Mark Sandrich
Encyclopedia
Mark Sandrich (October 26, 1900 – March 4, 1945) was a Jewish American
film director, writer and producer.
Sandrich was an engineering student at Columbia University
when he began in the film business by accident. While visiting a friend on a film set, he saw that the director had a problem in setting up a shot; Sandrich offered his advice. It worked. He then entered into the movies in the prop department, and became a director specializing in several comedy shorts in 1927. He then made his first feature the next year, but returned to shorts after sound arrival. In 1933 he directed the Academy Award-winning short, So This Is Harris!
. He later returned to feature films, most notably comedies, starring the team of Bert Wheeler
and Robert Woolsey
in Hips, Hips, Hooray!
. In 1934, Sandrich soon gained his first directorial assignment with the Fred Astaire
/Ginger Rogers
musical The Gay Divorcee
, which proved a success.
The following year, he directed Top Hat
which is often thought the best of the Astaire/Rogers musicials. He continued working with the team on Follow the Fleet
(1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and Carefree
(1938). In 1940, Sandrich left RKO for Paramount
, which offered him a chance to be not only a director but as well as a producer. He made other several successful films in this capacity, including two with Jack Benny
, Buck Benny Rides Again and Love Thy Neighbor (both 1940), and the romantic comedy Skylark (1941), starring Claudette Colbert
and Ray Milland
. However, while all these were hits, it is Holiday Inn
in 1942 starring Fred Astaire
and Bing Crosby
, with music by Irving Berlin
, that is most remembered today, for it introduced the song "White Christmas
" performed by the crooner
Crosby which remained the biggest selling popular song for fifty-two years. So Proudly We Hail!
was a Sandrich-produced and directed adaptation of the hit play. It was extremely popular and successful, and featured a pair of performers – Adrian Booth and George Reeves
- whom Sandrich had intended to bring to stardom after the war.
In 1945, while in pre-production on a follow up to Holiday Inn called Blue Skies
, starring Bing Crosby and featuring Irving Berlin's music, and serving as president of the Directors Guild
, Sandrich died suddenly, of heart failure. He was at this time one of the most trusted and influential directors in Hollywood, respected by his colleagues and the studio management. His interment was located at Home of Peace Cemetery
.
His sons Mark Sandrich Jr. and Jay Sandrich
have gone onto successful careers as directors.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director, writer and producer.
Sandrich was an engineering student at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
when he began in the film business by accident. While visiting a friend on a film set, he saw that the director had a problem in setting up a shot; Sandrich offered his advice. It worked. He then entered into the movies in the prop department, and became a director specializing in several comedy shorts in 1927. He then made his first feature the next year, but returned to shorts after sound arrival. In 1933 he directed the Academy Award-winning short, So This Is Harris!
So This Is Harris!
So This Is Harris! is a 1933 short comedy film directed by Mark Sandrich. It won an Academy Award in 1934 for Best Short Subject .-Cast:* Phil Harris as Himself* Walter Catlett as Walter Catlett* Helen Collins as Dorothy...
. He later returned to feature films, most notably comedies, starring the team of Bert Wheeler
Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a famous American film comedy team of the 1930s....
and Robert Woolsey
Robert Woolsey
Robert Woolsey was an American stage and screen comedian and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey....
in Hips, Hips, Hooray!
Hips, Hips, Hooray!
Hips, Hips, Hooray! is a 1934 slapstick comedy film starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Ruth Etting, Thelma Todd, and Dorothy Lee. During its initial theatrical run, it was preceded by the two-color Technicolor short Not Tonight, Josephine directed by Edward F. Cline.-Plot:Todd stars as Amelia...
. In 1934, Sandrich soon gained his first directorial assignment with the Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
/Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
musical The Gay Divorcee
The Gay Divorcee
The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American film based on the musical play Gay Divorce written by Dwight Taylor, Kenneth S. Webb, Samuel Hoffenstein, with screenplay by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost and Edward Kaufman, from an unproduced play by J. Hartley Manners...
, which proved a success.
The following year, he directed Top Hat
Top Hat
Top Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection...
which is often thought the best of the Astaire/Rogers musicials. He continued working with the team on Follow the Fleet
Follow the Fleet
Follow the Fleet is a 1936 Hollywood musical comedy film with a nautical theme and stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Lucille Ball and Betty Grable also appear, in small supporting roles...
(1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and Carefree
Carefree (film)
Carefree is a 1938 musical film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. With a plot similar to screwball comedies of the period, Carefree is the shortest of the Astaire-Rogers films, featuring only four musical numbers...
(1938). In 1940, Sandrich left RKO for Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, which offered him a chance to be not only a director but as well as a producer. He made other several successful films in this capacity, including two with Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, Buck Benny Rides Again and Love Thy Neighbor (both 1940), and the romantic comedy Skylark (1941), starring Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
and Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
. However, while all these were hits, it is Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn (film)
Holiday Inn is a 1942 American musical film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, with music by Irving Berlin. The film has twelve songs written expressly for the film, the most notable being "White Christmas"...
in 1942 starring Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, with music by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, that is most remembered today, for it introduced the song "White Christmas
White Christmas (song)
"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.Accounts vary as...
" performed by the crooner
Crooner
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of pop standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use...
Crosby which remained the biggest selling popular song for fifty-two years. So Proudly We Hail!
So Proudly We Hail!
So Proudly We Hail! is a 1943 film directed by Mark Sandrich, and starring Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard – who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance – and Veronica Lake...
was a Sandrich-produced and directed adaptation of the hit play. It was extremely popular and successful, and featured a pair of performers – Adrian Booth and George Reeves
George Reeves
George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
- whom Sandrich had intended to bring to stardom after the war.
In 1945, while in pre-production on a follow up to Holiday Inn called Blue Skies
Blue Skies (film)
Blue Skies is a 1946 Hollywood musical Technicolor comedy film, released by Paramount Pictures and starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Joan Caulfield, Olga San Juan and Billy De Wolfe, with music, lyrics and story by Irving Berlin; most of the songs were recycled from earlier works. The film was...
, starring Bing Crosby and featuring Irving Berlin's music, and serving as president of the Directors Guild
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
, Sandrich died suddenly, of heart failure. He was at this time one of the most trusted and influential directors in Hollywood, respected by his colleagues and the studio management. His interment was located at Home of Peace Cemetery
Home of Peace Cemetery
The Home of Peace Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located at 4334 Whittier Boulevard west of Interstate 710 in East Los Angeles, California.The cemetery is located across from Calvary Catholic Cemetery and next to Beth Israel Cemetery and Mount Zion Cemetery .There are a number of famous rabbis...
.
His sons Mark Sandrich Jr. and Jay Sandrich
Jay Sandrich
Jay Henry Sandrich is an American television director.He began his career as an Assistant Director on I Love Lucy. Sandrich has directed and/or produced episodes of The Bill Dana Show, Get Smart, 2/3 of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Soap, first 3 seasons of The Cosby Show, and The Odd Couple...
have gone onto successful careers as directors.