Mark Robson(1913-1978)
- Director
- Producer
- Editor
Mark Robson studied political science and economics at the University
of California. He then took a law course at Pacific Coast University,
and, at one time, also attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Ultimately, his interests led him elsewhere, since he ended up in the
movie business as a part-time assistant set dresser in the property
department of 20th Century Fox. Asking studio boss
Darryl F. Zanuck for a promotion turned
out to be a bad move, since he was promptly fired. Playing golf with
RKO executive Herman Zobel, conversely, opened the door to a position
at the studio's film library, where he was to earn a meager 66 cents
per hour. Undeterred, Robson eventually moved up to the position of
assistant editor and worked (uncredited) on
Orson Welles' s
Citizen Kane (1941) and
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
for $1.25 per hour, but slaving over a gruelling 110 to 120 hour-week.
When "Ambersons" and
Journey Into Fear (1943) ran
into production difficulties, Welles and his Mercury Group fell out of
favour at RKO and Robson was re-assigned by
Lou L. Ostrow to a B-unit, headed by
Val Lewton.
Within the relaxed atmosphere of Lewton's company, Robson was employed
as full-time editor between 1941 and 1943. He became noted for his
outstanding work on Cat People (1942).
In one famous scene, he originated a technique called
'the bus', abruptly cutting from the face of a person in terror (in this case Simone Simon)
to a bus stopping violently with hissing airbrakes, thus effectively
jolting the audience in their seats. The 'bus', of course, could be
substituted for any other sudden event, intended as a red herring in
order to shock the viewer. It is still a widely used practice today,
particularly in horror movies or thrillers.
After editing
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
and The Leopard Man (1943),
Robson was promoted by Lewton to director as a replacement for
Jacques Tourneur. Robson's first film
was The Seventh Victim (1943),
a tale of Satanists operating in Greenwich Village. This was followed
by three more entries in Lewton's series of low budget horror
thrillers: The Ghost Ship (1943),
Isle of the Dead (1945) and
Bedlam (1946). All of these modest
ventures recouped their investment fourfold. In the long run, however,
it was not enough to save struggling RKO. Robson lost his job and found
himself on the bread line for the next two years. In 1949, he was
head-hunted by independent producer
Stanley Kramer to direct the boxing drama
Champion (1949), starring
Kirk Douglas as a callous boxing
champ on his way to the top. This prestige production marked the
turning point in Robson's career.
Bosley Crowther, the leading New York
Times reviewer, praised the director for providing "a wealth of
pictorial interest and exciting action of a graphic, colourful sort"
(NY Times, April 11 1949). Robson made another film for Kramer,
Home of the Brave (1949), which
dealt with the results of racial prejudice.
Suddenly finding himself much in demand, Robson worked briefly under
contract for Samuel Goldwyn, before
launching the second phase of his career as a director of big budget
commercial hits, among them the charismatic
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954);
another hard-hitting tale of corruption in the world of boxing,
The Harder They Fall (1956);
the stylishly-made small-town melodrama
Peyton Place (1957); and the
unabashedly sentimental, romanticised 'true-life' story of an English
missionary in China,
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
(filmed in North Wales !). One of his best later films was the
Paul Newman thriller
The Prize (1963), directed by Robson in
a style entirely reminiscent of
Alfred Hitchcock, filled with
rollicking action and witty dialogue. That same year, Robson
established his own production company, Red Lion. He made several
patchy films under this banner, including a stodgy, fictionalised
account of the Ghandi assassination
Nine Hours to Rama (1963); and
a dull, forgettable anti-war drama,
Lost Command (1966). The lurid, but
slickly-made melodrama
Valley of the Dolls (1967)
rekindled Robson's career, which was rounded out with the all-star
blockbuster disaster movie
Earthquake (1974), filmed in
'Sensurround' for greater impact. A massive box-office hit, it
eventually grossed in excess of 80 million dollars. Robson died of a
heart attack just weeks after completing work on the action thriller
Avalanche Express (1979).
of California. He then took a law course at Pacific Coast University,
and, at one time, also attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Ultimately, his interests led him elsewhere, since he ended up in the
movie business as a part-time assistant set dresser in the property
department of 20th Century Fox. Asking studio boss
Darryl F. Zanuck for a promotion turned
out to be a bad move, since he was promptly fired. Playing golf with
RKO executive Herman Zobel, conversely, opened the door to a position
at the studio's film library, where he was to earn a meager 66 cents
per hour. Undeterred, Robson eventually moved up to the position of
assistant editor and worked (uncredited) on
Orson Welles' s
Citizen Kane (1941) and
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
for $1.25 per hour, but slaving over a gruelling 110 to 120 hour-week.
When "Ambersons" and
Journey Into Fear (1943) ran
into production difficulties, Welles and his Mercury Group fell out of
favour at RKO and Robson was re-assigned by
Lou L. Ostrow to a B-unit, headed by
Val Lewton.
Within the relaxed atmosphere of Lewton's company, Robson was employed
as full-time editor between 1941 and 1943. He became noted for his
outstanding work on Cat People (1942).
In one famous scene, he originated a technique called
'the bus', abruptly cutting from the face of a person in terror (in this case Simone Simon)
to a bus stopping violently with hissing airbrakes, thus effectively
jolting the audience in their seats. The 'bus', of course, could be
substituted for any other sudden event, intended as a red herring in
order to shock the viewer. It is still a widely used practice today,
particularly in horror movies or thrillers.
After editing
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
and The Leopard Man (1943),
Robson was promoted by Lewton to director as a replacement for
Jacques Tourneur. Robson's first film
was The Seventh Victim (1943),
a tale of Satanists operating in Greenwich Village. This was followed
by three more entries in Lewton's series of low budget horror
thrillers: The Ghost Ship (1943),
Isle of the Dead (1945) and
Bedlam (1946). All of these modest
ventures recouped their investment fourfold. In the long run, however,
it was not enough to save struggling RKO. Robson lost his job and found
himself on the bread line for the next two years. In 1949, he was
head-hunted by independent producer
Stanley Kramer to direct the boxing drama
Champion (1949), starring
Kirk Douglas as a callous boxing
champ on his way to the top. This prestige production marked the
turning point in Robson's career.
Bosley Crowther, the leading New York
Times reviewer, praised the director for providing "a wealth of
pictorial interest and exciting action of a graphic, colourful sort"
(NY Times, April 11 1949). Robson made another film for Kramer,
Home of the Brave (1949), which
dealt with the results of racial prejudice.
Suddenly finding himself much in demand, Robson worked briefly under
contract for Samuel Goldwyn, before
launching the second phase of his career as a director of big budget
commercial hits, among them the charismatic
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954);
another hard-hitting tale of corruption in the world of boxing,
The Harder They Fall (1956);
the stylishly-made small-town melodrama
Peyton Place (1957); and the
unabashedly sentimental, romanticised 'true-life' story of an English
missionary in China,
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
(filmed in North Wales !). One of his best later films was the
Paul Newman thriller
The Prize (1963), directed by Robson in
a style entirely reminiscent of
Alfred Hitchcock, filled with
rollicking action and witty dialogue. That same year, Robson
established his own production company, Red Lion. He made several
patchy films under this banner, including a stodgy, fictionalised
account of the Ghandi assassination
Nine Hours to Rama (1963); and
a dull, forgettable anti-war drama,
Lost Command (1966). The lurid, but
slickly-made melodrama
Valley of the Dolls (1967)
rekindled Robson's career, which was rounded out with the all-star
blockbuster disaster movie
Earthquake (1974), filmed in
'Sensurround' for greater impact. A massive box-office hit, it
eventually grossed in excess of 80 million dollars. Robson died of a
heart attack just weeks after completing work on the action thriller
Avalanche Express (1979).