Monta Bell

Monta Bell
Born: Feb 5, 1891
Washington, DC
Career: 1923-1945
Countries: USA
Genre/Type: Comedy
Drama
Romance
Biography by Hal Erickson
Because of his exotic first name, American director Monta Bell has frequently been listed as "one of the few female directors in Hollywood" -- and when the mistake is pointed out, the perpetrator usually compounds the error by respelling Bell's first name as "Monte." After several years as a journalist in his native Washington, DC, Bell went on stage as an actor, entering films in that capacity in 1923. His only on-screen acting stint was in Charlie Chaplin's The Pilgrim; Chaplin would later employ Bell as a film editor and assistant director. In 1924, Bell became a full-fledged director, usually of sophisticated Lubitsch-like sex comedies. While at MGM in 1926, Bell guided Greta Garbo through her first American film, The Torrent. Moving to Paramount, Bell was made head of production at the New York-based Astoria sound studios, where he supervised such pioneering talkies as Rouben Mamoulian's Applause (1929) and the Marx Brothers' The Cocoanuts (1929). As a director in the 1930s, Bell fluctuated between high comedy (Worst Woman in Paris? [1933]) and low melodrama (Devil and the Deep [1932]). Bell switched to producing full-time for Paramount in the mid 1930s, though his final Hollywood assignment was as director of the low-budget flagwaver China's Little Devils (1945). For a brief period, Monta Bell was married to actress Betty Lawford, mother of film star Peter Lawford.

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Filmography

Movie/Film Released Rating Role Buy
China's Little Devils 1945 Director
Beyond the Blue Horizon 1942 Producer
West Point of the Air 1935 Producer
Men in White 1934 Producer
Student Tour 1934 Producer
The Worst Woman in Paris 1933 Director / Screenwriter
Downstairs 1932 Director
Personal Maid 1931 Director
Up for Murder 1931 Director / Screenwriter
East Is West 1930 Director
Glorifying the American Girl 1930 Producer
The Big Pond 1930 Producer
Young Man of Manhattan 1930 Director / Producer
Applause 1929 Producer
Bellamy Trial 1929 Director / Screenwriter
The Cocoanuts 1929 Producer
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Monta Bell (February 5 1891 – February 4 1958) was an American film director, film producer and film editor. Starting as a journalist in Washington DC, Bell later played on stage and entered films in 1923 as an actor. Charlie Chaplin employ...
Monta Bell was born in Washington, District of Columbia, USA

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