Arthur Hornblow Jr.

Arthur Hornblow Jr. (March 15, 1893 – July 17, 1976) was an American film producer.

Arthur Hornblow Jr.
Arthur Hornblow Jr. and Myrna Loy
soon after their marriage in 1936
Born(1893-03-15)March 15, 1893
New York City, New York, United States
DiedJuly 17, 1976(1976-07-17) (aged 83)
New York City, New York, United States
OccupationFilm producer
Spouse(s)
Juliette Crosby
​
(
m. 1924; div. 1936)

​
(
m. 1936; div. 1942)

​
(
m. 1945)

Biography

Hornblow was the son of Arthur Hornblow Sr. (1865–1942), a writer who edited Theatre Magazine in New York City. (He allowed a version of his last name be used by C. S. Forester for the fictional sea captain Horatio Hornblower after meeting writer Forester at a New York cocktail party.)

Hornblow graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School, New York City, in 1911, before studying at Dartmouth College and New York Law School,[1] and was a member of the fraternity Theta Delta Chi. He served in counter-intelligence during World War I,[1] and then tried his hand at playwriting. He was then hired as a production supervisor by Sam Goldwyn at Paramount in 1927.[1]

Initially, he specialized in the popular screwball comedies, eventually giving Billy Wilder his first directing job, and producing several films starring Bob Hope.[1] These included The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Ghost Breakers (1940) and Nothing But the Truth (1941).[2] In 1942 he moved to MGM where he produced Gaslight and several film noir. In the 1950s, now an independent producer rather that a studio employee, he worked on the musical Oklahoma and the courtroom drama Witness for the Prosecution, directed by his former Paramount colleague, Billy Wilder.

He gave aspiring actress Marie Windsor her first screen test, and Constance Ockelman her new name, Veronica Lake.

Oscar nominations

As a producer he was nominated for an Academy Award 'Best Picture' Oscar four times, but failed to win.

Selected filmography
Hornblow and Paulette Goddard on the set of The Cat and the Canary (1939)

Books by Arthur and Leonora Hornblow

The Hornblows, Frith, and Random House collaborated to produce numerous sequels, Birds Do the Strangest Things (1965), and so on.

Books by Arthur Hornblow
  • A History of the Theatre in America From its Beginnings to the Present Time Vol. 1 (J.B. Lippincott Company, 1919), ISBN 9781628452334
  • A History of the Theatre in America From its Beginnings to the Present Time Vol. 2 (J.B. LIppincott Company, 1919), ISBN 9781628452594
gollark: Should you just ban people from saying ANYTHING calculated to achieve an effect?
gollark: My mind isn't perfectly rational and unsusceptible or whatever. I'm just somewhat responsible for doing stupid things.
gollark: Although I don't think your justification is very reasonable - it's not remotely like coercing someone if you tell them to do something and it turns out that they have some sort of brain glitch which means they'll randomly unconditionally do it.
gollark: *You* haven't, I think, no.
gollark: Specific, LIMITED and well-defined ways.

References
  1. "Arthur Hornblow Jr". IMDB. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  2. "Arthur Hornblow Jr". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
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