William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American film

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

(a job title he invented) and

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

as well as a

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 ...

and producer during a career spanning five decades. He began his career during the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

, and later pioneered the use of color in film for dramatic effect.

Early years

Menzies was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, to Scots immigrant parents, Charles A. and Helen originally from Aberfeldy, Scotland. He studied at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

and, after serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he attended the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may st ...

Career

Menzies joined

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...

, later to evolve into

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, working in special effects and design. He soon worked on such films as ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

'' (1922), '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1924), '' The Bat'' (1926), '' The Dove'' (1927), '' Sadie Thompson'' (1928), and '' Tempest'' (1928). His contributions to '' The Dove'' (1927), as well as '' Tempest'' (1928) lead to Menzies receiving the first Academy Award for Best Production Design, an accolade for achievement in art direction. In 1929, Menzies formed a partnership with producer

Joseph M. Schenck Joseph Michael Schenck (; December 25, 1876 – October 22, 1961) was a Russian-born American film studio executive. Life and career Schenck was born to a Jewish family in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russian Empire. He emigrated to New York City ...

to create a series of early sound short films visualizing great works of music, including a 10-minute version of Dukas's ''

The Sorcerer's Apprentice "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (german: "Der Zauberlehrling", link=no, italic=no) is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe written in 1797. The poem is a ballad in 14 stanzas. Story The poem begins as an old sorcerer departs his workshop, leaving ...

,'' and created the production design and special effects for Schenck's feature film '' The Lottery Bride'' (1930). Menzies's work on ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the no ...

'' (1938) prompted

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. ...

to hire him for '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939). Selznick's faith in Menzies was so great that he sent a memorandum to everyone at

Selznick International Pictures Selznick International Pictures was a Hollywood motion picture studio created by David O. Selznick in 1935, and dissolved in 1943. In its short existence the independent studio produced two films that received the Academy Award for Best Picture— ...

who was involved in the production reminding them that "Menzies is the final word" on everything related to

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 ...

scenic design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly train ...

set decoration Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

, and the overall look of the production. His work on the film would also net Menzies an honorary academy award for production design. "Production designer" (which is sometimes used interchangeably with "art director") was coined specifically for Menzies, to refer to his being the final word on the overall look of the production; it was intended to describe his ability to translate Selznick's ideas to drawings and paintings from which he and his fellow directors worked. Menzies was the director of the

burning of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, U ...

sequence in Gone with the Wind. He also re-shot the

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

dream sequence of Alfred Hitchcock's '' Spellbound'' (1945). In addition, Menzies directed dramas and fantasy films. He made two science-fiction films: '' Things to Come'' (1936), based on a novel by H.G. Wells, for producer

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Invaders from Mars'' (1953), which mirrored many fears about aliens and outside threats to humanity in the 1950s.

Death

Shortly after completing his work as an associate producer on '' Around the World in 80 Days'' (1956), Menzies died of cancer. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...

Accolades

At the first Academy Awards, held on May 16, 1929, Menzies won for Best Art Direction for '' The Dove'' and '' Tempest''. He was the first to win the Academy Award for art direction. The following year he was nominated in the same categories for his work on ''

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...

'', ''

Alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

'', and '' The Awakening'', but lost to Cedric Gibbons. At the 12th Academy Awards held on February 29, 1940, Menzies won an

Academy Honorary Award The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929) – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Moti ...

"for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood" in the production of ''Gone With the Wind''.

Legacy

In 2005, Menzies was in the first group of art directors and production designers inducted into the

Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame The Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame was established by the Art Directors Guild in 2005 to recognize and honor the accomplishments and contributions of significant art directors and production designers in the film industry. 2005 inductees * Wi ...

. Several of Menzies home movies are part of the collection of the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

and were preserved by the archive in 2015.

Silent Films, 1918-1930

Sound Era: 1930-1955

Stage Chronology

DVD release

In October 2009,

Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ...

released the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

collection ''The Fantastic World of William Cameron Menzies'' on DVD, which included four early experimental films created by Menzies and

, shorts that visualize great works of classical music: * "Irish Fantasy" (1929) * "Impressions of

Tschaikowsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's Overture '1812'" (1930) * "

Hungarian Rhapsody The Hungarian Rhapsodies, S.244, R.106 (french: Rhapsodies hongroises, german: Ungarische Rhapsodien, hu, Magyar rapszódiák), is a set of 19 piano pieces based on Hungarian folk themes, composed by Franz Liszt during 1846–1853, and later ...

" (1930) *

Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...

' " The Wizard's Apprentice" (1930). According to

Dave Kehr David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the '' Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a ...

, ''The Wizard's Apprentice'' "clearly influenced Disney's version in ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

''.

Footnotes

References

*Curtis, James. (2015). ''William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come'', Pantheon Books,

External links

* *
William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come
by James Curtis, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Nov 17, 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Menzies, William Cameron 1896 births 1957 deaths Academy Honorary Award recipients Alumni of the University of Edinburgh American art directors Art Students League of New York alumni Best Art Direction Academy Award winners Artists from New Haven, Connecticut American production designers English-language film directors Science fiction film directors American people of Scottish descent United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Film directors from Connecticut