Jack Martin Smith

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Jack Martin Smith (born January 2, 1911 in Los Angeles , California , † November 7, 1993 in Santa Barbara , California) was an American film architect in classic Hollywood entertainment cinema of the 1930s to 1970s, a master of ostentatious studio perfectionism .

Live and act

Smith had studied at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and after his first experiences in the film industry (1937 at Universal Studios ) worked for MGM from 1938 . Initially employed as a draftsman, in the same year he was brought to join the team of architects headed by Cedric Gibbons , which produced the extensive film structures for Victor Fleming's ambitious and richly decorated fantasy material, The Magic Land . In the following four years, Smith was initially limited to his work as a draftsman, later he also acted as an assistant or second architect (so-called associate art director ).

In 1943 he began working as a film architect. His early work was the execution of drafts for several lively color film musicals by Vincente Minnelli . Under Gibbons' direction, Smith soon developed a secure feeling for plush, equipment-intensive large-scale productions: musicals such as Broadway Melody 1950 , Easter Walk , The Pirate and An American in Paris .

In 1953, Smith moved to 20th Century Fox , whose chief architect he became. With the elaborate and expensive entertainment productions Can-Can and Cleopatra , the effect and flair of which were based to a not inconsiderable extent on Smith's enthusiasm for decor, the phase of financial glitz, pushed by 'Centfox' boss Darryl F. Zanuck , began at the beginning of the 1960s . which should ultimately lead the company to the brink of bankruptcy.

Since Smith (from 1960) was also in charge of all design issues relating to Centfox, he has achieved some notable late achievements: the science fiction film Die phantastische Reise , for which he imagines cell membranes, blood vessels and other body fluids in psychedelic pop -Art colors created, and the musical Hello, Dolly! with Barbra Streisand , for whom Smith was once again allowed to indulge in the luxurious, no-cost tradition of classic Hollywood, in the splendid Belle Époque setting, with which he tried to evoke the upper class of the USA at the turn of the century. For this work he received his third Oscar after Cleopatra and Die Fantastische Reise .

In 1977 Jack Martin Smith retired from cinema design and devoted himself only to television in the 1980s: he was responsible for the buildings of the extremely popular series The Denver Clan and for its spin-off The Colbys .

Filmography (as chief architect)

literature

  • Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 7: R - T. Robert Ryan - Lily Tomlin. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 368.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Smith, Jack Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film architect
DATE OF BIRTH January 2, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH los Angeles
DATE OF DEATH November 7, 1993
Place of death Santa Barbara (California) , California