William C. McGann

• Born: Apr 05, 1895 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Died: Nov 15, 1977 in Woodland Hills, California
• Occupation: Director, Cinematographer
• Active: '30s-'40s
• Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
• Career Highlights: Key Largo, Johnny Belinda, The Wedding March
• First Major Screen Credit: Hearts of Men (1919)

Biography

University of Berkeley graduate William H. McGann entered the film industry as an assistant cameraman after serving in much the same capacity during World War I. McGann was promoted to director of photography by Douglas Fairbanks; he lensed such popular Fairbanks vehicles as When the Clouds Roll By (1919) and The Mark of Zorro (1920), then briefly worked for Buster Keaton on The Three Ages (1923). He began his directorial career in 1930, helming Spanish-language versions of American films. After a short stay in England, he returned to Hollywood, where he became a stalwart of Warner Bros.' "B"-picture unit. He went on to direct programmers for RKO, Paramount, and finally Harry Sherman Productions. William H. McGann's most frequently exhibited effort was the curious all-star 2-reeler The Stolen Jools (1931), a fund-raising short produced on behalf of the National Variety Artists' tuberculosis sanitarium; for the first and last time in his career, McGann had the opportunity to direct virtually every big name in Hollywood, from Norma Shearer to Laurel & Hardy, in one fell swoop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chain Lightning Buy this Movie	Beyond the Forest Buy this Movie	The Fountainhead Buy this Movie	It's a Great Feeling Buy this Movie
Johnny Belinda Buy this Movie	June Bride Buy this Movie	Key Largo Buy this Movie	Silver River Buy this Movie

Show More Movies Show Fewer Movies

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)