Jack Cummings (director)
John Cummings (February 16, 1905[1] – April 28, 1989) was an American film producer and director. He was best known for being a leading producer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Cummings spent most of his career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; his uncle, Louis B. Mayer initially hired his nephew in the 1920s as an office boy and expected him to work his way up through the ranks.
Cummings became a staff producer at MGM in 1934, where he worked in the
Dorothy Kingsley the writer late said:
Jack Cummings was an excellent producer, though he was L. B.'s [Louis B. Mayer's] nephew, which reacted against him. He let it react against him. Everyone else would go up and ask L. B. for something, but Jack never would because he was his nephew. He went through every department in the studio—cutting, music, sound, everything. He had a good story mind, too. He knew about everything and he was one of the best producers.[3]
Cummings felt later in life his contribution to the movies had been downplayed because of his connection to Mayer. According to Charles Champlin "he was both rewarded by and rather cruelly punished by the relationship."[4]
Dore Schary said Cummings was, with Arthur Freed and Joe Pasternak, one of the leading musical producers at MGM but "had talents that fell somewhere between Joe’s and Arthur’s. Jack had taken on the burden of proving he was more than L. B. Mayer’s nephew. The burden ofttimes made him sensitive and quick to resort to truculence. He was the realist.... Jack had a good comedic sense and of the three was the best in the field of nonmusical films.... Jack was lean, a good golfer, a tough and demanding man who dressed the best, always looked trim and showered."[5]
Lester Cole wrote "He was very intelligent and really learned the craft, but he made his way up only slowly, painfully. He was resented and put down as "the boss's kid nephew," despite his skill."[6]
Biography
Jack Cummings was the son of Ida Mayer Cummings, sister of Louis B Mayer. He had two sisters, Ruth (married to film director Roy Rowland) and Mitzi (married to film producer Sol Baer Fielding), as well as a younger half brother Leonard 'Sonny' Cummings.
Cummings went to work at the MGM prop department when seventeen. He worked as an office boy, script clerk, assistant director and short subject director for MGM studios. His short credits include The General (1929) and Gentlemen of Polish (1934).[7]
Producer
Cummings' first film as producer was The Winning Ticket (1935) with Leo Carrillo. He worked uncredited on Tarzan Escapes (1936), taking over from producer Phil Goldston.[8] Then he had a huge hit with Born to Dance (1936), a musical starring Eleanor Powell and James Stewart. Cummings followed this with another musical with Powell, Broadway Melody of 1938 (1938), best remembered for featuring Judy Garland singing "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)". He also made the drama Yellow Jack (1938), starring Robert Montgomery
Cummings made the Judy Garland film Listen, Darling (1938), which was only a minor success, followed by the Eleanor Powell musicals Honolulu (1939) and Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940), the latter co starring Fred Astaire. Cummings made Two Girls on Broadway (1940) a musical with Lana Turner and George Murphy, produced at short notice with available talent in order to fill a gap.[9]
Cummings amde two films with Powell and Red Skelton, Ship Ahoy (1942) and I Dood It (1943), both very popular, plus the comedy Go West (1940) with the Marx Brothers.
After the musical Broadway Rhythm (1944) with George Murphy, Cummings made Bathing Beauty (1944), the starring debut of Esther Williams, alongside Skelton.[10] The movie was massively popular and Cummings produced several more Williams films: Easy to Wed (1946) with Van Johnson, Fiesta (1947) with Ricardo Montalban, Neptune's Daughter (1949) with Skelton and Montalban, Texas Carnival (1951) with Skelton and Howard Keel.[11]
Other musicals Cummings made around this time included It Happened in Brooklyn (1947) with Frank Sinatra; Three Little Words (1950) a biopc with Skelton Fred Astaire, that introduced Debbie Reynolds; Two Weeks with Love (1950), with Powell, Montalban and Renolds; and Lovely to Look At (1952), with Skelton, Keel and Kathryn Grayson. The latter film lost money due to its high cost. In September 1950 Cummings announced he would start up a production company with Roy Rowland but this did not eventuate.[12]
Cummings' non musicals included
Cummings produced Kiss Me Kate (1953), based on the Cole Porter musical, starring Keel and Grayson, and featuring a young Bob Fosse. Then he made two films directed by Stanley Donen, Give a Girl a Break (1953), starring Marge and Gower Champion, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), with Keel and Jane Powell. The former flopped but the latter was a huge box office hit and would be the film of which Cummings was the most proud.[4] Howard Keel wrote in his memoirs "Donen did a good job directing Seven Brides, but the real hero and brains behind it was Jack Cummings."[15] Donen later said making the film was "a nightmare because it was a terrible struggle from the beginning of the picture until the end" in part because he clashed with Cummings.[16]
Cummings made some popular non-musicals: The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954), a drama with Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnson; Many Rivers to Cross (1955) a Western with Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker, co starring Russ Tamblyn and Jeff Richards from Seven Brides; and Interrupted Melody (1955), a bopic of Marjorie Lawrence starring Parker and Glenn Ford. Cummings had spent three years on Interrupted Melody.[17] These films were all hugely popular. Paris and Melody featured early performances from Roger Moore.
Cummings' last film for MGM was the popular comedy The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956) with Ford and Marlon Brando.
Post MGM Career
In March 1955 Cummings announced he would leave MGM once the 18 months left on his contract ran out.[18]
In June 1957 Cummings formed a company with Louis B Mayer to make two films. The Dragon Tree and Paint Your Wagon.
In July 1961 Cummings returned to MGM signing a deal with head of production
Cummings' last credit was Pipe Dreams (1976) with Gladys Knight.
Personal life
Cummings was married to Margery, with whom he had two daughters, Julie Ann and Cathy. He divorced Margert in 1946 after fifteen years of marriage.[28]
In 1947, Cummings married Betty Kern, daughter of composer Jerome Kern.[29] They had daughter Linda Kern (b 1952) and Cummings adopted Betty's son to Artie Shaw, Steven.
He had another daughter, Carla Luisa. Cummings died at age 84 in 1989 at Cedars Sinai Medical Centre. [1]
Partial filmography
- The Winning Ticket (1935)
- Tarzan Escapes (1936)
- Born to Dance (1936)
- Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
- Yellow Jack (1938)
- Listen, Darling (1938)
- Honolulu (1939)
- Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)
- Two Girls on Broadway (1940)
- Go West (1940)
- Ship Ahoy (1942)
- I Dood It (1943)
- Broadway Rhythm (1944)
- Bathing Beauty (1944)
- Easy to Wed (1946)
- It Happened in Brooklyn (1947)
- Fiesta (1947)
- The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947)
- The Stratton Story (1949)
- Neptune's Daughter (1949)
- Two Weeks with Love (1950)
- Three Little Words (1950)
- Excuse My Dust (1951)
- Texas Carnival (1951)
- Lovely to Look At (1952)
- Sombrero (1953)
- Give a Girl a Break (1953)
- Kiss Me Kate (1953)
- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
- The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
- Many Rivers to Cross (1955)
- Interrupted Melody (1955)
- The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)
- The Blue Angel (1959)
- Can-Can (1960)
- The Second Time Around (1961)
- Bachelor Flat (1962)
- Viva La Vegas (1964)
- Pipe Dreams (1976)
Awards and nominations
27th Academy Awards, held March 1955. Nominated for Best Picture (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers). Lost to Sam Spiegel for On the Waterfront.[30]
References
- ^ a b "Jack Cummings, 84, a Producer at M-G-M: [Obituary]". New York Times. April 30, 1989. p. A.40.
- ^ The Family Ties of Producer Jack Cummings: [Home Edition] Champlin, Charles. Los Angeles Times 4 May 1989: 1.
- ^ McGilligan, Pat (1991). "Dorothy Kingsley: The Fixer". In McGilligan, Pat (ed.). Backstory 2: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1940s and 1950s. University of California Press. p. 119.
- ^ a b Champlin, Charles (May 4, 1989). "The troublesome family ties of Jack Cummigns". The Los Angeles Times. p. 12 Part 4.
- ^ Schary, Dore (1979). Heyday. p. 182.
- ^ Cole, Lester (1981). Hollywood Red : the autobiography of Lester Cole. p. 225.
- ^ Came Up Through the Ranks of MGM Jack Cummings; Film Musical Producer: [Home Edition] Connelly, Michael. Los Angeles Times 30 Apr 1989: 42.
- ^ "Cummings takes over Goldstone". Variety. November 6, 1935. p. 6.
- ISBN 978-1-56584-175-8.
- ^ McGilligan, Pat (1991). "Dorothy Kingsley: The Fixer". In McGilligan, Pat (ed.). Backstory 2: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1940s and 1950s. University of California Press. p. 119.
- ^ Looking at Hollywood Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 28 Mar 1945: 25.
- ^ "Cummings, Rowland". Variety. September 6, 1950. p. 5.]
- ^ "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. January 4, 1950. p. 59.
- ^ METRO WILL FILM 'MEXICAN VILLAGE': Studio Buys Niggli's Novel About Life in Hidalgo as a Story for Montalbán By THOMAS F. BRADY New York Times 5 June 1951: 49.
- ^ Keel, Howard (2005). Only make believe. p. 196.
- ^ "Perfect imperfection: that's Donen". The Los Angeles Times. August 25, 1974. p. 32.
- ^ Eleanor Parker Plays Convincing Diva Role: Lawrence Life Story Applauded Scott, John L. Los Angeles Times 13 Feb 1955: D3.
- ^ COLUMBIA TO BACK SPIEGEL IN 3 FILMS: New York Times ]30 Mar 1955: 35.
- ^ MAYER WILL FILM BROADWAY SHOW. New York Times 7 June 1957: 19.
- ^ JACK CUMMINGS SIGNS FOX PACT: Producer, a Mayer Nephew, to Work as Independent New York Times 12 June 1958: 35.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p251
- ^ "There's nothing phoney about Debbie Reynolds". The Hamilton Spectator. June 17, 1961. p. 15.
- ^ Feds Veto Alacataz Variety 29 October 1958 p 3
- ^ Terminating with Fox Variety 7 June 1961 p 2
- ^ "Producer returns to MGM". The Gazette. July 31, 1961. p. 10.
- ^ "Jack Cummings Back at Metro". Variety. July 19, 1961. p. 14.
- ISBN 9781578066902.
- ^ "Margery Cummings divorces MGM producer". Evening Vanguard. May 15, 1946. p. 1.
- ^ "Betty Kern Elopes, Takes Third Husband". Baltimore Sun. May 29, 1947. p. 6.
- ^ "The 27th Academy Awards (1955) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). October 4, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2019.