Arthur Hornblow, Jr.

Arthur Hornblow, Jr. (March 15, 1893 – July 17, 1976) was an American film producer. His father, Arthur Hornblow, Sr. (1865–1942), was a noted author and editor and theater critic. He produced The Theatre magazine in New York.

Spouses:

Juliette Crosby (m.1924)
Myrna Loy (1936–1942)
Leonora Schinasi (1945–1976)

Biography

Hornblow graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School, New York City, in 1911, before studying at Dartmouth College and New York Law School, and was a member of the fraternity Theta Delta Chi. He served in counter-intelligence during World War I, and then tried his hand at playwriting. He was then hired as a production supervisor by Sam Goldwyn at Paramount in 1927.

He married the actress Myrna Loy in 1936. On their divorce in 1942 they threw a lavish party at the Mocambo club.

Initially, he specialized in the popular screwball comedies, eventually giving Billy Wilder his first directing job, and producing several films starring Bob Hope. These included The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Ghost Breakers (1940) and Nothing But the Truth (1941). In 1942 he moved to MGM where he produced several film noir. In the 1950s, now an independent producer rather that a studio employee, he worked on musicals and other films. Notably Oklahoma, Ruggles of Red Gap and Gaslight.

After retiring from the film business in 1962 he devoted his time to writing children's books with his third wife Leonora Schinasi.

He notably gave aspiring actress Marie Windsor her first screen test, and Constance Ockelman her new name – Veronica Lake. His father the writer and editor of The Theatre magazine Arthur Hornblow Sr. allowed a version of his last name be used by C. S. Forester for the fictional sea captain Horatio Hornblower after meeting writer C. S. Forester at a cocktail party in New York.

Oscar nominations

As a producer he was nominated for an Academy Award 'Best Picture' Oscar four times, but failed to win.

• Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), comedy-western with Charles Laughton.
• Hold Back the Dawn (1941), romantic-comedy with Charles Boyer and Olivia de Havilland.
• Gaslight (1944), thriller with Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotten.
• Witness for the Prosecution (1957), courtroom drama with Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, and Elsa Lanchester.