Irving Pichel (June 24, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was an American actor and film director, who won acclaim both as an actor and director in his Hollywood career.

Career

Pichel was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in Pittsburgh. He attended Pittsburgh Central High School with

George S. Kaufman George Simon Kaufman (November 16, 1889June 2, 1961) was an American playwright, theater director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and other ...

. The two collaborated on a play, ''The Failure''. Pichel graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in 1914 and went immediately into the theater. Pichel's first work in

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

was as a

technical director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. This person usually has the highest level of skill within a specific technical f ...

for the theater of the San Francisco

Bohemian Club The Bohemian Club is a private club with two locations: a city clubhouse in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco, California and the Bohemian Grove, a retreat north of the city in Sonoma County. Founded in 1872 from a regular meeting of journ ...

; he also helped with the annual summer pageant, held at the elite

Bohemian Grove Bohemian Grove is a restricted 2,700-acre (1,100 ha) campground at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, United States, belonging to a private San Francisco–based gentlemen's club known as the Bohemian Club. In mid-July each year, ...

, in which up to 300 of its wealthy, influential members from finance and government participate. With this expertise, he was also hired by Wallace Rice as the main narrator in Rice's ambitious pageant play, ''Primavera, the Masque of Santa Barbara'' in 1920. He founded the Berkeley Playhouse in 1923 and served as its director until 1926.

Actor

Pichel moved to Los Angeles where he studied acting at the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

. It was there that Pichel achieved considerable acclaim as the title character in the landmark

production of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earli ...

's play ''

Lazarus Laughed ''Lazarus Laughed'' is a play by Eugene O'Neill written in 1925. Its sub-title was ''A Play for Imaginative Theatre''. It is a long theo-philosophical meditation with more than a hundred actors making up a masked chorus. In theatrical format, ''Laz ...

'' in 1927. Two years later, when the studios were hiring any theater-trained actors suitable for talkies, he was signed to a contract with Paramount. Pichel worked steadily as a character actor throughout the 1930s, including the early version of the

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

novel, '' An American Tragedy'' (1931), ''

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...

'' (1932), in a low budget version of ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'' (1933) as Fagin, in ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

'' (1934), alongside

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Vanity Fair'' and was one o ...

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

's '' British Agent'' (1934), as the servant Sandor in '' Dracula’s Daughter'' (1936), in the

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...

film ''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

'' (1938), as the proprietor of a seedy roadhouse in the once scandalous '' The Story of Temple Drake'' (1933) and as a Mexican general in '' Juarez'' (1939). Pichel also performed on radio, played small parts in several of the films that he later directed, often without credit, and was the narrator in the

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

films ''

How Green Was My Valley ''How Green Was My Valley'' is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, narrated by Huw Morgan, the main character, about his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own persona ...

'' (1941) and the Western, ''

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'' is a 1949 American Technicolor Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. It is the second film in Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", along with '' Fort Apache'' (1948) and '' Rio Grande'' (1950). With a b ...

'' (1949).

Director

Pichel was a friend of the screenwriter George S. Kaufman and joined the circle of those witty and iconoclastic friends who had abandoned the

Algonquin Round Table The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel ...

in New York to make small fortunes in the talkies. Pichel was soon drawn to directing and his character acting dropped off after 1939. He co-directed several B-movies until he signed with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American 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 of Walt Disn ...

in 1939 and began directing their established stars. Much of his directing work was in anti-Nazi and pro-British-themed films in the years before the United States entered the war. '' The Man I Married'' (1940), for example, starring

Joan Bennett Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...

Francis Lederer Francis Lederer (November 6, 1899 Prague – May 25, 2000) was an Austro-Hungarian Empire-born American film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States. His original name was Franz (Czech František) Le ...

, and

Otto Kruger Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor, originally a Broadway matinee idol, who established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as Hitchcock's ''Saboteur''. He also appeared in CBS's ''Perry Mason'' a ...

, centers on an American wife slowly discovering her German husband is a Nazi, and incorporated 1938 newsreel footage of the rise of Nazism. '' Hudson’s Bay'' (1941) was a highly pro-British, much-fictionalized historical adventure of the British founding of Canada with

Paul Muni Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund; September 22, 1895– August 25, 1967) was an American stage and film actor who grew up in Chicago. Muni was a five-time Academy Award nominee, with one win. He started his acting career in ...

and Gene Tierney. ''

The Pied Piper The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back t ...

'' (1942) recounts the story of an aged Englishman trying to get five children out of Nazi-occupied France.

Monty Woolley Edgar Montilion "Monty" Woolley (August 17, 1888May 6, 1963) was an American film and theater actor.Obituary '' Variety'', May 8, 1963, page 223. At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his role in the 1939 stage play '' The Man ...

played the lead role, and

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

, himself a refugee from occupied Austria, plays a Nazi commandant. The film, with a Nunnally Johnson screenplay, was highly praised and also nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and for best black-and-white cinematography by Edward Crongjager. "For the most part," wrote

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "Irving Pichel, the director, has muted the frightfulness of war and shown it through suggestion instead of displaying it realistically in all its horror...Few films have come out of this war that are as bright, touching and suspenseful as ''The Pied Piper''." ''

The Moon Is Down ''The Moon Is Down'' is a novel by American writer John Steinbeck. Fashioned for adaptation for the theatre and for which Steinbeck received the Norwegian King Haakon VII Freedom Cross, it was published by Viking Press in March 1942. The story ...

'' (1943) was an adaptation of

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

’s novel. The book was based on the Nazi invasion of neutral Norway in 1940, published in March, 1942 and subsequently translated into French and distributed in Europe as an inspiration for local resistance to Nazi occupation. In both film and novel, a small Norwegian village gradually discovers how to organize resistance to Nazi invaders; the film stars Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Henry Travers and also marked

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

’s debut as a child actress (though she was uncredited), whom Pichel had discovered. With a screenplay by future blacklisted writer, Nunnally Johnson, this was named as one of the top ten films of the year by the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

. It played in Sweden in November of 1944. Pichel also directed

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...

in '' O.S.S.'' (1944), written and produced by the later James Bond screenwriter, Richard Maibaum, and featuring an introduction by

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

(O.S.S.) founder, Wild Bill Donovan. The film showed Ladd finding love in occupied France under the auspices of the nascent O.S.S., which was the precursor to the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. Bosley Crowther of ''The New York Times'' termed it "tense, tightly written and swiftly paced," and credited the film as the very first on the O.S.S. Several more war-themed films followed, including the sentimental '' A Medal for Benny'' (1945) which led to J. Carrol Naish gaining a Best Supporting Actor nomination. "

Tomorrow Is Forever ''Tomorrow Is Forever'' is a 1946 black-and-white romance film directed by Irving Pichel, and starring Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles and George Brent. It was also the film debut of Richard Long and Natalie Wood. It was distributed by RKO ...

," (1946) starred

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

as an American soldier who is presumed killed in WW1 only to return to America and Claudette Colbert as his wife who remarries; Natalie Wood, in her first credited role, plays an Austrian child with a German accent. '' Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid'' (1948), another film from a Nunnally Johnson script in which a married man, played by William Powell, accidentally catches a mermaid on his fishing line. Made about the same time was ''

The Miracle of the Bells ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (also 1948), a big budget film which failed at the box office about an impoverished coal town with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

miscast as a priest. "St. Michael ought to sue", wrote the reviewer in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine. Despite his patriotic war oeuvre, Pichel soon came under scrutiny by the House Committee on Un-American Activities, cofounded and steered by Mississippi Congressman John E. Rankin who routinely and specifically attacked Jews in the Congressional Record and had bitterly resisted America entering World War II. Like many of those who came under HUAC investigation by the late 1940s, Pichel moved into

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

, in ''

They Won't Believe Me ''They Won't Believe Me'' is a 1947 black-and-white film noir directed by Irving Pichel and starring Robert Young, Susan Hayward and Jane Greer. It was produced by Alfred Hitchcock's longtime assistant and collaborator, Joan Harrison. Plot Af ...

'' (1947). Here, Pichel had the benefit of longtime Hitchcock collaborator and screenwriter, Joan Harrison, as his producer, who would go on to produce the television series

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...

, Jane Greer, and Robert Young starred, with the added skills of cinematographer Harry J. Wild, who worked on such key film noirs as ''

Murder My Sweet ''Murder, My Sweet'' (released as ''Farewell, My Lovely'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1944 American film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley (in her final film before retirement). The film ...

'' (1944) and '' Johnny Angel'' (1945). The low-budget, black-and-white '' Quicksand'' (1950) featured one of

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

's finest performances as a desperate good kid going bad, and emigre

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

as an unforgiving arcade operator. Rooney and Peter Lorre put their own money together to finance it, and thus gave Pichel, the blacklist already looming over him, one of his last Hollywood films. Striking out in another nascent genre, Pichel pioneered scientific authenticity in an early

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

science fiction film '' Destination Moon'' (1950), produced by

George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...

. It won the Oscar for Special Visual Effects, for effects director, Lee Zavitz. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, for Ernst Fegte and

George Sawley George Sawley (June 18, 1904 – April 26, 1967) was an American set decorator and art director. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He was born in Kansas and died in Los Angeles, California. Award ...

. At the 1st Berlin International Film Festival it won the Bronze Berlin Bear Award, for "Thrillers and Adventure Films." Pichel chose as collaborators Robert A. Heinlein, who did uncredited work on the script, and astronomical illustrator

Chesley Bonestell Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. (January 1, 1888 – June 11, 1986) was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been (and remain) influential in science fiction art and illustr ...

, who contributed the painted lunar backdrops. Pichel's last Hollywood film was for

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

in an unexceptional, though profitable, Columbia western, '' Santa Fe'' (1951), but his Hollywood career ground to a halt in the face of the blacklist. His last films as a director were independent European productions: ''

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

'' (1953), funded by the Lutheran Church, in one of its rare forays into film production, and
Day of Triumph
' (1954), about the life of Christ. Shot on location in Wiesbaden, Germany, ''Martin Luther'' was nominated for Oscars for both its black-and-white cinematography by Joseph C. Brun, and its art direction and set design recreating the early 1500s by Fritz Maurischat and Paul Markwitz. It was named as fourth in the top ten films of the year by the National Board of Review. Pichel, a lifelong Christian Socialist, died one week after ''Day of Triumph'' was completed and before the premiere.

Blacklist

In 1947, Pichel was one of 19 members of the Hollywood community who were subpoenaed by the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, create ...

during the United States' second

Red Scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...

. This group became known as the "Hollywood Nineteen" and the "Unfriendly Nineteen" because they refused to name suspected Communist agents to the Committee. Though it was not clear that Pichel had ever been a Communist, the committee assumed he had communist sympathies because he had directed the anti-Nazi film, ''The Man I Married'' (1940), and investigated him as a case of "premature antifascism." Pichel was cleared, but soon after developed a chronic heart condition which was treated until his death in 1954. While Pichel was ultimately not called to testify, he was

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

, forcing him eventually to leave the United States in order to direct his final pictures. Pichel's friend Joseph C. Youngerman, a prop handler and assistant director in Hollywood, later confirmed that Pichel had in fact been a member of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

Personal life

Irving Pichel married Violette Wilson, daughter of Jackson Stitt Wilson, a Methodist minister and Socialist mayor of

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

. Her sister was actress

Viola Barry Viola Barry ( – April 2, 1964) was an American silent film actress who starred in a number of films during the 1910s. Early years Gladys Viola Wilson was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Rev. J. Stitt Wilson, a Methodist minister. ...

. Irving and Violette had three sons: Julian Irving Pichel, Marlowe Agnew Pichel, and Pichel Wilson Pichel.

Posthumous awards

A special 1951 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation was retroactively awarded by the 59th World Science Fiction Convention 50 years later, in 2001, to Destination Moon for being one of the science fiction films eligible during calendar year 1950. (50 years, 75 years, or 100 years prior is the eligibility requirement governing the awarding of Retro Hugos.) The film was also nominated for AFI's Top 10 Science Fiction Films list. ''Martin Luther'' was given a special 50th anniversary re-release on DVD by Gateway Films, including a book that is a biography of the film itself.

Filmography

Actor

* '' The Right to Love'' (1930) as Caleb Evans (film debut) * ''

Murder by the Clock ''Murder by the Clock'' is a 1931 American pre-Code murder mystery film starring William "Stage" Boyd and Lilyan Tashman. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Rufus King and the play ''Dangerously Yours'' by Charles Beahan. Plot ...

'' (1931) as Philip Endicott * '' An American Tragedy'' (1931) as District Attorney Orville Mason * '' The Road to Reno'' (1931) as Robert Millet * '' The Cheat'' (1931) as Hardy Livingstone * '' Two Kinds of Women'' (1932) as Senator Krull * '' The Miracle Man'' (1932) as Henry Holmes * '' Forgotten Commandments'' (1932) as Prof. Marinoff * ''

Westward Passage ''Westward Passage'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Robert Milton and starring Ann Harding, Laurence Olivier, ZaSu Pitts and Irving Pichel. The screenplay concerns a woman who falls in love and marries, but soon discovers ho ...

'' (1932) as Harry Ottendorf * ''

The Painted Woman ''The Painted Woman'' is a 1932 American pre-Code thriller film starring Spencer Tracy, Peggy Shannon and Irving Pichel and directed by John G. Blystone. Plot After becoming involved in a killing, Kiddo gets on board Boyton's ship. When he l ...

'' (1932) as Robert Dunn, Lawyer * '' Strange Justice'' (1932) as Waters * '' Wild Girl'' (1932) as Rufe Waters * ''

'' (1932) as Yomadori * '' The Billion Dollar Scandal'' (1933) as Albert Griswold * '' The Mysterious Rider'' (1933) as Cliff Harkness * ''

The Woman Accused ''The Woman Accused'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Paul Sloane and starring Nancy Carroll and Cary Grant as a young engaged couple on a sea cruise, with the woman being implicated in the death of her former lover. The sup ...

'' (1933) as District Attorney Clark * ''

'' (1933) as Fagin * '' King of the Jungle'' (1933) as Corey * '' The Story of Temple Drake'' (1933) as Lee Goodwin * ''

I'm No Angel ''I'm No Angel'' is a 1933 pre-Code film directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Mae West and Cary Grant. West received sole story and screenplay credit. It is one of her films that was not subjected to heavy censorship. Plot Tira (Mae West ...

'' (1933) as Bob – Clayton's Attorney (uncredited) * '' The Right to Romance'' (1933) as Dr. Beck * '' Fog Over Frisco'' (1934) as Jake Bello * ''

Return of the Terror ''Return of the Terror'' is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Howard Bretherton and written by Peter Milne and Eugene Solow. The film stars Mary Astor, Lyle Talbot, John Halliday, and Frank McHugh, and features Robert Barrat and Irving P ...

'' (1934) as Daniel Burke * '' British Agent'' (1934) as Sergei Pavlov * ''

'' (1934) as Apollodorus * '' I Am a Thief'' (1934) as Count Trentini * '' The Silver Streak'' (1934) as Captain Herman Bronte * '' Special Agent'' (1935) as U.S. District Attorney * ''

Three Kids and a Queen ''Three Kids and a Queen'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by Edward Ludwig, written by Samuel Ornitz and Barry Trivers, and starring May Robson, Henry Armetta, Herman Bing, Frankie Darro, Bill Burrud and William "Billy" Benedict. ...

'' (1935) as Kraft * ''

Don't Gamble with Love ''Don't Gamble with Love'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by Dudley Murphy and starring Ann Sothern, Bruce Cabot and Irving Pichel.Delson p.158 Partial cast * Ann Sothern as Ann Edwards * Bruce Cabot as Jerry Edwards * Irving Pichel a ...

'' (1936) as Rick Collins * '' The House of a Thousand Candles'' (1936) as Anton Sebastian * ''

Special Agent K-7 ''Special Agent K-7'' is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Raymond K. Johnson and starring Walter McGrail, Queenie Smith and Irving Pichel. It was based on the radio series of the same title. Synopsis FBI Special Agent K-7 Vince Landers ( ...

'' (1936) as Lester Owens * '' Dracula's Daughter'' (1936) as Sandor * '' Hearts in Bondage'' (1936) as Secretary of War Sumner Gideon Welles * ''

Down to the Sea ''Down to the Sea'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by Lewis D. Collins and written by Robert Lee Johnson and Wellyn Totman. The film stars Russell Hardie, Ben Lyon, Ann Rutherford, Irving Pichel, Fritz Leiber and Vince Barnett. The film ...

'' (1936) as Alex Fotakis * '' General Spanky'' (1936) as Simmons * '' Join the Marines'' (1937) as Colonel Leonard * ''

High, Wide, and Handsome ''High, Wide and Handsome'' is a 1937 American musical Western film starring Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, Alan Hale, Sr., Charles Bickford and Dorothy Lamour. The film was directed by Rouben Mamoulian and written by Oscar Hammerstein II and G ...

'' (1937) as Mr. Stark * '' The Sheik Steps Out'' (1937) * ''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

'' (1938) as Huger * '' There Goes My Heart'' (1938) as Mr. Gorman * ''

Newsboys' Home ''Newsboys' Home'' is a 1938 crime film that starred Jackie Cooper and '' The Little Tough Guys''. Plot When his father, a small town sheriff, is slain by a big city gangster, "Rifle" Edwards becomes a homeless vagabond, drifting from town to tow ...

'' (1938) as Tom Davenport * '' Topper Takes a Trip'' (1938) as Prosecutor * '' Juarez'' (1939) as Gen. Carbajal * '' Exile Express'' (1939) as Victor * ''

Dick Tracy's G-Men ''Dick Tracy's G-Men'' (1939) is a 15-Chapter Republic movie serial based on the ''Dick Tracy'' comic strip by Chester Gould. It was directed by William Witney and John English. This serial was the fifteenth of the sixty-six produced by Rep ...

'' (1939) as Nicolas Zarnoff * ''

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

'' (1939) as Rocco * ''

The Great Commandment ''The Great Commandment'' is a 1939 American Christian film directed by Irving Pichel, which portrays the conversion to Christianity of a young Zealot, Joel, and the Roman soldier Longinus through the teachings of Jesus in his Parable of the G ...

'' (1939) as Jesus Christ (voice, uncredited) * ''

Torture Ship ''Torture Ship'' is a 1939 American science fiction horror film directed by Victor Halperin, based on Jack London's 1899 short story " A Thousand Deaths". The film stars Lyle Talbot as a mad scientist who performs experiments regarding "the crimi ...

'' (1939) as Dr. Herbert Stander * ''

'' (1941) as adult Huw Morgan (the unseen narrator) * ''

'' (1943) as Peder, Inn Keeper (uncredited) * ''

December 7th Events Pre-1600 *43 BC – Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated in Formia on orders of Marcus Antonius. * 574 – Byzantine Emperor Justin II, suffering recurring seizures of insanity, adopts his general Tiberius and proclaims hi ...

'' (1943) as Narrator (voice, uncredited) * ''

'' (1946) as Radio Commentator (voice, uncredited) * ''

The Bride Wore Boots ''The Bride Wore Boots'' is a 1946 romantic comedy film with Barbara Stanwyck in the title role, playing opposite Robert Cummings. A very young Natalie Wood is seen in the film, directed by Irving Pichel. This was Stanwyck's last feature comedy ...

'' (1946) as Steeplechase Announcer (uncredited) * ''

'' (1947) as Courtroom Extra (uncredited) * ''

Something in the Wind ''Something in the Wind'' is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Deanna Durbin, Donald O'Connor, and John Dall. Durbin's third husband Charles David said she "hated" making her last three films and that she ...

'' (1947) as Dynamo Dan (voice, uncredited) * ''

'' (1949) as Narrator (voice, uncredited) * '' The Great Rupert'' (1950) as Puzzled Pedestrian (uncredited) * '' Quicksand'' (1950) as Radio Announcer (voice, uncredited) * '' Destination Moon'' (1950) as Off Screen Narrator of Woody Woodpecker Cartoon (uncredited) * '' Santa Fe'' (1951) as Harned * ''

'' (1953) as Brueck

Director

* ''

The Most Dangerous Game "The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell, first published in ''Collier's'' on January 19, 1924, with illustrations by Wilmot Emerton Heitland. The story features a big-game hunter ...

'' (1932) (directorial debut) * '' Before Dawn'' (1933) * ''

She She most commonly refers to: *She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English. She or S.H.E. may also refer to: Literature and films *'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...

'' (1935) * ''

The Gentleman from Louisiana ''The Gentleman from Louisiana'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by Irving Pichel and written by Joseph Fields and Gordon Rigby. The film stars Eddie Quillan, Charles "Chic" Sale, Charlotte Henry, John Miljan, Marjorie Gateson and Pierre ...

'' (1936) * '' The Duke Comes Back'' (1937) * '' The Sheik Steps Out'' (1937) * '' Beware of Ladies'' (1937) * ''

Larceny on the Air ''Larceny on the Air'' is a 1937 American thriller film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Robert Livingston, Grace Bradley and Willard Robertson. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures. Plot summary Dr. Lawrence Baxter run ...

'' (1937) * ''

'' (1939) * ''

Earthbound ''EarthBound'', released in Japan as is a role-playing video game developed by Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The second entry in the ''Mother'' series, it was first releas ...

'' (1940) * '' The Man I Married'' (1940) * '' Hudson's Bay'' (1941) * ''

Dance Hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and cities in ...

'' (1941) * ''

Secret Agent of Japan ''Secret Agent of Japan'' is a 1942 film directed by Irving Pichel. It was the first American anti-Japanese war film produced by a major studio after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The film stars Preston Foster as a nightclub owner in Shanghai who b ...

'' (1942) * ''

'' (1942) * '' Life Begins at Eight-Thirty'' (1942) * ''

'' (1943) * '' Happy Land'' (1943) * '' And Now Tomorrow'' (1944) * '' A Medal for Benny'' (1945) * ''

Colonel Effingham's Raid ''Colonel Effingham's Raid'' (UK title: ''Man of the Hour'') is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Irving Pichel. It is also known as ''Berry Fleming's Colonel Effingham's Raid'', ''Everything's Peaches Down in Georgia'' and ''Rebel Yell''. ...

'' (1946) * ''

'' (1946) * '' O.S.S.'' (1946) * ''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

'' (1946) * ''

'' (1947) * ''

'' (1948) * '' Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid'' (1948) * '' Without Honor'' (1949) * '' The Great Rupert'' (1950) * '' Quicksand'' (1950) * '' Destination Moon'' (1950) * '' Santa Fe'' (1951) * ''

'' (1953) * ''

Day of Triumph ''Day of Triumph'' is a 1954 American drama film directed by Irving Pichel and John T. Coyle, from a screenplay by Arthur T. Horman. The film stars Lee J. Cobb, Robert Wilson, James Griffith, and Joanne Dru. This was the last film directed by I ...

'' (1954) (final film)

Notes

References

* Buhle, Paul and Dave Wagner (2002). ''A Very Dangerous Citizen: Abraham Lincoln Polonsky and the Hollywood Left''. University of California Press. . * McBride, Joseph (2003). ''Searching for John Ford: A Life''. Macmillan. . * Pells, Richard H. (1989). ''The Liberal Mind in a Conservative Age: American Intellectuals in the 1940s and 1950s''. Wesleyan University Press. .

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pichel, Irving 1891 births 1954 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male actors American Christian socialists American film directors American male film actors Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California) Harvard University alumni Hollywood blacklist Jewish American male actors Male actors from Pittsburgh Members of the Communist Party USA