Mamoulian, Rouben

Mamoulian, Rouben

Mamoulian

(credit: UPI)

(born Oct. 8, 1897, Tiflis, Georgia, Russian Empire—died Dec. 4, 1987, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.) Russian-U.S. director. After training as an actor at the Moscow Art Theatre, he moved to London in 1918, where he directed operettas and musicals. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1923, he worked for the Theatre Guild and directed the play Porgy (1927); he later directed the original production of its musical adaptation, Porgy and Bess (1935), and later musicals such as Oklahoma! (1943) and Carousel (1945). Invited to direct the film musical Applause (1929), he won acclaim for his innovative camera work; his later films include City Streets (1931), Queen Christina (1933) with Greta Garbo, Becky Sharp (1935), The Gay Desperado (1936), Blood and Sand (1941), and Silk Stockings (1957). He was noted for the skillful blending of music and sound effects with an imaginative visual rhythm.