In Remembrance: Vincent Sherman

     Vincent Sherman, one of the last surviving directors from the era of the studio system, has passed away on June 18, 2006 in Los Angeles, CA. He was 99.

     Born Abraham Orovitz on July 16, 1906 in Vienna, GA, Sherman graduated Atlanta’s Ogelthorpe University in 1925 with the intention of becoming a lawyer. In between studying law at night and writing for an Atlanta newspaper during the day, Sherman found time to write a play with a former classmate. The two decided to move to New York City and try their luck in theatre. Although they failed to sell their play, Sherman was able to find work as an actor. During the summers, Sherman worked as a social director at a camp in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, where he directed and acted in both musical and dramatic shows.

     In 1932, Sherman landed the role of Harry Becker in a Chicago production of Elmer Rice’s play Counselor-At-Law. The following year, director William Wyler cast Sherman in his film adaptation at Universal Pictures. Sherman stayed in Hollywood for a short time, appearing as in various supporting roles as a gangster in a handful of films before returning to New York City.

     Back in Manhattan, Sherman continued to appear in various plays. In 1937, he landed a role in the road company of Sidney Kingsley’s Dead End. When the company appeared in Los Angeles, Sherman met Bryan Foy, the head of the B-picture unit at Warner Brothers, who asked Sherman to join his unit as a screenwriter.

     Settling in at Warner Brothers, Sherman found himself responsible for adapting old screenplays into new films. His first assignment was turning the 1933 James Cagney film The Mayor Of Hell into the 1938 Dead End Kids film Crime School. Sherman also turned the 1930 drama Courage into 1938’s My Bill. While adapting the 1935 crime story Dr. Socrates into King Of The Underworld (1938), Sherman changed the lead character from a man to a woman.

     Sherman made his directorial debut in 1939 on the low budget horror film The Return of Dr. X. Impressed with his work on the film, studio head Jack Warner soon had Sherman assigned to a steady stream of pictures. In 1942, Sherman reunited with Bogart for the gangster drama All Through The Night. After directing Ida Lupino to a New York Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1943’s The Hard Way, Sherman was considered more of a women’s director working on such films as Old Acquaintance (1943) and Mr. Skiffington (1944), both with Bette Davis. Sherman also directed such films as Nora Prentiss (1947), Adventures Of Don Juan (1948), The Hasty Heart (1949) and An Affair In Trinidad (1952).

     Work for Sherman disappeared during the McCarthy era in the mid 1950s. Although not accused of being a communist, Sherman defended many who were accused and found his name placed on a “grey list.” Following the lifting of the grey list, Sherman returned to work directing such films as The Young Philadelphians (1959) and Ice Palace (1960) before turning to direct episodic television.

     Sherman wrote about his days working on the Warner Brothers lot in his 1996 book Studio Affairs: My Life As A Film Director.

     His last film was the 1967 biopic Cervantes.