Name : Stanley Donen
Birth : 13 April 1924
Died : 21 February 2019
Nationality :
Comment
Stanley Donen is known for his musical films, not least Singin In The Rain, and also some comedies and other styles of films. As a child he was influenced by Flying Down To Rio he then moved to New York to become a dancer and worked with Gene Kelly. He then moved to MGM as a choreographer and he had the idea of working with animated characters in Anchors Aweigh. His first film as a director was On The Town with Gene Kelly and unusually filmed on location in New York. This was followed by working with his idol Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding. This was followed by the classic musical Singing In The Rain which he co-directed with Gene Kelly. Fearless Fagan was a comedy that the studio wanted him to make and different to his other films. In 1954 he directed one of his most commercially successful films, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. The following year was his final collaboration with Gene Kelly in It's Always Fair Weather which has him dancing on roller skates. For Funny Face he teamed up with his idol Fred Astaire for the final time. In 1957 he worked with Doris Day in The Pajama Game based on the stage musical. Kiss Them For Me was his first teaming up with Cary Grant. This was followed up with Indiscreet with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman and a move away from musicals. After this he moved to England and directed films like Surprise Package (1960). For the Grass Is Greener he assembled an all star cast. His final film with Cary Grant was Charade in 1963 and featuring Audrey Hepburn was a major commercial success. Arabesque was another comedy thriller but with different stars. Bedazzled was a very different comedy and a departure from his other films with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. In 1980 he directed the Sci-Fi film Saturn 3 which is a great piece of Sci-Fi.
Director
Blame It On Rio (1984)
Saturn 3 (1980)
Bedazzled (1967)
Arabesque (1966)
Charade (1963)
The Grass Is Greener (1960)
Surprise Package (1960)
Indiscreet (1958)
Kiss Them For Me (1957)
The Pajama Game (1957)
Funny Face (1957)
It's Always Fair Weather (1955)
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954)
Fearless Fagan (1952)
Singin In The Rain (1952)
Royal Wedding (1951)
On the Town (1949)
Producer
Blame It On Rio (1984)
Bedazzled (1967)
Charade (1963)
The Grass Is Greener (1960)
Surprise Package (1960)
Indiscreet (1958)
The Pajama Game (1957)
Oscars