Rudi Fehr
Encyclopedia
Rudi Fehr was a German-born, American film editor and studio executive. He had more than thirty credits as an editor, and worked for more than twenty years as the head of production at the Warner Brothers studio.
Fehr was born in Berlin, Germany. He decided upon a career in the film industry, and edited his first film, Der Schlemiel, in 1931. He then worked for several years with the producer Sam Spiegel
, moving from Germany to Austria and England to avoid the restrictions of the Nazi regime. In 1935 he worked on the editing of the Buster Keaton
film The Invader
.In 1936, Fehr moved to Hollywood. Initially, he translated film from German into English for $60/week, but he soon landed a job with the Warner Brothers Studio, where he became an assistant editor to Warren Low. His first Hollywood editing credit was for the film My Love Came Back (1940). For the next fifteen years Fehr edited numerous studio films, including A Stolen Life (starring Bette Davis
, 1946) and John Huston
's Key Largo
(starring Humphrey Bogart
, 1948). In the early 1950s for Alfred Hitchcock
, Fehr edited I Confess (1953) and Dial M for Murder (1954).
In his obituary, Allen Eyles notes two 1946 films as representative of Fehr's work, "Many of his films were routine, but A Stolen Life (1946) had the visual intricacy of Bette Davis
playing the dual role of two sisters, initially on screen at the same time, and Humoresque
(also 1946) presented John Garfield
as an outstanding violinist, dubbed by Isaac Stern
. Garfield had to be carefully filmed and edited as he couldn't play a note. He kept his arms behind his back in close-ups while a member of the studio orchestra perched on each side of him, their hands coming into frame to do the fingering and bowing."
His work on Beyond the Forest
(1949) is an under appreciated masterpiece of editing. Fade outs and fade ins were created that are unparalleled. It is almost unbelievable that the end of the film got past the censors in 1949 as a sex-starved Bette crawls to one of the most phallic steam trains in movie history. Screenings at the Music Box Theater in Chicago in the mid 1980's had the audience screaming and applauding.
Jack Warner
had briefly assigned Fehr to production duties in 1952.. Following Dial M for Murder (1954), he became the head of post-production at Warner Bros., and didn't edit another film for nearly 30 years.
Fehr retired as head of production from Warner Bros. in 1976. He then returned to Europe to supervise foreign-language adaptations of Warner Bros. films from France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In 1980, Fehr became head of post-production for Francis Ford Coppola
's Zoetrope Productions. In 1982, Fehr returned to edit Coppola's One from the Heart
(1982). In 1985, he edited John Huston
's Prizzi's Honor
, for which he and his co-editor (and daughter) Kaja Fehr were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. In 1986, he was a member of the jury at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival
. In 1993 he received the American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award
.
Fehr had served as a board member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild
. He was the founder of the Los Angeles-Berlin Sister City Committee, and he was awarded the Grand Medal of Merit from the president of West Germany in 1983. He was married to actress Maris Wrixon
, whom he had met while they were both working on Million Dollar Baby
(1941). They had three daughters. Fehr died of a heart attack in Los Angeles
at age 87.
Fehr was born in Berlin, Germany. He decided upon a career in the film industry, and edited his first film, Der Schlemiel, in 1931. He then worked for several years with the producer Sam Spiegel
Sam Spiegel
Sam Spiegel was an Austrian-born American independent film producer.-Life and career:Spiegel was born in Jarosław, Galicia, Austria-Hungary as Samuel P. Spiegel to a German-Jewish father and Polish mother and educated at the University of Vienna. His brother was Shalom Spiegel, a professor of...
, moving from Germany to Austria and England to avoid the restrictions of the Nazi regime. In 1935 he worked on the editing of the Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
film The Invader
The Invader
The Invader is a comedy film, starring Buster Keaton, released in the United Kingdom. The film, also known as An Old Spanish Custom, co-stars Lupita Tovar. The film follows the same plot as its remake Pest from the West , with a millionaire setting out to win a local girl in Mexico...
.In 1936, Fehr moved to Hollywood. Initially, he translated film from German into English for $60/week, but he soon landed a job with the Warner Brothers Studio, where he became an assistant editor to Warren Low. His first Hollywood editing credit was for the film My Love Came Back (1940). For the next fifteen years Fehr edited numerous studio films, including A Stolen Life (starring Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, 1946) and John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
's Key Largo
Key Largo (film)
Key Largo is a 1948 film noir directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, and Claire Trevor...
(starring Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, 1948). In the early 1950s for Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, Fehr edited I Confess (1953) and Dial M for Murder (1954).
In his obituary, Allen Eyles notes two 1946 films as representative of Fehr's work, "Many of his films were routine, but A Stolen Life (1946) had the visual intricacy of Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
playing the dual role of two sisters, initially on screen at the same time, and Humoresque
Humoresque (film)
Humoresque is a 1946 Warner Bros. feature film starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield in an older woman/younger man tale about a violinist and his patroness. The screenplay by Clifford Odets and Zachary Gold was based upon a novel by Fannie Hurst...
(also 1946) presented John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
as an outstanding violinist, dubbed by Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
. Garfield had to be carefully filmed and edited as he couldn't play a note. He kept his arms behind his back in close-ups while a member of the studio orchestra perched on each side of him, their hands coming into frame to do the fingering and bowing."
His work on Beyond the Forest
Beyond the Forest
Beyond the Forest is a 1949 American film, representative of the film noir genre. It was nominated for an Academy Award for best score.-Plot:...
(1949) is an under appreciated masterpiece of editing. Fade outs and fade ins were created that are unparalleled. It is almost unbelievable that the end of the film got past the censors in 1949 as a sex-starved Bette crawls to one of the most phallic steam trains in movie history. Screenings at the Music Box Theater in Chicago in the mid 1980's had the audience screaming and applauding.
Jack Warner
Jack Warner
Jack Leonard "J. L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, was a Canadian American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California...
had briefly assigned Fehr to production duties in 1952.. Following Dial M for Murder (1954), he became the head of post-production at Warner Bros., and didn't edit another film for nearly 30 years.
Fehr retired as head of production from Warner Bros. in 1976. He then returned to Europe to supervise foreign-language adaptations of Warner Bros. films from France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In 1980, Fehr became head of post-production for Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
's Zoetrope Productions. In 1982, Fehr returned to edit Coppola's One from the Heart
One from the Heart
One from the Heart is a 1982 musical film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The characters themselves do not actually sing but the powerful score dominates the movie. It is set entirely in Las Vegas, on the Las Vegas Strip and the desert surrounding the city...
(1982). In 1985, he edited John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
's Prizzi's Honor
Prizzi's Honor
Prizzi's Honor is a 1985 American black comedy film directed by John Huston. It stars Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Robert Loggia and Anjelica Huston.The film was adapted by Richard Condon and Janet Roach from Condon's novel of the same name...
, for which he and his co-editor (and daughter) Kaja Fehr were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. In 1986, he was a member of the jury at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival
36th Berlin International Film Festival
-Jury:* Gina Lollobrigida * Rudi Fehr* Lindsay Anderson* August Coppola* Werner Grassmann* Otar Iosseliani* Norbert Kückelmann* Francoise Maupin* Rosaura Revueltas* Naoki Togawa* Jerzy Toeplitz-Films in competition:...
. In 1993 he received the American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award
American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award
The American Cinema Editors gives one or more Career Achievement Awards each year. The first awards were given in 1987; the winners have been:*2011: Michael Kahn and Michael Brown*2010: Paul LaMastra and Neil Travis*2009: Sidney Katz and Arthur Schmidt...
.
Fehr had served as a board member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild
Motion Picture Editors Guild
The Motion Picture Editors Guild is the guild that represents freelance and staff motion picture film and television editors and other post-production professionals and story analysts throughout the United States...
. He was the founder of the Los Angeles-Berlin Sister City Committee, and he was awarded the Grand Medal of Merit from the president of West Germany in 1983. He was married to actress Maris Wrixon
Maris Wrixon
Maris Wrixon was an American film and television actress. She appeared in over 50 films between 1939 and 1951....
, whom he had met while they were both working on Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby (1941 film)
Million Dollar Baby is a 1941 romantic comedy film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Released by Warner Bros., the film stars Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, and Ronald Reagan.-Plot:...
(1941). They had three daughters. Fehr died of a heart attack in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
at age 87.