Background
DONEN, Stanley was born on April 13, 1924 in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Son of Mortie and Helen Donen.
choreographer filmmaker producer
DONEN, Stanley was born on April 13, 1924 in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Son of Mortie and Helen Donen.
Studied at South Carolina University .
Donen began as a dancer in the New York productions oi Pal joey and Best Fool Forward and then joined MGM as a choreographer, he appeared in the film of Best Foot Forward (43, Edward Buzzell) and did the dance direction for Hey, Rookie; Cover Girl (44, Charles Vidor); Anchors Aweigh (45, George Sidney); Holiday in Mexico (46, Sidney); Living in a Big Way (47, Gregory La Cava); A Date with Indy (48, Richard Thorpe); The Kissing Bandit (48, Laslo Benedek); Take Me Out to the Ball Game (49, Busby Berkeley).
His friendship with Gene Kelly led Donen into directing On the Town, and to the problem in assessing his career.
Since 1960, perhaps because of the virtual disappearance of the modest-size musical, Donen has drifted into comedy, the attempt to transpose Peter Cook and Dudley Moore to movies and the hopelessly unsuitable Staircase. At best. The Grass Is Greener is a pleasant, unnecessary comedy; Charade is a modest bow to Hitchcock: and Two for the Road a sign of lasting affection for Audrey Hepburn. But the cinema would be not one jot the poorer without the lot of them. Whereas, no enthusiast in his right mind would give up a foot of On the Totem Singin’ in the Rain. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It’s Always Fair Weather. Funny Face, The Pajama Game, or Damn Yankees.
Member Directors Guild American.
Donen is obviously a central figure in the story of the MGM musical and unarguably the author of two of the greatest musicals—Singin' in the Rain and Funny Face. Nothing in his career suggests that Gene Kelly could have filmed himself singing in the rain with the exhilaration of Donen’s retreating crane shot, while no one has made gravure color so intrinsic a part of smart romance as in Funny Face. More than that, Donen led the musical in a triumphant and personal direction: out of doors. The garbage-can dances in It’s Always Fair Weather and the mock snowscapes of Seven Brides are preludes to “Bonjour Paris” and the enchanting lakeside dance in Funny Face, or the magnificent “Once-a-year Day” picnic in The Pajama Game. Not only did Donen dare to stage elaborate routines in real locations, but he threw his camera about with the freedom of the studio.
Not even Minnelli can rival the fresh-air excitement of such sequences. And very few can equal his integration of song, dance, and story in Funny Face, which is a love stoiy put to music. Add to that “Good Morning,” the satire on Hollywood faced with sound, and Cyd Charisse in the “Broadway Ballet" in Singin’; the randy ensembles of Seven Brides; Charisse in the boxing ring in It’s Always Fair Weather, the darkroom sequence in Funny Face; and Carol Haney doing “Steam Heat” in Pajama Game, and Donen has a secure place forever.