Irving Cummings

Director

About

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Also Known As

Irving Kaminski

Birth Place

New York City, New York, USA

Born

October 09, 1888

Died

April 18, 1959

Cause of Death

Heart Ailment

Biography

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Irving Cummings's amazing vision and attention to detail were the driving forces behind his success as a director. In 1952, he produced and hosted "Lux Radio Theater" for CBS radio. In 1926, he began his lengthy association with Fox Pictures (later to become 20th Century Fox), which lasted 20 years. Cummings kickstarted his acting career in various films such as "Everywoman" (1919), the...

Filmography

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Double Dynamite (1951)

The Dolly Sisters (1945)

The Impatient Years (1944)

What a Woman! (1943)

Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943)

Springtime in the Rockies (1942)

Photos & Videos

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Double Dynamite (1951) -- (Movie Clip) He Graduated Magna Cum Nothing!

Little Miss Broadway (1938) -- (Movie Clip) Be Optimistic

Family & Companions

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Ruth Cummings

Wife

Actor. Born in 1894; died on December 6, 1984 at age 90 90, in Woodland Hills, California; prominent in silent films of the 1910s and 20s; worked with Irving Cummings first when they acted together; she later played occasional character roles.

Biography

Irving Cummings's amazing vision and attention to detail were the driving forces behind his success as a director. In 1952, he produced and hosted "Lux Radio Theater" for CBS radio. In 1926, he began his lengthy association with Fox Pictures (later to become 20th Century Fox), which lasted 20 years. Cummings kickstarted his acting career in various films such as "Everywoman" (1919), the Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle adaptation "The Round-Up" (1920) and "The Man From Hell's River" (1922). He also appeared in "Rupert of Hentzau" (1923). Cummings was nominated for a Directing Academy Award for "In Old Arizona" in 1929. He continued to work in film in the thirties, directing motion pictures like the Warner Baxter western "The Cisco Kid" (1931), "Man Against Woman" (1932) and the action flick "The Woman I Stole" (1933) with Jack Holt. He also appeared in "The White Parade" (1934). Nearing the end of his career, Cummings directed the biopic "Lillian Russell" (1940) with Alice Faye, the Don Ameche musical "Down Argentine Way" (1940) and the Bob Hope comedy adaptation "Louisiana Purchase" (1941). He also appeared in the western "Belle Starr" (1941) with Randolph Scott and the Alice Faye musical "That Night in Rio" (1941). Cummings was most recently credited in "Tap" (1989) with Gregory Hines. Cummings passed away in April 1959 at the age of 71.

Filmography

Director (Feature Film)

Double Dynamite (1951)

The Dolly Sisters (1945)

The Impatient Years (1944)

What a Woman! (1943)

Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943)

Springtime in the Rockies (1942)

My Gal Sal (1942)

Louisiana Purchase (1941)

That Night in Rio (1941)

Belle Starr (1941)

Lillian Russell (1940)

Down Argentine Way (1940)

Jesse James (1939)

Fill-In Director

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)

Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)

Everything Happens at Night (1939)

Just Around the Corner (1938)

Little Miss Broadway (1938)

Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938 (1937)

Merry-Go-Round of 1938 (1937)

Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)

Girls' Dormitory (1936)

White Hunter (1936)

Under Pressure (1935)

Director of revisions

It's a Small World (1935)

Curly Top (1935)

The White Parade (1934)

I Believed in You (1934)

Grand Canary (1934)

The Mad Game (1933)

The Woman I Stole (1933)

Man Hunt (1933)

Man Against Woman (1932)

Attorney for the Defense (1932)

The Night Club Lady (1932)

The Cisco Kid (1931)

A Holy Terror (1931)

Cameo Kirby (1930)

A Devil With Women (1930)

On the Level (1930)

In Old Arizona (1929)

Behind That Curtain (1929)

Not Quite Decent (1929)

Romance of the Underworld (1928)

The Port of Missing Girls (1928)

Dressed To Kill (1928)

The Brute (1927)

Rustling for Cupid (1926)

Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl (1926)

The Midnight Kiss (1926)

The Johnstown Flood (1926)

The Country Beyond (1926)

As Man Desires (1925)

One Year To Live (1925)

Just a Woman (1925)

Infatuation (1925)

The Desert Flower (1925)

Fools' Highway (1924)

The Rose of Paris (1924)

The Dancing Cheat (1924)

Stolen Secrets (1924)

In Every Woman's Life (1924)

Riders Up (1924)

Broken Hearts of Broadway (1923)

The Drug Traffic (1923)

East Side--West Side (1923)

Flesh and Blood (1922)

The Man From Hell's River (1922)

Broad Daylight (1922)

The Jilt (1922)

Environment (1922)

Paid Back (1922)

Cast (Feature Film)

As Man Desires (1925)

Rupert of Hentzau (1923)

Von Bernenstein

The Eternal Flame (1922)

Count de Marsay

The Man From Hell's River (1922)

Pierre de Barre

Cameron of the Royal Mounted (1921)

Harriet and the Piper (1920)

The Tree of Knowledge (1920)

Loftus Roupelle

The Thirteenth Commandment (1920)

Thomas Warwick Duane

Beautifully Trimmed (1920)

The Saphead (1920)

The Round-Up (1920)

The Ladder of Lies (1920)

Everywoman (1919)

Secret Service (1919)

Benton Arrelsford

The Better Wife (1919)

Comte de Cheveral

Men, Women and Money (1919)

Julian Chadwick

The Bluffer (1919)

Richard Vaughan

Some Bride (1919)

Mandarin's Gold (1919)

The Scar (1919)

George Reynolds

Auction of Souls (1919)

The Greater Sinner (1919)

What Every Woman Learns (1919)

The Unveiling Hand (1919)

Her Code of Honor (1919)

The Million Dollar Mystery (1918)

The Heart of a Girl (1918)

The Woman Who Gave (1918)

Andrien Walcott

The Interloper (1918)

Merely Players (1918)

Toys of Fate (1918)

The Debt of Honor (1918)

Chester Holbrooke

The Struggle Everlasting (1918)

Soul, also known as Dean

Rasputin, the Black Monk (1917)

An American Widow (1917)

A Man's Law (1917)

The Whip (1917)

Herbert Brancaster

Wrath of Love (1917)

Royal Romance (1917)

Emperor Maximilian

Sister Against Sister (1917)

The Gilded Cage (1916)

The Feud Girl (1916)

Dave Bassett, alias Dave Rand

Pamela's Past (1916)

The Saleslady (1916)

The World's Great Snare (1916)

The Hidden Scar (1916)

The Lure of the Mask (1915)

Prince Monte Bionca

The Diamond From the Sky (1915)

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1914)

The Three of Us (1914)

Louis Beresford

The Last Volunteer (1914)

Writer (Feature Film)

Dressed To Kill (1928)

The Country Beyond (1926)

The Man From Hell's River (1922)

Producer (Feature Film)

The Impatient Years (1944)

East Side--West Side (1923)

Broken Hearts of Broadway (1923)

East Side--West Side (1923)

Flesh and Blood (1922)

The Man From Hell's River (1922)

Production Companies (Feature Film)

A Holy Terror (1931)

The Cisco Kid (1931)

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Life Events

1909

Film acting debut

1926

Began his lengthy association with Fox Pictures (later to become 20th Century Fox), which lasted 20 years

1944

Last producing credit, "The Impatient Years," which he also directed

1945

Last film for six years, "The Dolly Sisters," at Fox

1951

One-shot return to film directing and last credit, "Double Dynamite," produced by his son Irving Cummings Jr.

1952

Produced and hosted "Lux Radio Theater" for CBS radio

Photo Collections

The Impatient Years - Behind-the-Scenes Photos

The Impatient Years - Behind-the-Scenes Photos

Videos

Double Dynamite (1951) -- (Movie Clip) He Graduated Magna Cum Nothing! Frank Sinatra (as bank teller Johnny) and pal Emil (Groucho Marx) are talking through walls with his neighbor, fianceè and co-worker “Mibs” (Jane Russell), who thinks he’s been embezzling, hoping to intercept the fur he sent her, and annoyed that she’s dating a rival for revenge, in Double Dynamite, 1951.

Little Miss Broadway (1938) -- (Movie Clip) Be Optimistic Opening with Shirley Temple replacing the youngest of the Brian Sisters trio, with a tune by Harold Spina and Walter Bullock, then Jane Darwell confirming her usual status as an orphan, in this case just being adopted, in Little Miss Broadway, 1938, featuring George Murphy and Jimmy Durante.

Little Miss Broadway (1938) -- (Movie Clip) How Can I Thank You? Shirley Temple relates to her new adoptive sister (Phyllis Brooks), who helps run the show-biz hotel, where Jimmy Durante is rehearsing his band, and the owner next door (Edna Mae Oliver, with brother Donald Meek) has a problem with noise, song by Harold Spina and Walter Bullock, in Little Miss Broadway, 1938.

Little Miss Broadway (1938) -- (Movie Clip) We Should Be Together Shirley Temple, adopted by the operators of a showbiz hotel, hopes to persuade the owners not to shut it down, and happily meets their agreeable nephew, George Murphy, celebrating with another Harold Spina/Walter Bullock tune, choreographed by Nick Castle, in Little Miss Broadway, 1938.

Double Dynamite (1951) -- (Movie Clip) On $42.50 A Week Opening introduces Jane Russell as bank teller Mildred and Don McGuire as Bob, the annoying son of the big boss, then Frank Sinatra as fellow teller (and her fianceè) Johnny, getting nowhere seeking a raise from the manager (Harry Hayden), in RKO’s Double Dynamite, 1951, also starring Groucho Marx.

Double Dynamite (1951) -- (Movie Clip) Live Dangerously! Engaged bank tellers Johnny and “Mibs” (Frank Sinatra, Jane Russell) at lunch, just before Christmas, after he’s failed to get the raise he thinks they need to get married, and the first scene for Groucho Marx, who shared top billing, as waiter Emil, in Double Dynamite, 1951.

Double Dynamite (1951) -- (Movie Clip) I Don't Wear Shirts At Christmas-time in Los Angeles, broke bank teller Johnny (Frank Sinatra) has just rescued Nestor Paiva (whom we’ll learn is Hot Horse Harris, a big time bookie) from muggers, and he insists on compensation, Lou Nova as Santa, Joe Devlin the muscle, in Double Dynamite, 1951, also starring Jane Russell and Groucho Marx.

That Night In Rio (1941) -- (Movie Clip) Chica Chica Boom Chic Opening with an original song, by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, for Carmen Miranda and then Don Ameche, whom we will learn are "Carmen" and American Larry, performers in a Rio night club, in 20th Century-Fox's That Night In Rio, 1941, also starring Alice Faye.

That Night In Rio (1941) -- (Movie Clip) They Met In Rio Still on that first night in the Rio night club, Don Ameche as American singer Larry meets Alice Faye as Brazilian baroness Cecilia, whose prominent husband he impersonates as part of his act, song by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, in That Night In Rio, 1941.

That Night In Rio (1941) -- (Movie Clip) Cai Cai Straight up number for Carmen Miranda, who plays an entertainer named Carmen, performing at a Brazilian society party, co-stars Don Ameche and Alice Faye in her audience, original song by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, in 20th Century-Fox's That Night In Rio, 1941.

That Night In Rio (1941) -- (Movie Clip) Are You Quite Yourself Now? Brazilians Penna and Salles (S.Z. Sakall, Curt Bois) can't let Baroness Cecilia (Alice Faye) tell American Larry (Don Ameche) that she knows they've hired him to impersonate her husband, their boss, the less charming Baron Manuel, for business reasons, in That Night In Rio, 1941.

My Gal Sal (1942) -- (Movie Clip) We Thought You Were A Turkey Traveling minstrel Paul (Victor Mature) gets blamed for the scam run by a con man he just met, later rescued by Carole Landis as showgirl Mae, introduced in a manner usually reserved for leading ladies (in this instance Rita Hayworth, coming soon) early in My Gal Sal, 1942.

Family

Irving Cummings Jr

Son

Screenwriter.

Companions

Ruth Cummings

Wife

Actor. Born in 1894; died on December 6, 1984 at age 90 90, in Woodland Hills, California; prominent in silent films of the 1910s and 20s; worked with Irving Cummings first when they acted together; she later played occasional character roles.

Bibliography

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