Mark Robson
Mark Robson (
December 4,
1913 â€"
June 20,
1978) was a
Canadian-born
film editor,
film director and
producer in
Hollywood.
Born in
Montréal,
Québec, he moved to the
United States at a young age. He studied at the
University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at
20th Century Fox studios. He eventually went to work at
RKO Pictures where he began training as a film editor. In 1940 he worked as an assistant to
Robert Wise on the editing of
Citizen Kane plus several other films until 1943 when he began directing a series of low-budget horror films produced by
Val Lewton that today are regarded as some of RKO's best, including
The Seventh Victim (
1943), Robson's first directing credit, and
Isle of the Dead (
1945).
His success at RKO lead to work on major film projects and in 1949 he was nominated for the
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for his work on the
film noir drama
Champion. That same year, he directed the popular romance
My Foolish Heart and
Home of the Brave, one of the first films to deal with the issue of
racism. He was nominated by the DGA again for the 1955 war drama
The Bridges at Toko-Ri, starring
William Holden and
Grace Kelly.
In 1958, Mark Robson was nominated for an
Academy Award for Directing for the major
box office success
Peyton Place and again the following year for directing
Ingrid Bergman in the acclaimed film
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness . For these films he also received his third and fourth Directors Guild of America nomination. Robson also produced a number of films which he also directed including
Von Ryan's Express in 1965. He directed 1967's
Valley of the Dolls, a film panned by the critics but a success at the box office. In 1974 he directed the blockbuster
Earthquake, the film that introduced "
Sensurround".
Mark Robson died of a heart attack in 1978 while in
London, UK filming
Avalanche Express. His remains were brought back to the U.S. for interment in
Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Mark Robson has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1722 Vine Street.
Avalanche Express (1979)
Earthquake (1974)
Limbo (1972)
Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971)
Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969)
Valley of the Dolls (1967)
Lost Command (1966)
Von Ryan's Express (1965)
The Prize (1963)
Nine Hours to Rama (1963)
From the Terrace (1960)
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
Peyton Place (1957)
The Little Hut (1957)
The Harder They Fall (1956)
Trial (1955)
A Prize of Gold (1955)
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1955)
Phffft! (1954)
Hell Below Zero (1954)
Return to Paradise (1953)
I Want You (1951)
Bright Victory (1951)
Edge of Doom (1950)
My Foolish Heart (1949)
Home of the Brave (1949)
Roughshod (1949)
Champion (1949)
Bedlam (1946)
Isle of the Dead (1945)
Youth Runs Wild (1944)
The Seventh Victim (1943)
The Ghost Ship (1943)
