American writer-director-producer Andrew L. Stone attended the
University of California and then joined the San Francisco Film
Exchange. He began in Hollywood with Universal in 1918, serving his
initial apprenticeship in a film laboratory. After several more years
of toil in Universal's prop department he graduated to directing short
films. He financed his first two-reel effort,
The Elegy (1927), himself. The following year he helmed
his first feature film. Stone could hardly be
described as a prolific film maker until at least the late 30s when
he began contributing several story lines for light entertainments,
such as
There's Magic in Music (1941)
and
Hi Diddle Diddle (1943). He
achieved his first critical acclaim as a director for his all-black
musical
Stormy Weather (1943),
starring the exuberant
Lena Horne. The New
York Times (July 22) praised Stone's 'knowing direction' and the film
as 'moving smoothly' and 'being paced just right'.
Stone worked under contract at Paramount (1938-41), United Artists
(1943-47) and MGM (1955-62). In 1943, he set up his own production
company as a means of attaining a greater measure of creative
independence. Commencing with
Highway 301 (1950), he proceeded to
turn out a brace of commercially successful minor thrillers, films
noirs and action pictures. Scornful of back-projection and
post-synchronisation, he shot these films in real locations (rather
than at studio facilities) for added realism, moreover, using genuine
infrastructure (aircraft, trains, ocean liners) in preference to props.
Some of his projects were also based on actual events, gleaned by
researching factual crime magazines (of which Stone received up to
eight per month on subscription). Regarded as the best among Stone's
thrillers are
The Steel Trap (1952) and
Cry Terror! (1958).
He frequently worked in tandem with his wife
Virginia L. Stone who acted as
musical editor and financial supervisor. Stone's career ended rather
abruptly after two lavishly-produced composer biopics,
Song of Norway (1970) and
The Great Waltz (1972), ended up being
massive commercial failures. Nonetheless, his significant
contribution to the concept and mechanics of on-location shooting was
recognised with a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.
The Great Waltz(1972)
Song of Norway(1970)
The Secret of My Success(1965)
Never Put It in Writing(1964)
The Password Is Courage(1962)
The Last Voyage(1960)
The Bachelor's Daughters(1946)
American Masters(1985)as Self, Self - Theater Owner
Screen Directors Playhouse(1955)as Self - Introduction
