Walter Lang (August 10, 1896 – February 7, 1972) was an American film director.

Early life

Walter Lang was born in Tennessee. As a young man he went to New York City where he found clerical work at a

film production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and vi ...

. The business piqued his artistic instincts and he began learning the various facets of filmmaking and eventually worked as an assistant director. However, Lang also had ambitions to be a painter and left the United States for a time to join the great gathering of artists and writers in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France. Things did not work out as Lang hoped and he eventually returned home and to the film business.

Career

In 1925, Walter Lang directed his first

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

, '' The Red Kimono''. In the mid-1930s, he was hired by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

where, as a director, he "painted" a number of the spectacular colorful musicals for which Fox Studios became famous for producing during the 1940s. One of Lang's most recognized films is the lavish adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the child ...

'' (1956) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Directing. and his star, Yul Brynner, won the Oscar for Best Actor in a role he immortalized. Another is '' State Fair'', also a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, which was shown to WW2 servicemen around the world in the last months of the war. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Walter Lang has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

at 6520 Hollywood Blvd.

Personal life

Lang was married to Madalynne Field (1907–1974) from 1937 until his death. Field, a former actress, had met and befriended Carole Lombard when they were employed as Sennett Bathing Beauties in the late 1920s. Field's film career ended with the demise of Sennett's studio. However, she maintained her friendship with Lombard, and acted as Lombard's secretary until her marriage. She met Lang when he directed Lombard in ''Love Before Breakfast'' (1936). Lang was buried in the Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood, California.

Filmography

* '' The Red Kimono'' (1925) * ''

The Earth Woman ''The Earth Woman'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Walter Lang. A print of this film was located in April 2021 in a film archive. Cast * Mary Alden as Martha Tilden (The Earth Woman) * Priscilla Bonner as Sally * Russell Sim ...

'' (1926) * '' The Golden Web'' (1926) * '' Money to Burn'' (1926) * '' The Ladybird'' (1927) * '' The Satin Woman'' (1927) * '' Sally in Our Alley'' (1927) * '' By Whose Hand?'' (1927) * ''

The College Hero ''The College Hero'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Walter Lang. This is a surviving title contrary to some reports, as it is on video. Plot Football player Bob Cantfield enrolls at Carver College, is assigned Jim Halloran a ...

'' (1927) * '' The Night Flyer'' (1928) * ''Alice Through a Looking Glass'' (1928) * '' The Desert Bride'' (1928) * '' The Spirit of Youth'' (1929) * ''

Hello Sister Hello Sister may refer to: * ''Hello Sister'' (1930 film), a film by Walter Lang * ''Hello, Sister!'' (1933 film), a film produced by Fox Film Corporation {{disambiguation ...

'' (1930) * '' Cock o' the Walk'' (1930) * '' The Big Fight'' (1930) * '' The Costello Case'' (1930) * '' Brothers'' (1930) * '' Command Performance'' (1931) * '' Hell Bound'' (1931) * '' Women Go on Forever'' (1931) * '' No More Orchids'' (1932) * '' The Warrior's Husband'' (1933) * '' Meet the Baron'' (1933) * '' Whom the Gods Destroy'' (1934) * '' The Party's Over'' (1934) * '' The Mighty Barnum'' (1934) * ''

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ...

'' (1935) * '' Hooray for Love'' (1935) * '' Love Before Breakfast'' (1936) * '' Top of the Town'' (1937) * '' Wife, Doctor and Nurse'' (1937) * ''

Second Honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase ...

'' (1937) * '' The Baroness and the Butler'' (1938) * '' I'll Give a Million'' (1938) * '' The Little Princess'' (1939) * '' Susannah of the Mounties'' (1939) * '' The Blue Bird'' (1940) * ''

Star Dust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

'' (1940) * ''

The Great Profile ''The Great Profile'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring John Barrymore, Mary Beth Hughes, Gregory Ratoff and John Payne. Synopsis Barrymore lampoons himself. A famous actor, given to drink, nearly destroys the s ...

'' (1940) * '' Tin Pan Alley'' (1940) * '' Moon Over Miami'' (1941) * '' Week-End in Havana'' (1941) * '' Song of the Islands'' (1942) * '' The Magnificent Dope'' (1942) * ''

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to th ...

'' (1943) * ''

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

'' (1944) * '' State Fair'' (1945) * '' Claudia and David'' (1946) * '' Sentimental Journey'' (1946) * '' Mother Wore Tights'' (1947) * '' Sitting Pretty'' (1948) * '' When My Baby Smiles at Me'' (1948) * '' You're My Everything'' (1949) * '' Cheaper by the Dozen'' (1950) * '' The Jackpot'' (1950) * '' On the Riviera'' (1951) * '' With a Song in My Heart'' (1952) * '' Call Me Madam'' (1953) * '' There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954) * ''

'' (1956) * '' Desk Set'' (1957) * '' But Not for Me'' (1959) * '' Can-Can'' (1960) * '' The Marriage-Go-Round'' (1961) * '' Snow White and the Three Stooges'' (1961)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Walter 1896 births 1972 deaths 20th Century Studios people People from Memphis, Tennessee Deaths from kidney failure Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Film directors from Tennessee