John Farrow (10 February, 1904 – 28 January, 1963) was an award-winning film director, producer and screenwriter.
Life
Born
John Villiers Farrow in
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
, Australia, John Farrow began writing while working as a sailor in the 1920s. He moved to Hollywood to work in films as a marine technical advisor and stayed on as a screenwriter. He wrote for films between 1927 and 1959, and also directed between 1934 and 1959. Farrow was also a writer of short stories and plays (
Laughter Ends), as well as non-fiction (
Pageant of the Popes, and biographies of St
Thomas MoreSir Thomas More , also known as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, scholar, author, and statesman....
and
Father DamienFather Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. , born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order...
).
He was married to actress
Maureen O'SullivanMaureen Paula O’Sullivan was an Irish actress who was considered Ireland's first film star.-Early life:O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Mary Lovatt and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in The Connaught Rangers who served in The Great War...
from 12 September 1936 until his death. He fathered four daughters: actresses
MiaMia Farrow is an American actress, singer, and former fashion model. Farrow has appeared in more than forty films and won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe award , three BAFTA Film Award nominations, and a win for best actress at the San Sebastian International Film Festival...
,
PrudencePrudence Anne Villiers Farrow is an American film producer and the subject of The Beatles song, Dear Prudence.-Family Life:Farrow is the younger sister of actress Mia Farrow...
,
StephanieStephanie Margarita Farrow is an American actress.She is the daughter of film director John Farrow and actress Maureen O'Sullivan. She is also the sister of actress Mia Farrow, and has five other siblings: Michael , Patrick , John , Prudence and Tisa.Stephanie Farrow during her early career as a...
,
TisaTheresa Magdalena 'Tisa' Farrow is an American actress.Farrow, one of seven children, was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Irish-born actress Maureen O'Sullivan and Australian-born film director John Farrow. She took up acting shortly after her older sister Mia Farrow rose to stardom...
; three sons: Michael Namien (1939-1958), Patrick Joseph (1942-2009), John Charles (born 1946). Maureen O'Sullivan was his second wife, after he converted to
CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
and she received a papal dispensation to marry a divorcee.
Pope Pius XIPope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
later appointed him a Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of the Holy SepulchreThe Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a prestigious Catholic chivalric order of Knighthood that traces its roots to Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, principal leader of the First Crusade. In 1496, Pope Alexander VI created the office of Grand Master of the Order, and the office...
.
He died from a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, is the interruption of blood supply to part of the heart, causing some heart cells to die...
in
Beverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills is a city in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. The area's "Platinum Triangle" of wealthy neighborhoods is formed by Beverly Hills and...
at the age of 58 and was buried in the
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver CityHoly Cross Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Los Angeles Archdiocese.Opened in 1939, Holy Cross is . It contains—among others—the graves and tombs of show business professionals...
.
Awards and honors
Farrow was twice nominated for an Academy Award. He won the Oscar and
Writers Guild of America AwardThe Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers around New York City....
for his adapted screenplay for
Around the World in Eighty DaysAround the World in 80 Days is a 1956 adventure film produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists. It was directed by Michael Anderson. John Farrow, the original director, was replaced by Anderson after a few days of shooting. Produced by Michael Todd with Kevin McClory and...
(1956).
He was nominated for an Oscar and won the 1942 New York Film Critics Circle Award for his direction of the rousing World War II battle drama
Wake IslandWake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of 12 miles in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu to Guam...
.
His star on the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame is a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, that serves as an entertainment museum...
is located at 6304 Hollywood Blvd.
Director
- John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones is a 1959 biographical epic film about John Paul Jones. The film was made by Samuel Bronston Productions and released by Warner Bros.. It was directed by John Farrow and produced by Samuel Bronston from a screenplay by John Farrow, Ben Hecht, Jesse Lasky Jr. from the story...
(1959)
- The Unholy Wife (1957)
- Back from Eternity (1956)
- The Sea Chase (1955)
- A Bullet Is Waiting (1954)
- Hondo
Hondo is a 1953 western film starring John Wayne. It is somewhat a retelling of Hamlet, in that Hondo kills a young boy's father, marries the boy's mother, and becomes a father figure for the boy...
(1953)
- Plunder of the Sun (1953)
- Ride Vaquero! (1953)
- Botany Bay (1953)
- Submarine Command (1951)
- His Kind of Woman
His Kind of Woman is a black-and-white 1951 comedy drama film noir starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. The film features supporting roles by Vincent Price, Raymond Burr, and Charles McGraw...
(1951)
- Copper Canyon (1950)
- Where Danger Lives
Where Danger Lives is a 1950 thriller directed by John Farrow. The film was actress Faith Domergue's film debut. At the time, she was the latest of Howard Hughes' protegees.-Plot:...
(1950)
- Red, Hot and Blue (1949)
- Alias Nick Beal (1949)
- Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948)
- Beyond Glory (1948)
- The Big Clock
The Big Clock is a film noir thriller directed by John Farrow, based on the novel of the same name by Kenneth Fearing. The black-and-white film is set in New York City and stars Ray Milland and Maureen O'Sullivan...
(1948)
- Blaze of Noon (1947)
- Calcutta (1947)
- Easy Come, Easy Go (1947)
- California (1946)
- Two Years Before the Mast (1946)
- You Came Along (1945)
- The Hitler Gang (1944)
- China (1943)
- Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942)
- Wake Island
Wake Island is a 1942 film which tells the story of the United States military garrison on Wake Island and the onslaught by the Japanese following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The movie was written by W.R. Burnett and Frank Butler, and directed by John Farrow...
(1942)
- A Bill of Divorcement
A Bill of Divorcement is a British play written by Clemence Dane that debuted in 1921 in London. Dane wrote it as a reaction to a law passed in Britain in the early 1920s that allowed insanity as grounds for a woman divorcing her husband....
(1940)
- Married and in Love (1940)
- Reno (1939)
- Full Confession (1939)
- Five Came Back
Five Came Back is a 1939 melodrama and a precursor of the disaster film genre. A B movie with an A-level cast and crew, the film boasts direction by John Farrow, photography by renowned film noir cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca, and a screenplay by Jerry Cady, Dalton Trumbo and Nathanael West.In...
(1939)
- Sorority House (1939)
- Women in the Wind (1939)
- The Saint Strikes Back (1939)
- Comet Over Broadway (1938) (uncredited)
- Broadway Musketeers (1938)
- My Bill (1938)
- Little Miss Thoroughbred (1938)
- The Invisible Menace
The Invisible Menace is a 1938 mystery film directed by John Farrow and starring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Boris Karloff - Mr. Jevries, aka Dolman* Marie Wilson - Sally Wilson Pratt* Eddie Craven - Pvt. Eddie Pratt* Regis Toomey - Lt. Matthews...
(1938)
- She Loved a Fireman (1937)
- West of Shanghai
West of Shanghai is a 1937 adventure film directed by John Farrow and starring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Boris Karloff - Gen. Wu Yen Fang* Beverly Roberts - Mrs. Jane Creed* Ricardo Cortez - Gordon Creed* Gordon Oliver - Jim Hallet...
(1937)
- Men in Exile (1937)
- Tarzan Escapes (1936) (uncredited)
- The Spectacle Maker (1934) (as John Villiers Farrow)
Writer
- John Paul Jones (1959)
- Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
- Ride, Vaquero! (1953) (uncredited)
- Red, Hot and Blue (1949)
- Last of the Pagans (1935) (original story and screenplay) (as John Villiers Farrow)
- The Spectacle Maker (1934) (as John Villiers Farrow)
- Don Quixote (1933) (English version)
- The Impassive Footman (1932)
- The Common Law (1931) (screen story)
- A Woman of Experience (1931) (dialogue & screenplay)
- Inside the Lines (1930) (dialogue)
- Shadow of the Law (1930)
- The Bad One
The Bad One is a 1930 American black and white musical film directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Dolores del Río and featuring Boris Karloff and is a romantic prison drama film...
(1930) (story)
- Seven Days' Leave (1930)
- The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers is a 1929 war film directed by Merian C. Cooper and starring Fay Wray. It has the distinction of being one of the last major Hollywood pictures of the silent era.-Cast:* Richard Arlen - Lt. Harry Faversham* Fay Wray - Ethne Eustace...
(1929) (titles)
- The Wheel of Life (1929) (adaptation)
- A Dangerous Woman (1929)
- The Wolf Song (1929)
- Three Weekends (1928) (adaptation)
- The Woman From Moscow (1928) (also titles)
- The First Kiss (1928) (adaptation)
- Ladies of the Mob (1928)
- The Blue Danube (1928) (story)
- The Showdown (1928) (titles)
- The Bride of the Colorado (1928) (story)
- The Wreck of the Hesperus
"The Wreck of the Hesperus" is a poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in Ballads and Other Poems in 1842.-Overview:...
(1927) (story)
- A Sailor's Sweetheart (1927)
- White Gold (1927) (titles)
Producer
- The Unholy Wife (1957)
- Back from Eternity (1956)
- The Sea Chase (1955)
- Submarine Command (1951) (co-executive producer)
- The Big Clock
The Big Clock is a 1946 novel by Kenneth Fearing. Published by Harcourt Brace, the thriller was his fourth novel, following three for Random House and five collections of his poetry....
(1948)
Actor
- Forbidden Island (1959) .... Stuart Godfrey
- King of the Khyber Rifles
King of the Khyber Rifles is a 1953 adventure film directed by Henry King and starring Tyrone Power and Terry Moore. The film is based on the novel King of the Khyber Rifles by Talbot Mundy. The Khyber Pass scenes were shot in Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California...
(1953) (uncredited) .... Cpl. Stuart
External links