Mitchell Leisen
Birthday:
October 6, 1898 in Menominee, Michigan, USA
Birth Name:
James Mitchell Leisen
Mitchell Leisen was born on October 6, 1898 in Menominee, Michigan, USA as James Mitchell Leisen. He was a director and art director, known for Trois jours chez les vivants (1934), La mère du marié (1951) and Par la porte d'or (1941). He was married to Stella Yeager. He died on October 28, 1972 in Woodland Hills, Los Ange...
Show more »
Mitchell Leisen was born on October 6, 1898 in Menominee, Michigan, USA as James Mitchell Leisen. He was a director and art director, known for Trois jours chez les vivants (1934), La mère du marié (1951) and Par la porte d'or (1941). He was married to Stella Yeager. He died on October 28, 1972 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA. Show less «
The camera never moves arbitrarily in any of my films. It follows somebody across the room or some kind of action; therefore you are not par...Show more »
The camera never moves arbitrarily in any of my films. It follows somebody across the room or some kind of action; therefore you are not particularly conscious of the camera moving. Unnecessary camera movement destroys the concentration of the audience. Show less «
[on Carole Lombard] She was really a sweet, even tempered girl. Strong but sweet - not even her colorful syntax made her less sweet. She had...Show more »
[on Carole Lombard] She was really a sweet, even tempered girl. Strong but sweet - not even her colorful syntax made her less sweet. She had tolerance, and her patience was just incredible and rare. She didn't fly into rage very often, but she'd let it all come out and then feel cleansed. She was so very fair, and fairness was really all she asked of others. When she became really angry, it was always over someone's dishonesty. She just didn't like to be crossed. Show less «
If an actress is satisfied with the way she looks on the screen, she'll devote all other attention to her acting.
If an actress is satisfied with the way she looks on the screen, she'll devote all other attention to her acting.
[on directing 'social conscience' films] If I want to send a message, I'll call Western Union.
[on directing 'social conscience' films] If I want to send a message, I'll call Western Union.
The son of a very dear friend of mine had committed suicide, and she was terribly broken up over it. I took a flying chance one day. I took ...Show more »
The son of a very dear friend of mine had committed suicide, and she was terribly broken up over it. I took a flying chance one day. I took her to the projection room and left her there alone and had Trois jours chez les vivants (1934) run for her. She came out a completely different person. She said, "You've explained death, you've made it beautiful to me. I no longer feel the way I did." This was worth a great deal to me, and made the effort of doing it worthwhile if you could affect that many people and explain something they have been horrified of. As Death himself says, "Why do men fear me?". Show less «
To me, an actor is hopeless if he hasn't got a sense of timing. There's just no way you can give it to him if he doesn't already have it; I'...Show more »
To me, an actor is hopeless if he hasn't got a sense of timing. There's just no way you can give it to him if he doesn't already have it; I've even tried to have them count "one, two, three" and say the line, but it never worked. [Carole] Lombard was superb; she could time it to a breath. Jean Arthur had a fantastic sense of timing, so did [Claudette] Colbert. [Fred] MacMurray developed a wonderful sense of timing and [Ray] Milland did too, once he did comedy. Show less «
Alan Ladd was a very quiet, serious man, a very conscientious actor. Every time his wife came on to the set [of Le dénonciateur (1949...Show more »
Alan Ladd was a very quiet, serious man, a very conscientious actor. Every time his wife came on to the set [of Le dénonciateur (1949)], he'd get nervous and they'd get into a fight. Finally he barred her from visiting the set, which suited me fine. Show less «
