Elliott Nugent (born September 20, 1896 in Dover, Ohio. was a U.S. film director, writer and actor.
| Name | Elliott Nugent |
| Born | September 20, 1896 |
| Birth Place | Dover, Ohio |
Life of Elliott Nugent
| 1. Early Stage Career | 4. Transition to Director |
| – Elliott Nugent’s family background | – Shift from acting to directing |
| – Early involvement in acting | – Continued minor acting roles |
| – Success in Broadway | – Directing style and focus |
| – Collaboration with father on plays | – Comedy films with renowned comedians |
| – Appearance in father’s plays | – Filming serious adaptations |
| – Hollywood debut in 1925 | |
| – Roles alongside notable actors | 5. Legacy and Achievements |
| – Films with Greta Garbo and others | – Noteworthy films and collaborations |
| – Variety of characters portrayed | – Impact on comedy and film industry |
| – Contribution to film adaptation of The Great Gatsby | |
| 2. Career Transition | – Lasting influence and recognition |
| – Focus on writing plays and screenplays | – Recognition as a director and writer |
| – Collaboration with father in writing | – Influence on subsequent generations of filmmakers |
| – Exploration of both acting and writing | – Enduring relevance of comedy films |
| – Notable plays and screenplays | |
| 3. Hollywood Acting Years | |
| 3. Hollywood Acting Years | – Transition from stage to Hollywood |
| – Shift to Hollywood in 1925 | – Versatility in portraying characters |
| – Character roles in films | – Collaborations with prominent actors |
| – Films with Lon Chaney Sr. and Marion Davies | – Notable films and roles |
| – Playing boyish, serious-looking characters | – Range of characters portrayed |
| – Brief return to acting in later years | – Impact on Hollywood’s portrayal of characters |
Elliott Nugent, the child of a family of actors, was on stage at a very young age. Already relatively succeeded in the leap to Broadway, in addition to his career as an actor, he was also active as a writer of plays and screenplays. Together with his father, the then well-known actor, author and theater producer J. C. Nugent (1868-1947), he wrote several plays, in which he then also appeared. From 1925 Elliott Nugent was active as an actor in Hollywood, often playing boyish, serious-looking characters in leading and supporting roles. He appeared in two films with Greta Garbo (1929 and 1930), alongside Lon Chaney Sr. in the horror film The Unholy Three, and with Marion Davies in the comedy Not So Dumb (both 1930), among others.
From the early 1930s, Nugent directed motion pictures and largely let his film career as an actor fade, although he continued to play occasional minor film and television roles (often in his own films) into the 1950s. His genre was predominantly comedy films with well-known comedians such as Harold Lloyd, Danny Kaye, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Occasionally he also filmed serious material, for example he was responsible for the first sound film cinema adaptation of The Great Gatsby in 1949.
Together with his college friend James Thurber, Nugent wrote the stage comedy The Male Animal, which premiered in 1937. In 1942, Nugent himself directed the film version of the play The Male Animal, starring Henry Fonda as the university teacher and Olivia de Havilland as his wife.
Increasing alcohol problems contributed to Nugent not being responsible for any more films from the early 1950s, but he did work as a director and producer of plays. From 1921 until his death in August 1980 at 83, he was married to actress Norma Lee (1899-1980), who died just four months after him. The couple had three children.
Elliott Nugent Film Career
As an actor
1925: Headlines
1929: So This Is College
1929: Invisible Shackles (The Single Standard)
1930: The Sins of the Children
1930: Romance (Romance)
1930: Not So Dumb
1930: The Unholy Three
1931: The Last Flight
1943: Stage Door Canteen
As director
1932: The Mouthpiece
1933: A Piece of the Moon (Three-Cornered Moon) – also actor
1934: She Loves Me Not
1935: Madame Commands! (Enter Madame!)
1938: The Hunted Professor (Professor Beware)
1939: Inheritance at Midnight (The Cat and the Canary)
1941: Nothing But the Truth
1942: Theme: The Male Animal – also author
1943: The Crystal Ball
1944: Up in Arms
1946: Everything is better with song (Welcome Stranger) – also actor
1947: Detective with little faults (My Favorite Brunette)
1949: The Great Gatsby (The Great Gatsby)
1949: Mr. Belvedere Goes to College
1951: The Arm of Evil (My Outlaw Brother) – also actor
1952: Only for You (Just for You)
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