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{{short description|French-born American director}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Robert Florey
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Robert Gustave Fuchs
| birth_date = {{birth date|1900|9|14}}
| birth_place = [[Paris]], France
| death_date = {{death date and age|1979|5|16|1900|9|14}}
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| occupation = {{hlist|Director|screenwriter|journalist}}
}}


'''Robert Florey''' ([[14 September]] [[1900]], [[Paris]] - [[16 May]] [[1979]], [[Santa Monica, California]]) was a French screenwriter, director of short films, and actor who moved to [[Hollywood]] in 1921. In 1950, Florey was made a knight in the French [[Légion d'honneur]].
'''Robert Florey''' (14 September 1900 – 16 May 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor.


Born as Robert Fuchs in Paris, he became an orphan at an early age and was then raised in Switzerland. In 1920 he worked at first as a film journalist, then as an assistant and extra in featurettes from [[Louis Feuillade]]. Florey moved to the United States in 1921. As a director, Florey's most productive decades were the 1930s and 1940s, working on relatively low-budget fillers for [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] and [[Warner Brothers]]. His reputation is balanced between his avant-garde expressionist style, most evident in his early career, and his work as a fast, reliable studio-system director called on to finish troubled projects, such as 1939's ''[[Hotel Imperial (1939 film)|Hotel Imperial]]''.
Florey worked as assistant director to [[Josef von Sternberg]], [[Frank Borzage]], and [[Victor Fleming]] before making his feature directing debut in [[1926 in film|1926]]. He directed more than 50 movies over the next 23 years, from the first [[Marx Brothers]] movie ''[[The Cocoanuts]]'' ([[1929 in film|1929]]), to horror movies such as ''[[Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)|Murders in the Rue Morgue]]'' ([[1932 in film|1932]]) starring [[Bela Lugosi]], to skillful low-budget crime [[B-movie|programmers]] like ''[[The Crooked Way]]'' ([[1949 in film|1949]]).


Florey directed more than 50 films, the best known likely being the [[Marx Brothers]] first feature ''[[The Cocoanuts]]'' (1929).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chaillet |first1=Jean-Paul |title=Filmmakers' Autobiographies: Robert Florey |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/filmmakers-autobiographies-robert-florey |access-date=10 September 2020 |date=9 July 2018}}</ref> His 1932 foray into Universal-style horror, ''[[Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)|Murders in the Rue Morgue]]'', is regarded by horror fans as highly reflective of [[German expressionism]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} In 2006, as his 1937 film ''[[Daughter of Shanghai]]'' was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]], Florey was called "widely acclaimed as the best director working in major studio [[B movie|B-films]]".<ref name=LOC>{{cite press release| url=https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2006/06-234.html| title=Librarian of Congress Adds Home Movie, Silent Films and Hollywood Classics to Film Preservation List| publisher=Library of Congress| date=December 27, 2006| access-date=August 4, 2020}}</ref>
Florey made a significant but uncredited contribution to the script of the classic [[1931 in film|1931]] film adaptation of [[Mary Shelley]]'s novel ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]''. Florey was also originally slated to direct ''Frankenstein'' but was assigned by [[Universal Pictures]] to direct ''[[Murders in the Rue Morgue (film)|Murders in the Rue Morgue]]'' instead. Florey, with the help of [[cinematographer]] [[Karl Freund]] and elaborate sets representing 19th century Paris, made ''Murders'' into an American version of German [[expressionism|expressionist]] films such as ''[[Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]'' ([[1920 in film|1920]]).


== Life and work ==
For many film historians, Florey's finest work is in these low-budget programmers and [[B movies]]. Florey hit a peak at Paramount in the late 30s with films including ''[[Hollywood Boulevard (1936 film)|Hollywood Boulevard]]'' ([[1936 in film|1936]]), ''[[King of Gamblers]]'' ([[1937 in film|1937]]), and ''[[Dangerous to Know]]'' ([[1938 in film|1938]]), all distinguished by their fast pace, cynical tone, and striking use of moody, semi-expressionistic camera angles and lighting effects.
===Early life===
Florey grew up in Paris near the studio of [[George Melies]], and as a young man served as assistant to [[Louis Feuillade]].<ref>{{cite book| title=Lovers of Cinema: The First American Film Avant-garde, 1919-1945| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bOXoB01iDJ0C&q=robert+florey| first=Jan-Christopher| last=Horak| page=95| publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press| location=Madison| year=1995| isbn=978-0-2991-4684-9| access-date=August 4, 2020}}</ref> He was an assistant director on ''L'orpheline'' (1921), and ''[[Parisette]]'' (1921).


===Hollywood===
Other notable films include two experimental short films ''[[The Life and Death of 9413--a Hollywood Extra]]'' ([[1928 in film|1928]]) co-directed with [[Slavko Vorkapich]], ''Skyscraper Symphony'' ([[1929 in film|1929]]), and the horror classic ''[[The Beast with Five Fingers]]'' ([[1946 in film|1946]]). He was also assistant director to [[Charlie Chaplin]] on Chaplin's film ''[[Monsieur Verdoux]]'' ([[1947 in film|1947]]).
Florey went to Hollywood in 1921 as a journalist for Cinemagazine. He worked as foreign publicity director for Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford and was European advance manager for [[Rudolph Valentino]].<ref name="los">{{cite news| title=Services Today for Robert Florey, 79, Film Director| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/387656626/?terms=Services%2BToday%2Bfor%2BRobert%2BFlorey%2C%2B79%2C%2BFilm%2BDirector| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=May 18, 1979| page=F20| url-access=subscription}}</ref>


He was an assistant director on ''[[Parisian Nights]]'' (1925). He went to [[MGM]] where he was an assistant on ''[[The Masked Bride]]'' (1925), ''[[Exquisite Sinner]]'' (1926), ''[[Bardelys the Magnificent]]'' (1926), ''[[La Bohème (1926 film)|La Bohème]]'' (1926) and ''[[The Magic Flame]]'' (1927). He also shot newsreel footage in New York.
Florey was one of the first seasoned feature directors to turn to [[television]] in the [[1950s]], working in the new medium for over a decade and producing shows for ''[[The Outer Limits]]'', ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'', and ''[[The Twilight Zone]]''.


===Early films===
He also wrote a number of books, including ''[[Pola Negri]]'' (1927) and ''[[Charlie Chaplin]]'' (1927), ''[[Hollywood d'hier et d'aujord'hui]]'' (1948), ''[[La Lanterne magique]]'' (1966), and ''[[Hollywood annee zero]]'' (1972).
Florey's first film as director was ''[[One Hour of Love]]'' (1927) for Tiffany Productions. He did ''[[The Romantic Age (1927 film)|The Romantic Age]]'' (1927) for Columbia and ''[[Face Value (1927 film)|Face Value]]'' (1927) for Stirling Pictures. He was assistant on ''[[The Woman Disputed]]'' (1928). He directed and co-wrote the 27-minute experimental film ''Johann the Coffinmaker'' in 1927, said to have been made for $200 in his spare time, shooting at night while working on other films in the daytime. The avant-garde film was made on only three sets, and involved a lot of trick photographic effects.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Workman| first1=Christopher| author2=Troy Howarth| date=December 6, 2016| title=Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era| publisher=Midnight Marquee Press| page=313| isbn=978-1936168-68-2}}</ref>


==External links==
===Shorts===
In the late 1920s he produced two experimental short films: ''[[The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra]]'' (1928) co-directed with [[Slavko Vorkapić]], and ''[[Skyscraper Symphony]]'' the following year. He also directed ''The Love of Zero'' (1928), ''Hello New York!'' (1928) with [[Maurice Chevalier]], and ''Pusher-in-the-Face'' (1929) from a script and story by [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] published for the first time on the magazine ''[[Woman's Home Companion]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bibliography of the Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald |url=https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~tdlarson/history/fsf/ssbib.htm |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=freepages.rootsweb.com}}</ref>
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0282984 Robert Florey at the Internet Movie Database]


===Paramount===
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florey, Robert}}
Florey accepted a contract to direct at Paramount Pictures, where he made ''[[The Hole in the Wall (1929 film)|The Hole in the Wall]]'' (1929), starring [[Claudette Colbert]] and [[Edward G. Robinson]], and ''[[The Cocoanuts (film)|The Cocoanuts]]'' (1929), the first film of the [[Marx Brothers]].<ref>{{cite news| title=GETTING INTO HOLLYWOOD: Linder's Studio. Author of Several Books.| newspaper=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/12/16/archives/getting-into-hollywood-linders-studio-author-of-several-books.html| date=December 16, 1928| page=X5| url-access=subscription}}</ref>


He directed the short ''Night Club'' (1929) with [[Fanny Brice]] and made ''[[The Battle of Paris]]'' (1929) with [[Gertrude Lawrence]].<ref>"Florey Does Fast Moving Jazz Comedy". ''The Washington Post'' December 22, 1929: A2.</ref>
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]


Florey went to England to direct the French musical ''[[The Road Is Fine]]'' (1930), and to Germany for ''[[My Wife's Teacher]]'' (1930), a Spanish-language version of the film ''Rendezvous''. While in Germany, he directed ''[[Love Songs (1930 film)|Love Songs]]'' (1930). He did ''[[Black and White (1931 film)|Black and White]]'' (1931) with [[Raimu]], co-directing with [[Marc Allegret]].


===''Murders in the Rue Morgue''===
{{US-film-director-stub}}
Florey made a significant but uncredited contribution to the script of the 1931 version of ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]''. Florey was to be given the job of directing ''Frankenstein'', and he filmed a screen test with [[Bela Lugosi]] playing the monster, but [[Universal Pictures]] gave the job to [[James Whale]], who cast [[Boris Karloff]].


Instead Universal assigned Florey and Lugosi to ''[[Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)|Murders in the Rue Morgue]]'' (1932). Florey, with the help of cinematographer [[Karl Freund]] and elaborate sets representing 19th century Paris, made ''Murders'' into an American version of German [[expressionism|expressionist]] films such as ''[[Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]'' (1920).<ref>Hughes, Maud (May 21, 1932). "MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE" (director: Robert Florey), Universal. ''Picture Show''; London. Vol. 27, Iss. 681: 7.</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=WEIRD FILMS: Character Changes in "Rue Morgue"| newspaper=The New York Times| date=January 10, 1932| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/01/10/archives/weird-films-character-changes-in-rue-morgue.html| page=X6| url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| title=Return of the Repressed| last=Wood| first=Robin| magazine=New York| volume=14| issue=4| date=July–August 1978| pages=25–32, 80}}</ref>
[[de:Robert Florey]]

[[fr:Robert Florey]]
Florey directed ''[[The Man Called Back]]'' (1932) with [[Conrad Nagel]] for Tiffany Pictures, and ''[[Those We Love]]'' (1932) with [[Mary Astor]]. He wrote the script for a version of ''[[A Study in Scarlet (1933 film)|A Study in Scarlet]]'' (1933), which contained elements that strikingly anticipated [[Agatha Christie]]'s 1939 mystery novel ''[[And Then There Were None|Ten Little Niggers]]'' (later known as ''Ten Little Indians'' or ''And Then There Were None'').

===Warner Bros.===
Florey went to Warner Bros. where he directed a number of "B" movies: ''[[Girl Missing]]'' (1933) with [[Glenda Farrell]] and [[Ben Lyon]], ''[[Ex-Lady]]'' (1933) with [[Bette Davis]], ''[[The House on 56th Street]]'' (1933) with [[Kay Francis]], ''[[Bedside (film)|Bedside]]'' (1934) with [[Warren William]], ''[[Registered Nurse (film)|Registered Nurse]]'' (1934) with [[Bebe Daniels]], ''[[Smarty (film)|Smarty]]'' (1934) with [[Joan Blondell]] and William, ''[[I Sell Anything]]'' (1934) with [[Pat O'Brien (actor)|Pat O'Brien]],''[[I Am a Thief]]'' (1934) with Astor, ''[[The Woman in Red (1935 film)|The Woman in Red]]'' (1935) with [[Barbara Stanwyck]], and ''[[The Florentine Dagger]]'' (1935) with [[Donald Woods (actor)|Donald Woods]].<ref>{{cite news| title=WARNERS OPEN BUSY PROGRAM: Largest Outlay in Eight-Year Period Awaits Camera Multi-Starred Musical to Be First Film Started Season's Production Plans Include Sixty Features| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380466073/?terms=WARNERS%2BOPEN%2BBUSY%2BPROGRAM%3A%2BLargest%2BOutlay%2Bin%2BEight-Year%2BPeriod%2BAwaits%2BCamera%2BMulti-Starred%2BMusical%2Bto%2BBe%2BFirst%2BFilm%2BStarted%2BSeason%27s%2BProduction%2BPlans%2BInclude%2BSixty%2BFeatures| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=June 7, 1933| page=A8| url-access=subscription}}</ref>

He did some uncredited work on ''[[Go into Your Dance]]'' (1935) with [[Al Jolson]] and [[Ruby Keeler]], and he was the assistant director on ''[[I've Got Your Number (film)|I've Got Your Number]]'' (1934). He also did some location filming in China for ''[[Oil for the Lamps of China (film)|Oil for the Lamps of China]]'' (1935).<ref>BEDSIDE (First National). Director: Robert Florey ''[[Picture Show (magazine)|Picture Show]]''; London, Vol. 31, Iss. 797, (Aug 11, 1934): 19.</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Bribes Chinese with Pictures of Film Stars| last=Shaffer| first=George| url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/355142618/?terms=Bribes%2BChinese%2Bwith%2BPictures%2Bof%2BFilm%2BStars%3A%2BDirector%2BReports%2BThey%27re%2BBetter%2BThan%2BMoney| newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune| date=June 12, 1934| page=17}}</ref>

Florey directed ''[[Going Highbrow]]'' (1935) with [[Guy Kibbee]], ''[[Don't Bet on Blondes]]'' (1935) with William (and a young [[Errol Flynn]]), and ''[[The Payoff (1935 film)|The Payoff]]'' (1935) with [[James Dunn (actor)|James Dunn]].

===Paramount===
Florey returned to Paramount where he directed ''[[Ship Cafe]]'' (1935) with [[Carl Brisson]], ''[[The Preview Murder Mystery]]'' (1936) with [[Reginald Denny (actor)|Reginald Denny]], ''[[Till We Meet Again (1936 film)|Till We Meet Again]]'' (1936) with [[Herbert Marshall]], ''[[Hollywood Boulevard (1936 film)|Hollywood Boulevard]]'' (1936) with [[John Halliday (actor)|John Halliday]] and a young [[Robert Cummings]], ''[[Outcast (1937 film)|Outcast]]'' (1937) with William, ''[[King of Gamblers]]'' (1937) with [[Claire Trevor]] and [[Lloyd Nolan]], ''[[Mountain Music (film)|Mountain Music]]'' (1937) with [[Bob Burns (humorist)|Bob Burns]] and [[Martha Raye]], ''[[This Way Please]]'' (1937) with [[Charles "Buddy" Rogers]] and [[Betty Grable]], ''[[Daughter of Shanghai]]'' (1937) with [[Anna May Wong]], ''[[Dangerous to Know]]'' (1938) with Wong, and ''[[King of Alcatraz]]'' (1938) with [[Gail Patrick]] and Nolan. He did some uncredited work on ''[[Rose of the Rancho (1936 film)|Rose of the Rancho]]'' (1936). His films were marked by fast pace, cynical tone, [[Dutch angles]], and dramatic lighting.

Florey directed ''[[Hotel Imperial (1939 film)|Hotel Imperial]]'' (1939) with [[Isa Miranda]] and [[Ray Milland]], ''[[The Magnificent Fraud]]'' (1939) with [[Akim Tamiroff]] and Nolan, ''[[Death of a Champion]]'' (1939) with [[Lynne Overman]], ''[[Parole Fixer]]'' (1940) from a book by [[J. Edgar Hoover]], and ''[[Women Without Names (1940 film)|Women Without Names]]'' (1940) with [[Ellen Drew]].

===Columbia===
Florey went to Columbia for ''[[The Face Behind the Mask (1941 film)|The Face Behind the Mask]]'' (1941) with [[Peter Lorre]], ''[[Meet Boston Blackie]]'' (1941) with [[Chester Morris]], and ''[[Two in a Taxi]]'' (1941) with [[Anita Louise]].<ref>{{cite news| title=NEWS OF THE SCREEN: Martha Scott Borrowed by Columbia for Role in 'They Dare Not Love'--Two Swedish Films Open Here| first=Douglas W.| last=Churchill| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/12/27/archives/news-of-the-screen-martha-scott-borrowed-by-columbia-for-role-in.html| newspaper=The New York Times| date=December 27, 1940| page=A22| url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Warner Bros.===
Florey went to Warner Bros. for ''[[Dangerously They Live]]'' (1941) with John Garfield, ''[[Lady Gangster]]'' (1942) with [[Faye Emerson]] and the big budget musical ''[[The Desert Song (1943 film)|The Desert Song]]'' (1943) with Dennis Morgan.

At [[20th Century Fox]] he did some assisting on ''[[Bomber's Moon]]'' (1943) and directed ''[[Roger Touhy, Gangster]]'' (1944) with [[Preston Foster]]. He went to Republic for ''[[Man from Frisco]]'' (1944).

In April 1944, he was burned when his car was on fire.<ref>"Allies Capture Jap Positions Near Kohima". ''Los Angeles Times'' April 29, 1944: 2.</ref> Back at Warners Florey directed ''[[God Is My Co-Pilot (film)|God Is My Co-Pilot]]'' (1945) with Morgan, and ''[[Danger Signal]]'' (1945) with Emerson and [[Zachary Scott]].<ref>Schallert, Edwin (January 17, 1945). "[https://latimes.newspapers.com/image/380806108/?terms=Teresa%2BWright%2BMulls%2BReturn%2Bto%2BFootlights%3A%2BScott%2C%2BBennett%2BCast%2Bas%2BRivals%3B%2BTerry%2B%27Scandals%27%2BLead%3B%2BBarr%2BSet%2Bas%2BVillain Teresa Wright Mulls Return to Footlights: Scott, Bennett Cast as Rivals; Terry 'Scandals' Lead; Barr Set as Villain]". ''Los Angeles Times'': 8.</ref>

He did some uncredited work on ''[[San Antonio (film)|San Antonio]]'' (1945) with [[Errol Flynn]] and returned to the horror genre with ''[[The Beast with Five Fingers]]'' (1946).

He was also associate director to [[Charlie Chaplin]] on Chaplin's film ''[[Monsieur Verdoux]]'' (1947).

===Freelance director===
Florey directed ''[[Tarzan and the Mermaids]]'' (1948) with [[Johnny Weissmuller]] for [[Sol Lesser]] in Mexico, and two [[French Foreign Legion]] films: ''[[Rogues' Regiment]]'' (1948) with [[Dick Powell]] and ''[[Outpost in Morocco]]'' (1949) with [[George Raft]].<ref>Schallert, Edwin (June 3, 1947). "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/381269445/?terms=DRAMA%2BAND%2BFILM%3A%2BO%27Keefe%2BStar%2Bof%2B%27T-Man%3B%2BEngland%2BGets%2B%27Escape%27 DRAMA AND FILM: O'Keefe Star of 'T-Man; England Gets 'Escape']". ''Los Angeles Times'': A3.</ref>

He did ''[[The Crooked Way]]'' (1949) with John Payne, ''[[The Vicious Years]]'' (1950), ''[[Johnny One-Eye]]'' (1950) with Pat O'Brien, and ''Charlie's Haunt'' (1950) with [[Edgar Bergen]] then did some uncredited work on Flynn's ''[[The Adventure of Captain Fabian]]'' (1951).

==Television==
{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=cornsilk|fontsize=100%|salign=center|quote= "Florey was a free spirit who valued his personal liberty within the studio system [but] he never had the commercial clout to make that system work for him...he amused himself with second-string projects and [[B-picture]] budgets, relatively minor efforts on which he could work undisturbed, casually inserted a personal touch here and there. His success at this mode of directing made him extremely suitable for television work, and he enlivened over 300 episodes of series like "[[Wagon Train]]", "[[The Twilight Zone]]" and ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' with his characteristic stylistic flourishes."—Film historian Richard Koszarski in ''Hollywood Directors, 1914-1940'' (1976).<ref>Koszarski, 1976 p. 117</ref>}}

Florey's early works for television included ''[[The Walt Disney Christmas Show]]'' (1951) and ''Operation Wonderland'' (1951) for Disney.

He soon devoted himself to television almost exclusively, doing episodes of ''[[Your Favorite Story]]'', ''[[The Loretta Young Show]]'', ''[[Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'', ''[[The Star and the Story]]'', ''[[Four Star Playhouse]]'', ''[[Ethel Barrymore Theater]]'', ''[[Wire Service]]'', ''[[Telephone Time]]'', ''[[Studio 57]]'', ''[[Fireside Theatre|The Jane Wyman Show]]'', ''[[General Electric Theater]]'', ''[[Schlitz Playhouse]]'', ''[[M Squad]]'', ''[[Wagon Train]]'',''[[The Restless Gun]]'' (the pilot), ''[[Goodyear Theatre]]'', ''[[Alcoa Theatre]]'', ''[[Black Saddle]]'', ''[[Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse]]'', ''[[The Rough Riders (TV series)|The Rough Riders]]'', ''[[The David Niven Show]]'', ''[[Lock Up (TV series)|Lock Up]]'', ''[[Zane Grey Theater]]'', ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|The Untouchables]]'', ''[[The DuPont Show with June Allyson]]'', ''[[Markham (TV series)|Markham]]'', ''[[The Texan (TV series)|The Texan]]'', ''[[Checkmate (American TV series)|Checkmate]]'', ''[[Michael Shayne (TV series)|Michael Shayne]]'', ''[[Hong Kong (TV series)|Hong Kong]]'', ''[[The Barbara Stanwyck Show]]'', ''[[Adventures in Paradise (TV series)|Adventures in Paradise]]'', ''[[Thriller (U.S. TV series)|Thriller]]'', ''[[Alcoa Premiere]]'', ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'', ''[[The Dick Powell Theatre]]'', ''[[Going My Way (TV series)|Going My Way]]'', ''[[The Great Adventure (U.S. TV series)|The Great Adventure]]'', ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' ("[[Perchance to Dream (The Twilight Zone)|Perchance to Dream]]", "[[The Fever (The Twilight Zone)|The Fever]]", "[[The Long Morrow]]") and ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''.<ref name="los"/><ref>{{cite news| title=Movie Directors Urged to Add Their Talents to Television| url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/image/385800452/?terms=Movie%2BDirectors%2BUrged%2Bto%2BAdd%2BTheir%2BTalents%2Bto%2BTelevision| last=Swirsky| first=Sid| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=August 16, 1953| page=D11}}</ref>

He also wrote a number of books, including ''[[Pola Negri]]'' (1927) and ''[[Charlie Chaplin]]'' (1927), ''Hollywood d'hier et d'aujord'hui'' (1948), ''[[La Lanterne magique]]'' (1966), and ''Hollywood annee zero'' (1972).

In 1950, Florey was made a knight in the French [[Légion d'honneur]].<ref>{{cite news| title=French Award Announced for Director Florey| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/image/381256182/?terms=French%2BAward%2BAnnounced%2Bfor%2BDirector%2BFlorey| date=February 9, 1950| page=A12}}</ref>

His 1937 thriller ''[[Daughter of Shanghai]]'' (1937), starring [[Anna May Wong]], was added to the [[National Film Registry]] in 2006.<ref name=LOC/>

He was married once from 1928 to 1936<ref>{{cite news| title=Rift Laid to Temperament: SUIT PLANNED BY WIFE OF VETERAN DIRECTOR| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=August 4, 1936| url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/image/380426771/?terms=Rift%2BLaid%2Bto%2BTemperament%3A%2BSUIT%2BPLANNED%2BBY%2BWIFE%2BOF%2BVETERAN%2BDIRECTOR| page=A2| url-access=subscription}}</ref> and then a second time to Virginia Florey who lived until 2000.<ref name="los"/>

He is buried at the [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery]] in Los Angeles with his second wife.<ref name="los"/>

== Complete filmography ==

as an actor
* ''[[The Masque of Life]]'' (1915–1916)

This filmography lists Florey's credits as director of feature films, and is believed to be complete.

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

* ''[[That Model from Paris]]'', 1926 (uncredited)
* ''[[One Hour of Love]]'', 1927
* ''[[The Romantic Age (1927 film)|The Romantic Age]]'', 1927
* ''[[Face Value (1927 film)|Face Value]]'', 1927
* ''[[The Hole in the Wall (1929 film)|The Hole in the Wall]]'', 1929
* ''[[The Cocoanuts]]'', 1929
* ''[[The Battle of Paris]]'', 1929
* ''[[Skyscraper Symphony]]'', 1929
* ''[[El amor solfeando]]'' (My Wife's Teacher), 1930
* ''[[The Road Is Fine]]'' (''La Route est belle''), 1930
* ''[[Love Songs (1930 film)|Love Songs]]'' (''L'Amour chante''), 1930
* ''[[Rendezvous (1930 film)|Rendezvous]]'', 1930
* ''[[Black and White (1931 film)|Black and White]]'' (''Le Blanc et la noir'') (co-director), 1931
* ''[[Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)|Murders in the Rue Morgue]]'', 1932
* ''[[The Man Called Back]]'', 1932
* ''[[Those We Love]]'', 1932
* ''[[Girl Missing]]'', 1933
* ''[[Ex-Lady]]'', 1933
* ''[[The House on 56th Street]]'', 1933
* ''[[Bedside]]'', 1934
* ''[[Registered Nurse (film)|Registered Nurse]]'', 1934
* ''[[Smarty (film)|Smarty]]'', 1934
* ''[[I Sell Anything]]'', 1934
* ''[[I Am a Thief]]'', 1934
* ''[[The Woman in Red (1935 film)|The Woman in Red]]'', 1935
* ''[[The Florentine Dagger]]'', 1935
* ''[[Go Into Your Dance]]'' (uncredited), 1935
* ''[[Going Highbrow]]'', 1935
* ''[[Don't Bet on Blondes]]'', 1935
* ''[[Ship Cafe]]'', 1935
* ''[[The Payoff (1935 film)|The Payoff]]'', 1935
* ''[[The Preview Murder Mystery]]'', 1936
* ''[[Till We Meet Again (1936 film)|Till We Meet Again]]'', 1936
* ''[[Hollywood Boulevard (1936 film)|Hollywood Boulevard]]'', 1936
* ''[[Outcast (1937 film)|Outcast]]'', 1937
* ''[[King of Gamblers]]'', 1937
* ''[[Mountain Music (film)|Mountain Music]]'', 1937
* ''[[This Way Please]]'', 1937
* ''[[Daughter of Shanghai]]'', 1937
* ''[[Dangerous to Know]]'', 1938
* ''[[King of Alcatraz]]'', 1938
* ''[[Disbarred (1939 film)|Disbarred]]'', 1939
* ''[[Hotel Imperial (1939 film)|Hotel Imperial]]'', 1939
* ''[[The Magnificent Fraud]]'', 1939
* ''[[Death of a Champion]]'', 1939
* ''[[Parole Fixer]]'', 1940
* ''[[Women Without Names (1940 film)|Women Without Names]]'', 1940
* ''[[The Face Behind the Mask (1941 film)|The Face Behind the Mask]]'', 1941
* ''[[Meet Boston Blackie]]'', 1941
* ''[[Two in a Taxi]]'', 1941
* ''[[Dangerously They Live]]'', 1941
* ''[[Lady Gangster]]'' (billed as Florian Roberts), 1941
* ''[[Bomber's Moon]]'' (second-unit director), 1943
* ''[[The Desert Song (1943 film)|The Desert Song]]'', 1943
* ''[[Roger Touhy, Gangster]]'', 1944
* ''[[Man from Frisco]]'', 1944
* ''[[God Is My Co-Pilot (film)|God Is My Co-Pilot]]'', 1945
* ''[[Danger Signal]]'', 1945
* ''[[San Antonio (film)|San Antonio]]'', 1945
* ''[[The Beast with Five Fingers]]'', 1946
* ''[[Tarzan and the Mermaids]]'', 1948
* ''[[Rogues' Regiment]]'', 1948
* ''[[Outpost in Morocco]]'', 1949
* ''[[The Crooked Way]]'', 1949
* ''[[The Vicious Years]]'', 1950
* ''[[Johnny One-Eye]]'', 1950
* ''[[Adventures of Captain Fabian]]'' (uncredited), 1951

{{div col end}}

=== Short subjects ===
[[File:The Love of Zero, 35mm film Robert Florey1928.jpg|thumb|A publicity still from ''The Love of Zero'', a 1927 avant-garde short film by Robert Florey]]
* ''The Love of Zero'', 1928<ref>{{youTube|aPEBUJJUICc|title=''The Love of Zero'' }}</ref>
* ''Hello New York!'' (aka ''Bonjour New York''), 1928
* ''[[The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra]]'', 1928
* ''[[Skyscraper Symphony]]'', 1929
* ''Fifty-Fifty'', 1932
* "The Incredible Dr. Markesan" Thriller Series, costars [[Boris Karloff]], 1962

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*Koszarski, Richard. 1976. ''Hollywood Directors: 1914-1940''. Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 76-9262.
*{{cite book |first=Brian |last=Taves |title=Robert Florey, The French Expressionist |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-8108-1929-0}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Robert Florey}}
*{{wikisource author-inline}}
*{{IMDb name|0282984}}
*[http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/2675/robert-florey Literature on Robert Florey]
*{{find a Grave|13054}}
{{Robert Florey}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Florey, Robert}}
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Film directors from California]]
[[Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Film people from Paris]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)]]
[[Category:French emigrants to the United States]]

Latest revision as of 14:28, 2 January 2025

Robert Florey
Born
Robert Gustave Fuchs

(1900-09-14)September 14, 1900
Paris, France
DiedMay 16, 1979(1979-05-16) (aged 78)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
  • journalist

Robert Florey (14 September 1900 – 16 May 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor.

Born as Robert Fuchs in Paris, he became an orphan at an early age and was then raised in Switzerland. In 1920 he worked at first as a film journalist, then as an assistant and extra in featurettes from Louis Feuillade. Florey moved to the United States in 1921. As a director, Florey's most productive decades were the 1930s and 1940s, working on relatively low-budget fillers for Paramount and Warner Brothers. His reputation is balanced between his avant-garde expressionist style, most evident in his early career, and his work as a fast, reliable studio-system director called on to finish troubled projects, such as 1939's Hotel Imperial.

Florey directed more than 50 films, the best known likely being the Marx Brothers first feature The Cocoanuts (1929).[1] His 1932 foray into Universal-style horror, Murders in the Rue Morgue, is regarded by horror fans as highly reflective of German expressionism.[citation needed] In 2006, as his 1937 film Daughter of Shanghai was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, Florey was called "widely acclaimed as the best director working in major studio B-films".[2]

Life and work

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Florey grew up in Paris near the studio of George Melies, and as a young man served as assistant to Louis Feuillade.[3] He was an assistant director on L'orpheline (1921), and Parisette (1921).

Hollywood

[edit]

Florey went to Hollywood in 1921 as a journalist for Cinemagazine. He worked as foreign publicity director for Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford and was European advance manager for Rudolph Valentino.[4]

He was an assistant director on Parisian Nights (1925). He went to MGM where he was an assistant on The Masked Bride (1925), Exquisite Sinner (1926), Bardelys the Magnificent (1926), La Bohème (1926) and The Magic Flame (1927). He also shot newsreel footage in New York.

Early films

[edit]

Florey's first film as director was One Hour of Love (1927) for Tiffany Productions. He did The Romantic Age (1927) for Columbia and Face Value (1927) for Stirling Pictures. He was assistant on The Woman Disputed (1928). He directed and co-wrote the 27-minute experimental film Johann the Coffinmaker in 1927, said to have been made for $200 in his spare time, shooting at night while working on other films in the daytime. The avant-garde film was made on only three sets, and involved a lot of trick photographic effects.[5]

Shorts

[edit]

In the late 1920s he produced two experimental short films: The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra (1928) co-directed with Slavko Vorkapić, and Skyscraper Symphony the following year. He also directed The Love of Zero (1928), Hello New York! (1928) with Maurice Chevalier, and Pusher-in-the-Face (1929) from a script and story by F. Scott Fitzgerald published for the first time on the magazine Woman's Home Companion.[6]

Paramount

[edit]

Florey accepted a contract to direct at Paramount Pictures, where he made The Hole in the Wall (1929), starring Claudette Colbert and Edward G. Robinson, and The Cocoanuts (1929), the first film of the Marx Brothers.[7]

He directed the short Night Club (1929) with Fanny Brice and made The Battle of Paris (1929) with Gertrude Lawrence.[8]

Florey went to England to direct the French musical The Road Is Fine (1930), and to Germany for My Wife's Teacher (1930), a Spanish-language version of the film Rendezvous. While in Germany, he directed Love Songs (1930). He did Black and White (1931) with Raimu, co-directing with Marc Allegret.

Murders in the Rue Morgue

[edit]

Florey made a significant but uncredited contribution to the script of the 1931 version of Frankenstein. Florey was to be given the job of directing Frankenstein, and he filmed a screen test with Bela Lugosi playing the monster, but Universal Pictures gave the job to James Whale, who cast Boris Karloff.

Instead Universal assigned Florey and Lugosi to Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932). Florey, with the help of cinematographer Karl Freund and elaborate sets representing 19th century Paris, made Murders into an American version of German expressionist films such as Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).[9][10][11]

Florey directed The Man Called Back (1932) with Conrad Nagel for Tiffany Pictures, and Those We Love (1932) with Mary Astor. He wrote the script for a version of A Study in Scarlet (1933), which contained elements that strikingly anticipated Agatha Christie's 1939 mystery novel Ten Little Niggers (later known as Ten Little Indians or And Then There Were None).

Warner Bros.

[edit]

Florey went to Warner Bros. where he directed a number of "B" movies: Girl Missing (1933) with Glenda Farrell and Ben Lyon, Ex-Lady (1933) with Bette Davis, The House on 56th Street (1933) with Kay Francis, Bedside (1934) with Warren William, Registered Nurse (1934) with Bebe Daniels, Smarty (1934) with Joan Blondell and William, I Sell Anything (1934) with Pat O'Brien,I Am a Thief (1934) with Astor, The Woman in Red (1935) with Barbara Stanwyck, and The Florentine Dagger (1935) with Donald Woods.[12]

He did some uncredited work on Go into Your Dance (1935) with Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler, and he was the assistant director on I've Got Your Number (1934). He also did some location filming in China for Oil for the Lamps of China (1935).[13][14]

Florey directed Going Highbrow (1935) with Guy Kibbee, Don't Bet on Blondes (1935) with William (and a young Errol Flynn), and The Payoff (1935) with James Dunn.

Paramount

[edit]

Florey returned to Paramount where he directed Ship Cafe (1935) with Carl Brisson, The Preview Murder Mystery (1936) with Reginald Denny, Till We Meet Again (1936) with Herbert Marshall, Hollywood Boulevard (1936) with John Halliday and a young Robert Cummings, Outcast (1937) with William, King of Gamblers (1937) with Claire Trevor and Lloyd Nolan, Mountain Music (1937) with Bob Burns and Martha Raye, This Way Please (1937) with Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Betty Grable, Daughter of Shanghai (1937) with Anna May Wong, Dangerous to Know (1938) with Wong, and King of Alcatraz (1938) with Gail Patrick and Nolan. He did some uncredited work on Rose of the Rancho (1936). His films were marked by fast pace, cynical tone, Dutch angles, and dramatic lighting.

Florey directed Hotel Imperial (1939) with Isa Miranda and Ray Milland, The Magnificent Fraud (1939) with Akim Tamiroff and Nolan, Death of a Champion (1939) with Lynne Overman, Parole Fixer (1940) from a book by J. Edgar Hoover, and Women Without Names (1940) with Ellen Drew.

Columbia

[edit]

Florey went to Columbia for The Face Behind the Mask (1941) with Peter Lorre, Meet Boston Blackie (1941) with Chester Morris, and Two in a Taxi (1941) with Anita Louise.[15]

Warner Bros.

[edit]

Florey went to Warner Bros. for Dangerously They Live (1941) with John Garfield, Lady Gangster (1942) with Faye Emerson and the big budget musical The Desert Song (1943) with Dennis Morgan.

At 20th Century Fox he did some assisting on Bomber's Moon (1943) and directed Roger Touhy, Gangster (1944) with Preston Foster. He went to Republic for Man from Frisco (1944).

In April 1944, he was burned when his car was on fire.[16] Back at Warners Florey directed God Is My Co-Pilot (1945) with Morgan, and Danger Signal (1945) with Emerson and Zachary Scott.[17]

He did some uncredited work on San Antonio (1945) with Errol Flynn and returned to the horror genre with The Beast with Five Fingers (1946).

He was also associate director to Charlie Chaplin on Chaplin's film Monsieur Verdoux (1947).

Freelance director

[edit]

Florey directed Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948) with Johnny Weissmuller for Sol Lesser in Mexico, and two French Foreign Legion films: Rogues' Regiment (1948) with Dick Powell and Outpost in Morocco (1949) with George Raft.[18]

He did The Crooked Way (1949) with John Payne, The Vicious Years (1950), Johnny One-Eye (1950) with Pat O'Brien, and Charlie's Haunt (1950) with Edgar Bergen then did some uncredited work on Flynn's The Adventure of Captain Fabian (1951).

Television

[edit]

"Florey was a free spirit who valued his personal liberty within the studio system [but] he never had the commercial clout to make that system work for him...he amused himself with second-string projects and B-picture budgets, relatively minor efforts on which he could work undisturbed, casually inserted a personal touch here and there. His success at this mode of directing made him extremely suitable for television work, and he enlivened over 300 episodes of series like "Wagon Train", "The Twilight Zone" and Alfred Hitchcock Presents with his characteristic stylistic flourishes."—Film historian Richard Koszarski in Hollywood Directors, 1914-1940 (1976).[19]

Florey's early works for television included The Walt Disney Christmas Show (1951) and Operation Wonderland (1951) for Disney.

He soon devoted himself to television almost exclusively, doing episodes of Your Favorite Story, The Loretta Young Show, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Star and the Story, Four Star Playhouse, Ethel Barrymore Theater, Wire Service, Telephone Time, Studio 57, The Jane Wyman Show, General Electric Theater, Schlitz Playhouse, M Squad, Wagon Train,The Restless Gun (the pilot), Goodyear Theatre, Alcoa Theatre, Black Saddle, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Rough Riders, The David Niven Show, Lock Up, Zane Grey Theater, The Untouchables, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, Markham, The Texan, Checkmate, Michael Shayne, Hong Kong, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Adventures in Paradise, Thriller, Alcoa Premiere, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Dick Powell Theatre, Going My Way, The Great Adventure, The Twilight Zone ("Perchance to Dream", "The Fever", "The Long Morrow") and The Outer Limits.[4][20]

He also wrote a number of books, including Pola Negri (1927) and Charlie Chaplin (1927), Hollywood d'hier et d'aujord'hui (1948), La Lanterne magique (1966), and Hollywood annee zero (1972).

In 1950, Florey was made a knight in the French Légion d'honneur.[21]

His 1937 thriller Daughter of Shanghai (1937), starring Anna May Wong, was added to the National Film Registry in 2006.[2]

He was married once from 1928 to 1936[22] and then a second time to Virginia Florey who lived until 2000.[4]

He is buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles with his second wife.[4]

Complete filmography

[edit]

as an actor

This filmography lists Florey's credits as director of feature films, and is believed to be complete.

Short subjects

[edit]
A publicity still from The Love of Zero, a 1927 avant-garde short film by Robert Florey

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Chaillet, Jean-Paul (9 July 2018). "Filmmakers' Autobiographies: Robert Florey". Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Librarian of Congress Adds Home Movie, Silent Films and Hollywood Classics to Film Preservation List" (Press release). Library of Congress. December 27, 2006. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  3. ^ Horak, Jan-Christopher (1995). Lovers of Cinema: The First American Film Avant-garde, 1919-1945. Madison: Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-2991-4684-9. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "Services Today for Robert Florey, 79, Film Director". Los Angeles Times. May 18, 1979. p. F20.
  5. ^ Workman, Christopher; Troy Howarth (December 6, 2016). Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era. Midnight Marquee Press. p. 313. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
  6. ^ "Bibliography of the Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald". freepages.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  7. ^ "GETTING INTO HOLLYWOOD: Linder's Studio. Author of Several Books". The New York Times. December 16, 1928. p. X5.
  8. ^ "Florey Does Fast Moving Jazz Comedy". The Washington Post December 22, 1929: A2.
  9. ^ Hughes, Maud (May 21, 1932). "MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE" (director: Robert Florey), Universal. Picture Show; London. Vol. 27, Iss. 681: 7.
  10. ^ "WEIRD FILMS: Character Changes in "Rue Morgue"". The New York Times. January 10, 1932. p. X6.
  11. ^ Wood, Robin (July–August 1978). "Return of the Repressed". New York. Vol. 14, no. 4. pp. 25–32, 80.
  12. ^ "WARNERS OPEN BUSY PROGRAM: Largest Outlay in Eight-Year Period Awaits Camera Multi-Starred Musical to Be First Film Started Season's Production Plans Include Sixty Features". Los Angeles Times. June 7, 1933. p. A8.
  13. ^ BEDSIDE (First National). Director: Robert Florey Picture Show; London, Vol. 31, Iss. 797, (Aug 11, 1934): 19.
  14. ^ Shaffer, George (June 12, 1934). "Bribes Chinese with Pictures of Film Stars". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 17.
  15. ^ Churchill, Douglas W. (December 27, 1940). "NEWS OF THE SCREEN: Martha Scott Borrowed by Columbia for Role in 'They Dare Not Love'--Two Swedish Films Open Here". The New York Times. p. A22.
  16. ^ "Allies Capture Jap Positions Near Kohima". Los Angeles Times April 29, 1944: 2.
  17. ^ Schallert, Edwin (January 17, 1945). "Teresa Wright Mulls Return to Footlights: Scott, Bennett Cast as Rivals; Terry 'Scandals' Lead; Barr Set as Villain". Los Angeles Times: 8.
  18. ^ Schallert, Edwin (June 3, 1947). "DRAMA AND FILM: O'Keefe Star of 'T-Man; England Gets 'Escape'". Los Angeles Times: A3.
  19. ^ Koszarski, 1976 p. 117
  20. ^ Swirsky, Sid (August 16, 1953). "Movie Directors Urged to Add Their Talents to Television". Los Angeles Times. p. D11.
  21. ^ "French Award Announced for Director Florey". Los Angeles Times. February 9, 1950. p. A12.
  22. ^ "Rift Laid to Temperament: SUIT PLANNED BY WIFE OF VETERAN DIRECTOR". Los Angeles Times. August 4, 1936. p. A2.
  23. ^ The Love of Zero on YouTube

References

[edit]
  • Koszarski, Richard. 1976. Hollywood Directors: 1914-1940. Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 76-9262.
  • Taves, Brian (1986). Robert Florey, The French Expressionist. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1929-0.
[edit]
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