Roland West
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Roland West (February 20, 1885 – March 31, 1952) was an American film director, known for his innovative proto-
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
movies of the 1920s and early 1930s. He is however best known for his possible involvement in the death of Hollywood actress
Thelma Todd Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, she ...
in 1935.


Biography

Born Roland Van Zimmer to a theatrical family in Cleveland, Ohio, he began acting in
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
productions as a teenager. By his early 20s, he was writing and directing vaudeville productions. Shortly afterward, he began directing films such as '' The Monster'' (1925) with
Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often gr ...
; '' The Bat'' (1926), based on the novel by
Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fi ...
(dramatized on stage by Rinehart and
Avery Hopwood James Avery Hopwood (May 28, 1882 – July 1, 1928) was an American playwright of the Jazz Age. He had four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920, namely "The Gold Diggers," "The Bat" and "Spanish Love" and "Ladies' Night (In a ...
); ''
Alibi An alibi (, from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person under suspicion in a crime that they were in a different place when the offence was committed. During a police investigation, all suspects are usually a ...
'' (1929), for which he nominated for
Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...
; ''
The Bat Whispers ''The Bat Whispers'' is a 1930 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Roland West, produced by Joseph M. Schenck, and released by United Artists. The film is based on the 1920 mystery play '' The Bat'', written by Mary Roberts Rinehart ...
'' (1930) (also based on the Rinehart novel and play); and '' Corsair'' (1931). So established was West by 1930 that ''The Bat Whispers'' was billed on posters as ''Roland West's The Bat Whispers''. However, he made only one more film in his career. Roland West's first wife was actress
Jewel Carmen Jewel Carmen (born Florence Lavina Quick; July 13, 1897 – March 4, 1984) was an American silent film actress who appeared in over 30 films, primarily in the late 1910s. In addition to her film career, she was involved in several scandals ...
, although the two became estranged, and West began a longtime affair with actress
Thelma Todd Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, she ...
. Following Todd's death in 1935 and his divorce from Carmen in 1938, he married actress
Lola Lane Lola Lane (born Dorothy Mullican; May 21, 1906 – June 22, 1981) was an American actress and one of the Lane Sisters with her sisters Leota, Rosemary, and Priscilla Lane. She appeared on Broadway and in films from the 1920s to 1940s. Early y ...
sometime after June 25, 1946 and remained married to her until his death in 1952. Following Todd's death and his divorce, West rarely worked and withdrew into virtual seclusion. In the early 1950s, his health began to decline, and he suffered a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
and a
nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
. He died in Santa Monica, California, in 1952, aged 67. The third season of TV show ''True Detective'' features a character named Roland West, speculated to be a tribute to the director.


Death of Thelma Todd

West has long been considered a murder suspect in many conspiracy theories due to the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of his mistress, actress
Thelma Todd Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, she ...
. Todd and West began their affair shortly after meeting on a yachting excursion to Catalina Island in 1930. The two became business partners and moved in next door to each other at 17575 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, California. Their relationship was described as volatile, and West was described as being controlling and possessive. In December 1935, Todd was found dead in her car which was inside the garage of Jewel Carmen, Roland West's wife, who lived on the Todd estate near where West and Todd resided. An autopsy concluded that she died of accidental
carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...
caused by the exhaust of her car. Some conspiracy buffs have suggested that Todd was murdered by West aboard his yacht, the '' Joyita''. This theory states that he then planted her body in her garage to be found later and staged the scene to resemble an accident. The ''Joyita'' gained further notoriety in 1955 when its entire complement of 25 passengers and crew went missing in the South Pacific. No evidence concerning allegations against West has surfaced, and neither he nor anybody else was charged with any crime surrounding Todd’s death, although he was asked to testify for a grand jury investigation into the death.(According to the Internet Movie Database, West gave a deathbed confession in 1952 to actor
Chester Morris John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Alibi'' ( ...
implicating himself in Todd's death, but the confession never was confirmed independently.)
However, the bad publicity surrounding his alleged involvement in Thelma Todd's death hurt his reputation and largely overshadowed his film work.


Filmography

* ''A Woman's Honor'' (1916) * ''Lost Souls'' (1916) * '' The Siren'' (1917) *''
De Luxe Annie ''De Luxe Annie'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Roland West and starring Norma Talmadge, Eugene O'Brien, and Frank Mills.
'' (1918) * '' The Silver Lining'' (1921) * ''
Nobody Nobody most often refers to: * Nobody, an indefinite pronoun Nobody may also refer to: Fictional characters * Nobody (''Kingdom Hearts''), a race of beings in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series *Nobody, a character in the Jim Jarmusch fi ...
'' (1921) *'' The Unknown Purple'' (1923) *''
Driftwood Driftwood is a wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. It is part of beach wrack. In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides ...
'' (1924) * '' The Monster'' (1925) * '' The Bat'' (1926) * '' The Dove'' (1927) * ''
Alibi An alibi (, from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person under suspicion in a crime that they were in a different place when the offence was committed. During a police investigation, all suspects are usually a ...
'' (1929) * ''
The Bat Whispers ''The Bat Whispers'' is a 1930 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Roland West, produced by Joseph M. Schenck, and released by United Artists. The film is based on the 1920 mystery play '' The Bat'', written by Mary Roberts Rinehart ...
'' (1930) * '' Corsair'' (1931)


References


Sources

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Roland Film directors from Ohio American vaudeville performers Artists from Cleveland 1885 births 1952 deaths Male actors from Cleveland Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)