Malcolm St. Clair (filmmaker)
Encyclopedia
Malcolm St. Clair was a Hollywood film director, writer, producer and actor, he was sometimes credited as Mal St Clair. A disciple of Mack Sennett
, St. Clair was an actor in many films primarily comedies. At 6'7" he can be seen in such Sennett films as Yankee Doodle in Berlin
, towering over the other actors, playing Crown Prince Wilhelm
. He later moved on to director and directed almost 100 films, as well as producing five others, between 1915 and 1948. His brother, Eric St Clair, was a writer and actor. He directed most of Laurel and Hardy
's later films at 20th Century Fox
.
He worked on many films, including The Big Noise
(1944), Two Weeks to Live
(1943), The Dancing Masters
(1943), Sun Valley Serenade
(1941), Young As You Feel (1940), Hollywood Cavalcade (1939), Goldie Gets Along
(1933), Olsen's Big Moment (1933), Montana Moon
(1930), Side Street
(1929), The Canary Murder Case
(1929), A Social Celebrity
(1926), the now-lost Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
(1928), The Show Off
(1926), The Grand Duchess and the Waiter
(1926), Are Parents People?
(1925), A Woman of the World
(1925), Christmas (1922), The Blacksmith
(1922), The Goat
(1921), The Little Widow (1919), His Baby Doll (1917) and The Camera Cure (1917).
In 1950 after a brief retirement, he was to attempt a comeback into films, but due to ill health he retired permanently from films.
He died at age 55 and was interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California
.
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
, St. Clair was an actor in many films primarily comedies. At 6'7" he can be seen in such Sennett films as Yankee Doodle in Berlin
Yankee Doodle in Berlin
Yankee Doodle in Berlin is a 1919 silent comedy and World War I propaganda film from producer Mack Sennett. It was Sennett's most expensive production up to that time. Hiram Abrams was the original State's Rights marketer before the film's release but producer Sol Lesser bought the rights in March...
, towering over the other actors, playing Crown Prince Wilhelm
Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany
Frederick William Victor Augustus Ernest of the House of Hohenzollern was the last Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire. He was colloquially known as William or Wilhelm throughout Europe....
. He later moved on to director and directed almost 100 films, as well as producing five others, between 1915 and 1948. His brother, Eric St Clair, was a writer and actor. He directed most of Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
's later films at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
.
He worked on many films, including The Big Noise
The Big Noise
The Big Noise is a 1944 comedy film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Sol M. Wurtzel and directed by Mal St.Clair. It has been regarded by many film critics and Laurel and Hardy historians as being among the duo's worst films....
(1944), Two Weeks to Live
Two Weeks to Live
Two Weeks to Live is a 1943 American film directed by Malcolm St. Clair.- Cast :*Chester Lauck as Lum Edwards*Norris Goff as Abner Peabody*Franklin Pangborn as Mr. Pinkney*Kay Linaker as Mrs. Madge Carmen*Irving Bacon as Omar Tennyson Gimpel...
(1943), The Dancing Masters
The Dancing Masters
The Dancing Masters is a 1943 Laurel and Hardy feature film. The plot involves the team running a ballet school, and getting involved with an inventor...
(1943), Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 musical film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features The Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by The Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Academy...
(1941), Young As You Feel (1940), Hollywood Cavalcade (1939), Goldie Gets Along
Goldie Gets Along
Goldie Gets Along is a 1933 film directed by Malcolm St. Clair, and starring by Lili Damita and Charles Morton. The screenplay was wtitten by William A...
(1933), Olsen's Big Moment (1933), Montana Moon
Montana Moon
Montana Moon is a 1930 film starring Joan Crawford, Johnny Mack Brown , and Ricardo Cortez.-Plot:Joan Prescott, , a vacuous daughter of a wealthy, Montana rancher, meets Larry , a Texas cowboy. Joan and Larry fall for one another and are engaged...
(1930), Side Street
Side Street (1929 film)
Side Street is a 1929 black-and-white talking movie featuring the only screen teaming of all three Moore Brothers , each of them major silent film stars. George Raft also makes an unbilled appearance as a professional dancer—which Raft was at the time—dancing to the song "Take a Look at Her Now",...
(1929), The Canary Murder Case
The Canary Murder Case (film)
The Canary Murder Case is a crime/mystery film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Malcolm St. Clair and Frank Tuttle.The screenplay was written by S.S. Van Dine , Albert S. Le Vino and Florence Ryerson, based on novel The Canary Murder Case by S.S...
(1929), A Social Celebrity
A Social Celebrity
A Social Celebrity is a silent comedy drama starring Louise Brooks as a small town manicurist who goes to New York with her boyfriend , a barber who poses as a French count...
(1926), the now-lost Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (lost film)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was a silent film directed by Mal St. Clair, co-written by Anita Loos based on her novel, and released by Paramount Pictures. No copies are known to exist, and it is now considered to be a lost film...
(1928), The Show Off
The Show Off
The Show Off is a 1926 silent film comedy produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Mal St. Clair and starred Ford Sterling, Lois Wilson and Louise Brooks. It is based on a 1924 Broadway play that had Lee Tracy in the cast...
(1926), The Grand Duchess and the Waiter
The Grand Duchess and the Waiter (1926 film)
The Grand Duchess and the Waiter is a silent 1926 Romantic comedy directed by Mal St. Clair and starring Florence Vidor and Adolphe Menjou. It is based on a 1925 Broadway play of the same name starring stage actress Elsie Ferguson, who had recently returned to Broadway after years in the film colony...
(1926), Are Parents People?
Are Parents People?
Are Parents People? is a comedy film starring Betty Bronson, Florence Vidor, Adolphe Menjou, George Beranger, and Lawrence Gray. The film was directed by Malcolm St. Clair and released by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:...
(1925), A Woman of the World
A Woman of the World
A Woman of the World is a 1925 silent drama starring Pola Negri. It was directed by Mal St. Clair, produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by their parent company Paramount Pictures.-Synopsis:...
(1925), Christmas (1922), The Blacksmith
The Blacksmith
The Blacksmith is a 1922 short comedy film directed by and featuring Buster Keaton.-Cast:* Buster Keaton - Blacksmith's assistant* Joe Roberts - Blacksmith* Virginia Fox - Horsewoman...
(1922), The Goat
The Goat (1921 film)
The Goat is a 1921 short comedy film written, directed by and starring comedian Buster Keaton.- Plot :Buster Keaton is walking by and peers through a barred window while captured murderer "Dead Shot Dan" is having his picture taken. Seeing that the photographer is looking away, Dan moves his head...
(1921), The Little Widow (1919), His Baby Doll (1917) and The Camera Cure (1917).
In 1950 after a brief retirement, he was to attempt a comeback into films, but due to ill health he retired permanently from films.
He died at age 55 and was interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California
Altadena, California
Altadena is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately from the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center, and directly north of the city of Pasadena, California...
.