel short subject; 1914)
- The Great Problem (1916)
- Broken Fetters (1916)
- The Chalice of Sorrow (1916)
- Black Orchids (1917)
- The Reward of the Faithless (1917)
- The Pulse of Life (1917)
- The Flower of Doom (1917)
- His Robe of Honour (1917)
- Humdrum Brown (1917)
- The Day She Paid (1919)
- Shore Acres (1920)
- Under Crimson Skies (1920)
- Hearts are Trumps (1920)
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
- The Conquering Power (1921)
- The Prisoner of Zenda (1922)
- Trifling Women (1922)
- Turn to the Right (1922)
- Scaramouche (1923)
- Where the Pavement Ends (1923)
- The Arab (1924)
- Mare Nostrum (1926)
- The Magician (1926)
- The Garden of Allah (1927)
- The Three Passions (1929)
- Baroud (1932)
References
- ^ Soares, André. Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro. New York: Macmillan, 2002, p. 27. ISBN 0-312-28231-1
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Soares, André. Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro. New York: Macmillan, 2002. ISBN 0-312-28231-1
- ^ Vanity Fair magazine September 1921, accessed 2009
- ^ "New British Film Company; Alastair Mackintosh Leads London Firm--Rex Ingram Is Director." New York Times. May 8, 1928.
- ^ "Reports Rex Ingram Has Turned Moslem." New York Times. December 1, 1927.
- ^ "Rex Ingram Embracing Mohammedan Faith; Announces Abandoning Motion-Picture Field." New York Times. July 2, 1933.
- ^ NNDB
- ^ "Rex Ingram Dead." New York Times. July 23, 1950.
External links
- Rex Ingram at the Internet Movie Database
- Rex Ingram at University College Dublin
- Rex Ingram at Virtual History
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Mentioned in
John Daumery
(Director, Comedy/Romance)
Weight of the World: I Spy (TV Episode)
(1965 Spy Film TV Episode)
Doris Pawn
(Actor, Drama/Romance)
Argentine Love
(1924 Drama Film)
The Conquering Power
(1921 Drama Film)
» More