James Anderson (November 6, 1902 – November 26, 1960) was an American assistant director during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In his twenty-five year career, Anderson worked on almost 75 pictures. He is sometimes confused with James K. Anderson, the actor, because their careers overlapped. He was also known as James A. Anderson or James H. Anderson. Anderson began his career in film as an actor with a featured role in the

silent era 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) ...

, in 1925's '' The Freshman'', starring

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film c ...

. After appearing in several silent films, with the advent of sound he moved behind the camera, where he was a perennial assistant director. He would spend almost his entire career with

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

, from their inception in 1929 through 1949. As an assistant director he would work with such famous directors as

George Archainbaud George Archainbaud (May 7, 1890 – February 20, 1959) was a French- American film and television director. Biography In the beginning of his career he worked on stage as an actor and manager. He came to the United States in January 1914, and ...

William A. Wellman William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on av ...

Walter Lang 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. The business piqu ...

Garson Kanin Garson Kanin (November 24, 1912 – March 13, 1999) was an American writer and director of plays and films. Early life Garson Kanin was born in Rochester, New York; his family later relocated to Detroit then to New York City. He attended ...

Dorothy Arzner Dorothy Emma Arzner (January 3, 1897 – October 1, 1979) was an American film director whose career in Hollywood spanned from the silent era of the 1920s into the early 1940s. With the exception of longtime silent film director Lois Weber (who d ...

Leo McCarey Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 films, the most well known today being ''Duck Soup'', '' Make Way for Tomorrow'', '' The Awful T ...

, and

Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...

. Late in his career he would also work as a unit or production manager on several films, including the classic ''

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House ''Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'' is a 1948 American comedy film directed by H. C. Potter and starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Melvyn Douglas. Written and produced by the team of Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, it was an adaptati ...

'' in 1948. His final film credit would be on the small screen, as the assistant director and production manager for the 1957 episode "The Mothers", on Lupino's television series, ''Mr. Adams & Eve''. Anderson died on November 26, 1960, in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

(as per AFI's database)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, James American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors 1902 births 1960 deaths Artists from Springfield, Massachusetts