Dorothy Spencer

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For the 17th century English aristocrat, see Dorothy Spencer, Countess of Sunderland.
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Dorthy Spencer
Born February 2, 1909(1909-02-02)
Covington, Kentucky, USA
Died May 23, 2002(2002-05-23) (aged 93)
Encinitas, California
Occupation Film editor
Years active 1929 - 1979

Dorothy Spencer (2 February 1909 – 23 May 2002) was an American film editor. Nominated for an Academy Award on several occasions she is remembered for editing several of director John Ford's best known movies, including Stagecoach (1939) and what film critic Roger Ebert calls, "Ford's greatest Western,"[1] My Darling Clementine.

She was born in Covington, Kentucky

Contents

[edit] Long Career with Many "Auteur" Directors and Varied Genres

Dorothy Spencer entered the film industry when she joined the employ of the Consolidated-Aller Lab in 1924. She moved to Fox, becoming a member of the editorial department. Worked at First National Studios assisting editors Louis Loeffler, Al DeGaetano and Irene Morra. At Fox, she and Loeffler were part of an editorial team that also included, at one time or another, Barbara McLean, Robert Simpson, William Reynolds and Hugh S. Fowler.

Dorothy Spencer also edited several of Alfred Hitchcock's films such as Foreign Correspondent (1940) and 1944's Lifeboat (featuring a particularly feisty and well-edited Tallulah Bankhead performance). Spencer also edited director Elia Kazan's feature film debut, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945).

Spencer edited the disaster film Earthquake (1974) starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner and George Kennedy. Variety's review of the film touted, "... Earthquake is an excellent dramatic exploitation extravaganza, combining brilliant special effects with a multi-character plot line...".[2] Dorothy Spencer was nominated for an Oscar for Earthquake, which was her fourth nomination after editing what still reigns as the most expensive movie ever made, Cleopatra (1963). Her prior nominations were, Decision Before Dawn (1951) and the John Ford-directed, Stagecoach (1939).

[edit] One of the Top Film Editors

Variety's Eileen Kowalski notes that, "Indeed, many of the editorial greats have been women: Dede Allen, Verna Fields, Thelma Schoonmaker, Anne V. Coates and Dorothy Spencer."[3] Spencer was awarded the American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award in 1989, and was among the first four editors to receive the Award.

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] As Assistant Editor or Co-Editor

[edit] As Editor

[edit] References and external links

  1. ^ Roger Ebert / Roger Ebert.com Great Movies My Darling Clementine October 26, 1997
  2. ^ Variety review Earthquake 1974 (subscription)
  3. ^ (Editor) "Tina Hirsch" By Eileen Kowalski Variety 14 November 2001 (subscription)

Dorothy Spencer at the Internet Movie Database

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dorothy_Spencer&oldid=475627175"
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