John M. Stahl

Birthday: 1886-01-21
Deathday: 1950-01-12
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
Gender: Male

John Malcolm Stahl (January 21, 1886 – January 12, 1950) was an American film director and producer.

Born in New York City, New York, he began working in the city's growing motion picture industry at a young age and directed his first silent film short in 1914. In the early 1920s Stahl signed on with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in Hollywood and in 1924 was part of the Mayer team that became MGM Studios.

In 1927, John Stahl was one of the thirty-six founding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. With the industry's transition to talkies and feature-length films, John Stahl successfully made the adjustment and for Universal Pictures he directed the 1934 film Imitation of Life which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. The following year, he directed Magnificent Obsession, starring Irene Dunne and Robert Taylor.

John Stahl continued to produce and direct major productions as well filler shorts right up to the time of his death. Some of his other notable directorial work was with The Keys of the Kingdom in 1944 and the 1945 film noir, Leave Her to Heaven with Gene Tierney who was nominated for Best Actress.

Stahl died in Hollywood, California in 1950 of a heart attack, aged 63, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Credits

Year Title
1949-11-11 Oh, You Beautiful Doll
1949-09-30 Father Was a Fullback
1948-11-22 The Walls of Jericho
1947-09-24 The Foxes of Harrow
1945-12-25 Leave Her to Heaven
1944-12-15 The Keys of the Kingdom
1944-05-22 The Eve of St. Mark
1943-08-24 Holy Matrimony
1943-04-29 Immortal Sergeant
1941-08-20 Our Wife
1939-08-11 When Tomorrow Comes
1938-08-05 Letter of Introduction
1937-06-04 Parnell
1935-12-30 Magnificent Obsession
1934-11-23 Imitation of Life
1933-11-01 Only Yesterday
1932-08-04 Back Street
1931-12-01 Strictly Dishonorable
1931-05-14 Seed
1930-12-05 The Boudoir Diplomat
1930-10-06 A Lady Surrenders
1927-11-20 In Old Kentucky
1927-05-01 Lovers
1927-04-04 The Gay Deceiver
1926-02-01 Memory Lane
1925-08-09 Fine Clothes
1924-11-02 Husbands and Lovers
1924-03-03 Why Men Leave Home
1923-11-26 The Wanters
1923-02-04 The Dangerous Age
1922-05-20 One Clear Call
1922-02-02 The Song of Life
1921-08-20 The Child Thou Gavest Me
1921-04-01 Sowing the Wind
1921-01-09 Suspicious Wives
1919-06-29 The Woman Under Oath
1919-04-06 Her Code of Honor
1918-08-01 Wives of Men
1918-01-01 Suspicion
1917-05-27 The Lincoln Cycle