Known for Directing
Mervyn LeRoy was an American film director, producer, and sometime actor. LeRoy worked in costumes, processing labs and as a camera assistant until he became a gag writer and actor in silent films, including The Ten Commandments in 1923. LeRoy credits Ten Commandments director, Cecil B. DeMille, for inspiring him to become a director: "As the top director of the era, DeMille had been the magnet that had drawn me to his set as often as I could go." LeRoy also credits DeMille for teaching him the directing techniques required to make his own films. His first directing job was with First National Pictures on 1927's No Place to Go. LeRoy ended up working at Warner Bros. after they took control of First National. When his movies made lots of money without costing too much, he became well received in the movie business. He directed two key films which launched Edward G. Robinson into major stardom, the Oscar-nominated critique of tabloid journalism Five Star Final, and the classic gangster film Little Caesar, which made his mark. From that point forward, LeRoy would be responsible for a diverse variety of films as a director and producer. The following year's I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang was also nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Production as was his Anthony Adverse. In 1938 he was chosen as head of production at MGM, where he was responsible for the decision to make The Wizard of Oz. He was responsible for discovering Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Robert Mitchum, and Lana Turner. His 1941 film Blossoms in the Dust was nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Motion Picture. His first big hit as a director with MGM was 1942's Random Harvest which was their biggest of the season earning worldwide rentals of $8 million and for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Directing. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Motion Picture. He hit big again two years later with Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo with rentals of $6 million. In 1951, he scored his biggest hit with Quo Vadis earning worldwide rentals of $21 million as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. In the early 1950s, LeRoy directed such musicals as Lovely to Look At, Million Dollar Mermaid, Latin Lovers and Rose Marie. He returned to Warner Brothers in 1955, where he took over from John Ford as director on Mister Roberts, another big hit, which was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. He also directed films for Warners such as The Bad Seed, No Time for Sergeants, The FBI Story, and Gypsy. He received an honorary Oscar in 1946 for The House I Live In, "for tolerance short subject", and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1976. A total of eight movies Mervyn LeRoy directed or co-directed were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, one of the highest numbers among all directors.
Born
October 15, 1900
Died
September 13, 1987 (age 86)
Birthplace
San Francisco, California, USA
Filmography
118 films, 3 shows


Moment to Moment
1966 · 1h 48m · US
When an erring wife's supposedly dead lover turns up an amnesiac, it's her unsuspecting shrink husband who's enlisted to get those memories back.


Mary, Mary
1963 · 2h 6m · US
Sparks fly when a recently-divorced couple is forced to get together to sort out a tax matter.


Gypsy
1962 · 2h 23m · US
Gypsy's mother Rose dreams of a life in show business for her daughters, but Louise becomes a huge burlesque star. Stage musical loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee.


A Majority of One
1961 · 2h 36m · US
A gentle love story about a Japanese businessman and widower, and a Brooklyn widow. But before a happy ending can ensue, they must learn again the lessons of tolerance, kindness and forgiveness.


The Devil at 4 O'Clock
1961 · 2h 6m · US
A crusty, eccentric priest recruits three reluctant convicts to help him rescue a children's leper colony from a Pacific island menaced by a smoldering volcano.


Wake Me When It's Over
1960 · 2h 6m · US
The war may be over, but that doesn't keep the hapless Gus Brubaker from being drafted and posted on a forgotten little Japanese Island...and that's just the beginning of this wacky Air Force adventure!


The FBI Story
1959 · 2h 29m · US
A dedicated FBI agent recalls the agency's battles against the Klan, organized crime and Communist spies.


Home Before Dark
1958 · 2h 16m · US
A young woman returns home after being institutionalized in a mental hospital.


No Time for Sergeants
1958 · 1h 59m · US
Georgia farm boy Will Stockdale is about to bust with pride. He’s been drafted. Will’s ready. But is Uncle Sam ready for Will?


Toward the Unknown
1956 · 1h 55m · US
Tortured into a false confession while a POW in Korea, Major Lincoln Bond returns to active service as a test pilot. Determined to clear his name, Bond battles a hard-nosed base commander, prejudiced officers and his own insecurities.


The Bad Seed
1956 · 2h 9m · US
Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously, her self-deception unravels.


Mister Roberts
1955 · 2h 3m · US
Mr. Roberts is a Navy officer who's yearning for battle but is stuck in the backwaters of World War II on a non-commissioned ship run by the bullying Captain Morton.


Strange Lady in Town
1955 · 1h 52m · US
Julia Garth, a female doctor, plans to introduce modern techniques of medicine to old Santa Fe in 1880, but is opposed by an established doctor, Rourke O'Brien.


Rose Marie
1954 · 1h 55m · US
Rose Marie Lemaitre, an orphan living in the Canadian wilderness, falls in love with her guardian, Mike Malone, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The feeling is mutual. But, when she leaves to learn proper etiquette, Rose Marie meets a trapper named James Duval, who also falls for her. Further complications arise when Native American Chief Black Eagle -- a rival of Duval's -- is murdered.


Latin Lovers
1953 · 1h 44m · US
An heiress searches for true love while vacationing in Brazil.


Million Dollar Mermaid
1952 · 1h 55m · US
After overcoming polio, Annette Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent.


Lovely to Look At
1952 · 1h 42m · US
Broadway producers Tony Naylor, Al Marsh, and Jerry Ralby are having difficulty securing funds for their latest show. Then Al learns he has inherited half of a salon in Paris from his Aunt Roberta. The three men travel to France, where they attempt to stage an extravagant fashion show to revitalize the struggling business, now run by Roberta's nieces, Stephanie and Clarisse.


Quo Vadis
1951 · 2h 54m · US
After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.


East Side, West Side
1949 · 1h 48m · US
A vain businessman puts strains on his happy marriage to a rich, beautiful socialite by allowing himself to be seduced by a former girlfriend.


Any Number Can Play
1949 · 1h 52m · US
When illegal casino owner Charley Kyng develops heart disease, he is advised by a doctor to spend more time with his family. However, he finds it difficult to keep his work separate from his life at home. His son, Paul, feels ashamed of Charley's career and gets into a fight at his prom because of it. Meanwhile, Charley's brother-in-law, Robbin, who works at the casino, begins fixing games due to his extreme gambling debts.


Little Women
1949 · 2h 1m · US
Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.


Homecoming
1948 · 1h 53m · US
Self-absorbed Dr. Lee Johnson enlists with the Army medical corps during World War II, more out of a feeling that it's "the thing to do" rather than deep-seated patriotism. On his first day, he's put into place by 'Snapshot', a sassy and attractive nurse. Their initial antagonism blossoms into romance. Lee then finds himself torn with guilt over being unfaithful to his wife, Penny, who's waiting for him back home.


Desire Me
1947 · 1h 31m · US
A war widow falls in love with the man who informed her of her husband's death.


Without Reservations
1946 · 1h 47m · US
Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author.


The House I Live In
1945 · 11m · US
Frank Sinatra teaches a group of young boys a lesson in religious tolerance.


Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
1944 · 2h 18m · US
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.


Madame Curie
1943 · 2h 4m · US
Poor physics student Marie is studying at the Sorbonne in 1890s Paris. One of the few women studying in her field, Marie encounters skepticism concerning her abilities, but is eventually offered a research placement in Pierre Curie's lab. The scientists soon fall in love and embark on a shared quest to extract, from a particular type of rock, a new chemical element they have named radium. However, their research puts them on the brink of professional failure.


You, John Jones!
1943 · 11m · US
Volunteer air raid warden John Jones contemplates how fortunate he and his family are in America, where no wartime bombing occurs.


Random Harvest
1942 · 2h 5m · US
Wandered away from his asylum, an amnesiac World War I veteran falls in love with a music hall star but his amnesia makes it difficult to last.


Johnny Eager
1941 · 1h 47m · US
A charming racketeer seduces the DA's stepdaughter for revenge, then falls in love.


Unholy Partners
1941 · 1h 34m · US
A crusading newsman starts up a tabloid with a gangster as his 50-50 partner.


Blossoms in the Dust
1941 · 1h 39m · US
Edna marries Texan Sam Gladney, operator of a wheat mill. They have a son, who is killed when very young. Edna discovers by chance how the law treats children who are without parents and decides to do something about it. She opens a home for foundlings and orphans and begins to place children in good homes, despite the opposition of "conservative" citizens, who would condemn illegitimate children for being born out of wedlock. Eventually Edna leads a fight in the Texas legislature to remove the stigma of illegitimacy from birth records in that state, while continuing to be an advocate for homeless children.


Escape
1940 · 1h 38m · US
An American goes to pre-war Germany to find his mother and discovers her in a concentration camp. With the help of an American-born widowed countess he seeks to engineer her escape.


Waterloo Bridge
1940 · 1h 48m · US
On the eve of World War II, a British officer revisits Waterloo Bridge and recalls the young man he was at the beginning of World War I and the young ballerina he met just before he left for the front.


Fools for Scandal
1938 · 1h 20m · US
An incognito Hollywood star in Paris meets a penniless nobleman who follows her to London.


They Won't Forget
1937 · 1h 35m · US
A southern town is rocked by scandal when teenager Mary Clay is murdered on Confederate Decoration Day. Andrew Griffin, a small-time lawyer with political ambitions, sees the crime as his ticket to the Senate if he can find the right victim to finger for the crime. He sets out to convict Robert Hale, a transplanted northerner who was Mary's teacher at the business school where she was killed. Despite the fact that all the evidence against Hale is circumstantial, Griffin works with a ruthless reporter to create a media frenzy of prejudice and hate against the teacher.


The King and the Chorus Girl
1937 · 1h 34m · US
A destitute, bored monarch falls in love with a chorus girl.


Three Men on a Horse
1936 · 1h 26m · US
A meek salesman with an uncanny ability to pick horses is virtually kidnapped by a trio of gamblers.


Anthony Adverse
1936 · 2h 21m · US
Based on the novel by Hervey Allen, this expansive drama follows the many adventures of the eponymous hero, Anthony Adverse. Abandoned at a convent by his heartless nobleman father, Don Luis, Anthony is later mentored by his kind grandfather, John Bonnyfeather, and falls for the beautiful Angela Giuseppe. When circumstances separate Anthony and Angela and he embarks on a long journey, he must find his way back to her, no matter what the cost.


I Found Stella Parish
1935 · 1h 25m · US
A blackmailer preys on an actress who is trying to protect her daughter from her past.


Page Miss Glory
1935 · 1h 33m · US
A country girl goes to the city and gets a job in a posh hotel, and winds up becoming an instant celebrity thanks to an ambitious photographer.


Oil for the Lamps of China
1935 · 1h 37m · US
An American oil company representative risks sacrificing his marriage for his career in the rural lands of China.


Sweet Adeline
1934 · 1h 27m · US
In 1898, composer Sid Barnett manages to get his sweetheart, Adeline the beer-garden singer, to sing the lead in his new Broadway operetta; this infuriates Elysia, the erstwhile star. But Sid frets as Adeline spends increasing amounts of time with the dashing Major Day.


Happiness Ahead
1934 · 1h 26m · US
Society heiress Joan Bradford rebels against her mother's choice of a future husband by masquerading as a working class girl and dating a window washer.


Heat Lightning
1934 · 1h 3m · US
Olga runs an isolated gas station and restaurant in the stifling hot American desert with her discontented younger sister Myra. When two escaped criminals stop for a bite to eat, Olga is reminded of the past she left behind.


Hi, Nellie!
1934 · 1h 15m · US
Managing Editor Brad Bradshaw refuses to run a story linking the disappearance of Frank Canfield with embezzlement of the bank. He considers Frank a straight shooter and he goes easy on the story. Every other paper goes with the story that Frank took the money and Brad is demoted, by the publisher, to the Heartthrob column - writing advice to the lovelorn. After feeling sorry for himself for two months, he takes the column seriously and makes it the talk of the town. But Brad still wants his old job back so he will have to find Canfield and the missing money.


The World Changes
1933 · 1h 31m · US
Generational saga tracing the events in the lives of the midwest pioneering Nordholm family, as seen through the eyes of businessman Orin Nordholm Jr., who ages from a youth to an elderly grandfather.


Tugboat Annie
1933 · 1h 26m · US
Tugboat, the Narcissus, is owned and captained by Annie Brennan, and among her crew are her alcoholic but good-natured husband, Terry, and her conscientious son, Alec. Annie continually loses business because of Terry's drunken mistakes. Alec wants to quit school to work on the tug full time, but Annie will not sacrifice her son's education. A grown Alec has followed in his mother's footsteps and becomes a mariner, but a more upscale one as the captain of a luxury liner. Alec returns home with his fiancée, Pat - the boss' daughter - with a grand plan to save Annie from the life that drunkard Terry has provided her. But ultimately, it's Annie and Terry that need to be Alec's savior, and by their move show him the meaning of true commitment.


Gold Diggers of 1933
1933 · 1h 37m · US
When all Broadway shows are shut down during the Depression, a trio of desperate showgirls scheme to bilk a repugnant high society man of his money to keep their show going.


Elmer, the Great
1933 · 1h 12m · US
Baseball star Elmer Kane leaves the little town of Gentryville, Indiana, to join the Chicago Cubs, where his naivete and arrogance soon put his relationship and career into jeopardy.


Hard to Handle
1933 · 1h 18m · US
A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.


I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
1932 · 1h 32m · US
A World War I veteran’s dreams of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Things get even worse when he’s falsely convicted of a crime and sent to work on a chain gang.


Three on a Match
1932 · 1h 3m · US
Although Vivian Revere is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery and drugs.


Big City Blues
1932 · 1h 3m · US
An Indiana boy comes into an inheritance and moves to New York City, living it up with his girlfriend until he gets in over his head and someone gets killed.


Two Seconds
1932 · 1h 7m · US
A condemned murderer, in the process of being executed, relives the events that led to his being sentenced to die in the electric chair. Told in flashback, we witness a sleazy dancehall girl dupe a high rise riveter into marriage so she can live off of him. But when he loses his job and his marbles, she ends up supporting him with money from her side man--and misses no opportunity to rub it in his face that she's now supporting him in his emasculated state. As the animosity grows and things get more and more unbearable, he is eventually driven to desperate measures.


The Heart of New York
1932 · 1h 13m · US
A poor New York plumber's wife and children hope to move "uptown" from their lower East Side neighborhood after he sells his new invention.


High Pressure
1932 · 1h 13m · US
Gar Evans is a con artist, who pretends to be the owner of a "Golden Gate Artificial Rubber Company", and he is looking for investors. Finding them is relatively easy, but it becomes difficult when those want to see the inventor of the synthetic rubber...


Local Boy Makes Good
1931 · 1h 8m · US
John is a timid student who works at the University Book Store. He is studying to be a botanist and has a secret crush on the lovely Julia. One day, one of his letters gets accidentally mailed and Julia receives it. When the letter says that he is a fraternity man and a big track star, Julia rushes right over to see him. But John is neither and Spike, Julia's boyfriend, is a track star at a nearby College. John does not want to enter the track meet so Julia tries to use psychology on him. That and a good wrestling hold makes John timidly agree to enter the race, but Spike still scares him.


Five Star Final
1931 · 1h 29m · US
Searching for headlines at any cost, an unscrupulous newspaper owner forces his editor to print a serial based on a past murder, tormenting a woman involved.


Broadminded
1931 · 1h 12m · US
Jack's father lowers the boom when his irresponsible rich-kid ends up in jail after a night of debauchery. The father appoints Ossie, Jack's cousin, as guardian, not realizing that Ossie is just as bad. They set off on a transcontinental trip with mischief on their minds.


Too Young to Marry
1931 · 1h 7m · US
In this comedy drama set in a small town, a milque-toast gets a backbone and stands up to his overbearing wife. Only one of his daughters is on his side. The family is amazed and shocked by his sudden change. At first they rebel, but when he defies his wife and allows his good daughter to marry the grocery boy she loves, they finally come to respect him.


Gentleman's Fate
1931 · 1h 30m · US
A bootlegger falls apart when his wife leaves him.


Little Caesar
1931 · 1h 18m · US
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?


Tonight or Never
1931 · 1h 20m · US
A young opera singer finds her career stalled because of her cold and passionless performances, until she finds romance with a handsome admirer.


Top Speed
1930 · 1h 20m · US
An order clerk poses as a millionaire.


Numbered Men
1930 · 1h 5m · US
Civilian Mary Dane and falsely imprisoned Bud Leonard love each other. Lou Rinaldo, who framed Bud to get Mary, and escape-minded King Callahan want to keep him in stir, but convict Bertie and the others, even including the Warden, set events in motion to prove that love and justice will prevail. NB: Prisoner numbers given in lieu of character names in many cast lists for this film do not match the numbers shown on the characters' uniforms, when these can be seen at all, and are not used in dialogue at all.


Show Girl in Hollywood
1930 · 1h 17m
Broadway actress leaves New York to become a star in Hollywood, and succeeds despite sleazy directors and her own ego.


Playing Around
1930 · 1h 6m · US
New York girl has a dull boyfriend and seems destined for a dull marriage when she meets a rich playboy who has money to burn and places to go.


Little Johnny Jones
1929 · 1h 14m · US
Little Johnny Jones is a jockey who is in love with his all-American sweetheart, Mary Baker, and also his career as the rider of thoroughbred horses. But he almost loses both when he is tricked by a showgirl, Vivian Dale. His story of vindication swings from the racetracks of America to England and the historical National Derby, with plenty of red-white-and-blue bunting waving behind the little patriot.


Broadway Babies
1929 · 1h 26m · US
Dee is a naive chorus girl living in a boarding house full of low-paid actors. Dee and Billy are in love and he helps her to move from chorus girl to star. Things run afoul when jealousy, misunderstandings and sleazy men enter the picture.


Hot Stuff
1929 · 1h 10m · US
An uptight society aunt sends her too sexy niece to college so she can land a man.


Naughty Baby
1928 · 1h 10m · US
A cloak room girl (Alice White) falls for a rich boy who may not actually be rich.


Oh Kay!
1928 · 1h · US
On the eve of her wedding Lady Kay Rutfield runs off aboard her sloop. A storm carries her out to sea and she is rescued by a passing rumrunner bound for the Long Island Sound. Once they arrive in the States, Kay makes her escape and hides in the deserted mansion of Jimmy Winter. Jimmy is due to marry the following day. He comes home to the mansion unexpectedly, and finds Kay, who persuades him to let her pose for a night as his wife.


Harold Teen
1928 · 1h 20m · US
Farmboy Harold moves to the city and there attends high school. Soon he is very popular, his spirited nature causing much excitement on the campus. He joins a fraternity, goes out for football, and directs his class theatrical effort. Instead of a school play, Harold suggests doing a western motion picture. Part of the plot requires them to blow up the dam that has cut off the water supply to Harold's homestead in the country. After the explosion Harold runs away because he is afraid of being arrested, but he returns just in time to win a football game for his team.


Flying Romeos
1928 · 1h 10m
Cohen (Sidney) and Cohan (Murray) are partners in a barber shop, always squabbling with each other, both being smitten by their beautiful manicure girl.


No Place to Go
1927 · 1h 10m · US
Starry-eyed heiress Mary Astor yearns for a "cave man" who will treat her rough and make her like it.