William Alfred Seiter(June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an Americanfilm director.
William A. Seiter | |
|---|---|
 Seiter in 1921 | |
| Born | William Alfred Seiter June 10, 1890 |
| Died | July 26, 1964(aged 74) |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Years active | 1915–1954 |
Life and career
editSeiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player atMack Sennett'sKeystone Studios,doubling as a cowboy. He graduated to director in 1918.
AtUniversal Studiosin the mid-1920s, Seiter was principal director of the popular movies withReginald Denny,most of which co-starred Seiter's then wifeLaura La Plante(his second wife was actressMarian Nixon). This period also includedThe Beautiful and DamnedandThe Family Secret.Seiter earned a reputation for his charming comedies that were moderately paced and kept the laughs coming quietly, rather than resorting to obvious jokes and slapstick.
In the early sound era, Seiter helped nurture the talents ofRKO's comedy duoWheeler & Woolseyin features such asCaught Plastered(1931) andDiplomaniacs(1933). He also directedLaurel and HardyinSons of the Desert(1933), generally regarded as one of their best feature films. Seiter's other films includeSunny,Going Wild,Kiss Me Again,Hot Saturday,Way Back Home,Girl Crazy,Rafter Romance,Roberta,Susannah of the Mounties,Allegheny Uprising,You Were Never Lovelier,Up in Central Park,andOne Touch of Venus.
Among the many stars directed by Seiter during his long career wereShirley Temple,Fred Astaire,Ginger Rogers,Irene Dunne,Henry Fonda,Margaret Sullavan,Barbara Stanwyck,Jack Haley,Deanna Durbin,Jean Arthur,John Wayne,Fred MacMurray,Lucille Ball,andRita Hayworth.
On occasion, Seiter's creativity was stifled when restrictions were placed upon him. For the 1938 featureRoom Service,a stage play had already been adapted for theMarx Brothers,limiting the action to only a few sets and forcing Seiter to stick closely to the shooting script. When Seiter ran into friction from his star—as was the case withLou Costelloin 1946'sLittle Giant—Seiter would respond by filming the script verbatim, without adding any nuance or creativity to the project. This may have been the reason that one prominent actress of the 1930s referred to Seiter as the most unimaginative director she'd ever worked with.
Seiter's distinctive directorial style was generally appreciated by critics (his work on the 1943Jean Arthur-John Wayneromantic comedyA Lady Takes a Chancereceived raves), but his deliberate pacing was sometimes taken for slowness. Seiter was assigned to the 1947 fantasyThe Bishop's Wifebut producerSamuel Goldwyndisliked Seiter's measured handling of the action, and thought it needed a lighter touch; Seiter's footage was scrapped andHenry Kostertook over the film. The setback was only temporary, as Seiter continued working on major motion pictures for seven more years.
On his final four films, before he retired in 1954, Seiter functioned as both producer and director. These films includedThe Lady Wants Mink(1953), a gentlesatireof the then topical "raise your own coat" craze.
He suffered a fatal heart attack in 1964, in Beverly Hills, California. He was 74.
Filmography
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