Irving Rapper (16 January 1898 – 20 December 1999) was a British-born American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

Biography

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 ...

familyJewish Post (Indianapolis): "Our Film Folks of Hollywood" by Leon Gutterman, ''Such a genius is slight, modest, dark-eyed Director Irving Kapper, the Jewish 'wonder man' at Warner Bros. studio.''" (12 October 1945)
, newspapers.library.in.gov. Accessed 29 March 2022. in London, Rapper emigrated to the United States and became an actor and a stage director on Broadway while studying at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. In 1936, he went to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, where he was hired by Warner Bros. as an assistant director and dialogue coach. He proved invaluable in translating and mediating for non-native English-speaking directors. He made his directing debut with the 1941 film ''

Shining Victory ''Shining Victory'' is a 1941 American drama film based on the 1940 play '' Jupiter Laughs,'' by A. J. Cronin. It stars James Stephenson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, and Barbara O'Neil. It is the first film directed by Irving Rapper. ...

'', in which his friend

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 ...

appeared as a show of support for him. He would go on to direct her in four more films, ''

Now, Voyager ''Now, Voyager'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty. Prouty ...

'' (1942), ''

The Corn Is Green ''The Corn Is Green'' is a 1938 semi-autobiographical play by Welsh dramatist and actor Emlyn Williams. The play premiered in London at the Duchess Theatre in September 1938; with Sybil Thorndike as Miss Moffat and Williams himself portraying Mo ...

'' (1945), ''

Deception Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...

'' (1946), and ''

Another Man's Poison ''Another Man's Poison'' is a 1951 British drama film directed by Irving Rapper and starring Bette Davis, Gary Merrill and Emlyn Williams. The screenplay by Val Guest is based on the play ''Deadlock'' by Leslie Sands. Plot Successful mystery no ...

'' (1952). In later years, Rapper admitted that he found Davis very difficult to work with and that she would, "...hold the whole set hostage, stopping production for a day, because of her mood." Rapper's film ''

One Foot in Heaven ''One Foot in Heaven'' is a 1941 American biographical film starring Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi, Gene Lockhart and Elisabeth Fraser. The film was adapted by Casey Robinson from the autobiography by Hartzell Spence. It was directed ...

'' (1941) was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards 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 and is the only categ ...

. Perhaps his best film in a studio other than Warner Bros. was '' The Brave One'' (1956) about a Mexican boy who must rescue his bull from a brutal fight against a top matador, which earned the then-blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo an Oscar for his original screenplay, despite being a box office failure. Additional credits include '' The Voice of the Turtle'' (1947), ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'' (1950), '' Marjorie Morningstar'' (1958), and '' The Miracle'', a 1959

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...

of the 1912 hand-colored, black-and-white film '' The Miracle''. Biopics directed by Rapper include: '' The Adventures of Mark Twain'' (1944), '' Rhapsody in Blue'' (1945), ''

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

'' (co-director, 1962), '' The Christine Jorgensen Story'' (1970), and his last film, ''

Born Again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and se ...

'' (1978), about convicted

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continu ...

conspirator and former

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

aide Charles Colson.

Death

Rapper died, aged 101, on 20 December 1999 at the Motion Picture and Television Fund home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, where he had been a resident since 1995.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rapper, Irving 1898 births 1999 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians American film directors American people of English-Jewish descent New York University alumni Film people from London