Arthur Lubin

Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, '' Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the '' Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV series ''Mister Ed''. A prominent director for Universal Pictures in the 1940s and 1950s, he is perhaps best known today as the man who gave Clint Eastwood his first contract in film.

Early life

Arthur William Lubovsky was born in Los Angeles in 1898. His father, William Lubovsky, had come to the US from Poland in 1889. Lubovsky changed his name to Lubin in honour of filmmaker Siegmund Lubin and became a salesman.

His family moved to Jerome, Arizona, when Arthur was five. He was interested in acting at an early age, appearing in local Sunday school productions, with the encouragement of his mother, who died when Lubin was six. His father remarried and the family moved from Jerome to San Diego when Lubin was eight. He managed the music and drama clubs at high school and said a key influence was playing the title role in ''The Vicar of Wakefield''.Davis, p. 174.

He joined the San Diego Stock Company at $12 a week; the director was John Griffith Wray and the actors including Harold Lloyd.

As a child he had worked as a water boy for touring theatre companies and volunteered for circuses. He briefly served in the navy in World War One and attended Page Military Academy and Carnegie Tech, where he studied drama and made money by shifting scenery and props. On graduation from college in 1922, he decided to become an actor. He worked as a drama coach at Canadian Steel Mills before following one of his college drama teachers, B. Iden Payne, to New York.

Actor

In New York, Lubin managed to get work on stage in such plays as ''The Red Poppy'', ''Anything Might Happen'' and ''My Aunt from Ypsilanti''. None of these plays were particularly successful so he moved to Hollywood, where he succeeded in getting roles in some films such as ''His People''. He also acted in stage, notably at the Potboiler Act Theatre.

In 1925, the ''Los Angeles Times'' called Lubin "one of this year's juvenile screen sensations." He began directing shows for the Hollywood Writers Club.

As an actor, he specialized in heavy melodrama, in sharp contrast with his later work as a film director. He later said "every part that Joseph Schildkraut did in New York, I did... on the Coast os Angeles.Flynn & McCarthy p. 364

He appeared in '' Liliom''. In 1925 he and some friends were charged with obscenity by the Los Angeles police for putting on a production of Eugene O'Neill's '' Desire Under the Elms''. He later worked on Broadway, including ''Jealousy'', where he replaced John Halliday opposite Fay Bainter.

A 1926 profile described him as a "genius" actor who was very down to earth: "When I met him, it was if I were meeting a young banker or a matter of fact businessman... human and charming... not only good but awfully good looking."

His films as an actor included '' The Woman on the Jury'' (1924), '' His People'' (1925), '' Bardelys the Magnificent'' (1926) with John Gilbert for King Vidor, '' Millionaires'' (1926), '' Afraid to Love'' (1927), '' The Wedding March'' (1928), '' The Bushranger'' (1928), '' Eyes of the Underworld'' (1929) and ''Times Square'' (1929), an early talking picture.

Over time Lubin's interests increasingly leant towards directing. "On the stage I had a personality I never had in pictures," he said. "That's one of the reasons I got the hell out of acting."Davis, p. 176.

"Every director should have acting experience," he later said. "You can talk their language. You know the problems. You know how the scene should be acted. Too many directors are former writers. They have the scene in their mind but they don't know what the actor has to do to interpret it."

Director and producer

Theatre

Lubin returned to New York gaining a job casting and directing with the firm of Crosby Graige and Selwyn. They wanted to try out summer shows in Greenwich and he directed two plays there. He went out to California and briefly returned to acting in Pasadena, then decided to stick with directing. He tried out two plays at the Pasadena Playhouse which he later produced and directed in New York with the financial help of Lee Schubert.

He produced ''When the Bough Breaks'' with Pauline Frederick, ''One Man'' with Paul Muni and another play with Lenore Ulric.

He worked for nine months for the Ray-Minor Company, a subsidiary of Paramount. He later sued them for unpaid wages. However working for Ray-Minor which brought him to the attention of that studio's chief, B.P. Schulberg.

Paramount

In June 1932, Lubin returned to Hollywood to work for William Le Baron at Paramount as an associate producer. His contract included the right to return to New York in the first six months to produce and direct a play.

Lubin began directing Little Theatre in his spare time, including productions of ''Lilliom'', and got reputation for doing "outstanding work". He was fired from Paramount as part of an economy drive.

Monogram and Republic

Lubin received acclaim for directing a theatre production of ''The Green Bay Tree''. He said "a man who knew my family said to me, 'Why don't you come with us and Trem Carr and direct a picture?'" This was at Monogram, where he directed his first film as director'' A Successful Failure'' (1934). It was followed by '' Great God Gold'' (1935) and '' Honeymoon Limited'' (1935), all of which were produced by Carr.

Carr went to MGM and Lubin moved over to Republic Pictures when they merged with Monogram. In May 1935, he signed a contract with Republic for a year to make six pictures starting with ''Two Black Sheep'' which became '' Two Sinners''. He also made an experimental film, ''Journey by Train'', He later made '' Frisco Waterfront'' (1935) and '' The House of a Thousand Candles'' (1936). These were produced by Nat Levine. In August 1935, '' Variety'' wrote about Republic, "under such fast production methods and with the limited budget round $50,000 a film training here is perfect for a jump into the big league. Arthur Lubin started with Republic last year, has so far turned out three good pictures." He was reportedly directing ''The Leavenworth Case'' but is not credited on the film.

Universal

In 1936, he signed a contract with Universal starting 15 April. His first film for them was '' Yellowstone'' (1936).

It was followed by '' Mysterious Crossing'' (1936), then a series of films with a young John Wayne: ''California Crossing'' (1937), '' I Cover the War'' (1937), '' Idol of the Crowds'' (1937) and '' Adventure's End'' (1937). "No one thought that Duke would ever amount to anything," recalled Lubin. The films were shot in six days. "I had the reputation of doing pictures quickly and bringing them in on schedule," he said.

In August 1937, he was in a car crash.

After '' Midnight Intruder'' (1938) with Louis Hayward, Lubin went over to Warner Bros., for '' The Beloved Brat'' (1938) then returned to Universal: ''Prison Break'' (1938), '' Secrets of a Nurse'' (1938), '' Newsboys' Home'' (1938), '' Risky Business'' (1939), '' Big Town Czar'' (1939), ''Mickey the Kid'' (1939), ''Call a Messenger'' (1939, with The Little Tough Guys), and '' The Big Guy'' (1939). Lubin said "possibly one of the reasons I was used so much at Universal was my very wonderful early training as a director under Trem Carr."

A higher profile project was '' Black Friday'' (1940), with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. He went back to Republic to make '' Gangs of Chicago'' (1940) then returned to Universal: '' Meet the Wildcat'' (1940), ''I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now'' (1940), '' Who Killed Aunt Maggie?'' (1940), '' The San Francisco Docks'' (1941) and '' Where Did You Get That Girl?'' (1941).

Abbott and Costello

Lubin's career received a big break when he was assigned to direct the first Abbott and Costello star vehicle, '' Buck Privates'' (1941). The movie was a big hit, earning $4 million – Lubin, who was paid $350 a week, was given a $5,000 bonus. "It was very little credit to the director," said Lubin later. "It consisted mainly of fabulous gags that these two wonderful guys knew from years and years of being in burlesque."

He directed the double act's next four movies, '' In the Navy'' (1941), which earned him another $5,000 bonus, '' Hold That Ghost'' (1941), shot before ''In the Navy'' but released afterwards, '' Keep 'Em Flying'' (1942) and '' Ride 'Em Cowboy'' (1942), shot before ''Keep 'Em Flying'' but released afterwards. All the films were successful – the services comedies between them brought in over $6 million and '' Variety'' magazine named Lubin the most commercially successful director in Hollywood in 1941. ''Variety'' said "Lubin, who was considered just another camera flagger, is now the leader of the entire topflight group of directors with respect to getting coin into the box office."

Lubin would use two cameras directing the duo, one on a two shot, the other on Lou. He said the cameras were on a dolly because the team could not be trusted to stay in position.

However Lubin says after the fifth film he asked if he could work on other movies:

They came on the set late, they didn't know their lines, and I think they were beginning to get tired of one another. They were bored. and for the first time they were beginning to complain about the scripts. But it was five fabulous pictures with the boys. They were very good for me. They gave me a reputation. I learned everything about timing from them. And I think I was very good for them, in this respect: not their routines, but in trying to give them some class. Whenever they got crude or rude, I'd try to soften it. And I tried in all my set-ups to keep a balance of refinement against the earthiness of some of their routines.

At Universal and other studios

In January 1942, Lubin was assigned to an expensive war film, '' Eagle Squadron'' (1942), which was a massive hit. He was now established as one of Universal's leading directors. In 1942, ''The New York Times'' published a profile on the director which commented:

On the set, Lubin is personally intense, but an easy boss to his casts. He is friendly and witty. Players like to work for him. He strives to keep them relaxed for the cameras. Holding a pow-wow before rehearsing a scene, he will frequently sit cross legged on the floor with the players seated about him. But when the camera starts going, so does Lubin. He is a pacer... He pantomimed all the parts

Lubin made '' White Savage'' (1943) with Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Sabu, then was given his largest ever budget when he replaced Henry Koster on '' Phantom of the Opera'' (1943) with Claude Rains. This was a great success commercially, as was '' Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1944) with Montez, Hall and Sabu.

Lubin tried to get into the Signal Corps but they said he was more valuable making documentaries. '' Delightfully Dangerous'' (1945) was made for Hunt Stromberg and his old boss Charles Rogers at United Artists. Back at Universal he made ''The Spider Woman Strikes Back'' (1946), which he said he "hated" and did not want to do but the studio threatened to put him on suspension.

This was followed by the expensive box office disappointment '' Night in Paradise'' (1946). After the failure of this movie, Universal elected not to review his contract.

Independent Producer

He made two more for United Artists, ''New Orleans