| Stanley Kramer |
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He had three daughters, Casey, Jennifer and Katherine, along with one son named Larry. Kramer's occupations included producer, director, editor, researcher, screenwriter, carpenter, and editing assistant. Kramer grew up in the area known as Hell's Kitchen, his parents were divorced and he lived with his grandmother. From an early age Kramer had connections with the film industry; his uncle, Earl Kramer worked in distribution at Universal, and then as an agent in Hollywood. Kramer's mother also worked in a secretarial position at Paramount Pictures. Kramer attended New York University, and in his final year at the school he was offered a paid internship in the writing department of 20th Century Fox. Kramer took the job although he had originally planned on attending law school. EARLY YEARS It was in the following decade that Kramer worked his way up through the movie business. In 1941 he worked as a production assistant for the director Albert Lewin on the sets of (1949), which was another success for the budding producer, and in 1950 he produced The Men , which provided Marlon Brando 's debut onto the screen. COLUMBIA PICTURES A year later, Harry Cohn , the president of Columbia Pictures offered Kramer with the chance to make movies under his studio. Kramer was given free reign of what films he chose to make, along with a budget that topped at 980,000 dollars. While Kramer accepted the job, he spent the rest of the year finishing his last independent production, the film High Noon , a Western drama directed by Fred Zinnemann . The film starred Gary Cooper . The movie was greatly accepted and well received. The film received numerous awards, including four Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Original Song, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic of Comedy Picture, as well as three nominations for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Writing, Screenplay. Around the same, in October 1951, time however, Kramer ended his partnership with Carl Foreman, who was asked to testify about his past involvement with the Communist Party . Kramer was still producing movies at Columbia, such as Death Of A Salesman (1951), The Sniper (1952), The Member Of The Wedding (1952), The Juggler (1953), The Wild One (1953), and The 5000 Fingers Of Dr. T (1953). While the movies were not considered successful, they are now found very interesting and are highly praised. In 1953 the president of Columbia, Harry Cohn and Stanley Kramer agreed to terminate the five year contract Kramer had made to Columbia. However, for his last Columbia film, Kramer was determined to regain all of the investments Columbia had made in Kramer's previously unsuccessful films. The film, The Caine Mutiny , was an adaptation of the book written by Herman Wouk and was directed by Edward Dmytryk . Kramer faced resistance from the US Navy, whom the film depicted, for being an unfair portrayal. Kramer was able to negotiate a deal with the Navy, attempting to make the film as accurate and fair as possible. The film's cast included multiple noted actors of the time, including Humphrey Bogart , Van Johnson , Fred MacMurray , and Jose Ferrer . Cohn kept Kramer under tight limitations, such as a budget under two and half million dollars and a running time of two hours. The result was extremely successful. The eleven million dollars it generated made up for any of Kramer's lost profits previously. DIRECTING After The Caine Mutiny, Kramer left Columbia and resumed his independent production, but this time he occupied the role of the director. During this time, Kramer reestablished himself through Not As A Stranger (1955), and The Pride And The Passion (1957). Fortunately for Kramer, he was able to avoid the Blacklist , which had affected so many other members of the film industry. However, Kramer was well known for his liberal views and his desire to produce and direct controversial films. In 1958 he directed The Defiant Ones , On The Beach (1959), Inherit The Wind (1960), and Judgment At Nuremberg (1961). All of the films were bold and dealt with uncomfortable and serious subjects. In contrast to his previous films however, in 1963 Kramer began to produce and direct comedies that seemed to general audience's to be just too long. These films included . Stanley Kramer died on February 19th, 2001 in Los Angeles after suffering from pneumonia. His films, particularly those he directed, are often strongly Politically Liberal , dealing with Nuclear War , Racial Prejudice , and Creationism .While Kramer's age had distanced him from the present social and political strife, both his produced and directed films reflect original stances on controversial subjects. FILMOGRAPHY As director
As producer
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