William A. Seiter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William A. Seiter (June 10, 1890 - July 26, 1964) was an American film director. He was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios, doubling a cowboy. He graduated to director in 1918. At Universal Studios in the mid-1920s, Seiter was principal director of the popular Reginald Denny vehicles, most of which co-starred Seiter's then wife Laura La Plante (his second wife was actress Marian Nixon). This period also included The Beautiful and Damned and The Family Secret. In the early talkie era, Seiter helped nurture the talents of RKO's comedy duo Wheeler & Woolsey in such rollicking features as Caught Plastered (1931) and Diplomaniacs (1933). He also directed the Laurel and Hardy feature Sons of the Desert (1933), their only film together. Other films include Sunny, Going Wild, Kiss Me Again, Hot Saturday, Way Back Home, Girl Crazy, Rafter Romance, Roberta, Room Service, Susannah of the Mounties, Allegheny Uprising, You Were Never Lovelier, Up in Central Park, and One Touch of Venus. Among the many stars directed by Seiter during his long career were Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Henry Fonda, Margaret Sullavan, Jack Haley, Deanna Durbin, Jean Arthur, John Wayne, Fred MacMurray, Lucille Ball, Rita Hayworth and the Marx Brothers. While many of his films were minor gems, Seiter was capable of turning out bad ...

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Room Service (1938)

Broke Gordon Miller tries to land a backer for his new play while he has to deal with with the hotel manager trying to evict him and his cast.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Groucho Marx  •  Chico Marx  •  Harpo Marx  •  Lucille Ball

Broke Gordon Miller tries to land a backer for his new play while he has to deal with with the hotel manager trying to evict him and his cast.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Groucho Marx  •  Chico Marx  •  Harpo Marx  •  Lucille Ball

Sons of the Desert (1933)

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Ollie and Stan deceive their wives into thinking they are taking a medically necessary cruise when they are really going to a lodge convention.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Stan Laurel  •  Oliver Hardy  •  Charley Chase  •  Mae Busch

Ollie and Stan deceive their wives into thinking they are taking a medically necessary cruise when they are really going to a lodge convention.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Stan Laurel  •  Oliver Hardy  •  Charley Chase  •  Mae Busch

You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

An Argentine heiress thinks a penniless American dancer is her secret admirer.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Fred Astaire  •  Rita Hayworth  •  Adolphe Menjou  •  Xavier Cugat

An Argentine heiress thinks a penniless American dancer is her secret admirer.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Fred Astaire  •  Rita Hayworth  •  Adolphe Menjou  •  Xavier Cugat

If I Had a Million (1932)

An elderly business tycoon, believed to be dying, decides to give a million dollars each to eight strangers chosen at random from the phone directory.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Taurog  •  Ernst Lubitsch  •  H. Bruce Humberstone  •  Norman Z. McLeod  •  William A. Seiter  •  Lothar Mendes  •  James Cruze  •  Stephen Roberts
CAST:  Gary Cooper  •  Charles Laughton  •  George Raft  •  Jack Oakie

An elderly business tycoon, believed to be dying, decides to give a million dollars each to eight strangers chosen at random from the phone directory.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Taurog  •  Ernst Lubitsch  •  H. Bruce Humberstone  •  Norman Z. McLeod  •  William A. Seiter  •  Lothar Mendes  •  James Cruze  •  Stephen Roberts
CAST:  Gary Cooper  •  Charles Laughton  •  George Raft  •  Jack Oakie

Is My Face Red? (1932)

William Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of his information from his showgirl gal-pal, Peggy. Eventually Bill's reckless tattling gets him in deep trouble ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Ricardo Cortez  •  Helen Twelvetrees  •  Jill Esmond  •  Robert Armstrong

William Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of his information from his showgirl gal-pal, Peggy. Eventually Bill's reckless tattling gets him in deep trouble ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Ricardo Cortez  •  Helen Twelvetrees  •  Jill Esmond  •  Robert Armstrong

Young Bride (1932)

A newlywed discovers her husband is a cheating phony.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Helen Twelvetrees  •  Eric Linden  •  Arline Judge  •  Roscoe Ates

A newlywed discovers her husband is a cheating phony.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Helen Twelvetrees  •  Eric Linden  •  Arline Judge  •  Roscoe Ates

Dear Brat (1951)

Mirian Wilkins, the teenage daughter of Senator Wilkins, starts a Society for the Rehabilitation of Criminals and, without the approval or knowledge of her father, elects him to the position of honorary president. When the family's new gardener, Baxter, turns out ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Edward Arnold  •  Mona Freeman  •  Mary Philips  •  Billy De Wolfe

Mirian Wilkins, the teenage daughter of Senator Wilkins, starts a Society for the Rehabilitation of Criminals and, without the approval or knowledge of her father, elects him to the position of honorary president. When the family's new gardener, Baxter, turns out ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Edward Arnold  •  Mona Freeman  •  Mary Philips  •  Billy De Wolfe

Chance at Heaven (1933)

A young woman's ambitious boyfriend falls for a ditzy socialite.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Ginger Rogers  •  Joel McCrea  •  Marian Nixon  •  Andy Devine

A young woman's ambitious boyfriend falls for a ditzy socialite.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Ginger Rogers  •  Joel McCrea  •  Marian Nixon  •  Andy Devine

Diplomaniacs (1933)

Barbers Willy Nilly and Hercules Glub have opened a barbershop in an Indian reservation, where they have no customers. When suddenly a white man asks for a shave, several Indians of the Oopadoop nation also enter, hearing the usual barbershop banter about foreign ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Bert Wheeler  •  Robert Woolsey  •  Marjorie White  •  Phyllis Barry

Barbers Willy Nilly and Hercules Glub have opened a barbershop in an Indian reservation, where they have no customers. When suddenly a white man asks for a shave, several Indians of the Oopadoop nation also enter, hearing the usual barbershop banter about foreign ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Bert Wheeler  •  Robert Woolsey  •  Marjorie White  •  Phyllis Barry

Sing and Like it (1934)

While breaking into a bank safe, a gangster overhears a bank employee singing and decides to put her in a Broadway revue  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Zasu Pitts  •  Pert Kelton  •  Edward Everett Horton  •  Nat Pendleton

While breaking into a bank safe, a gangster overhears a bank employee singing and decides to put her in a Broadway revue  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Zasu Pitts  •  Pert Kelton  •  Edward Everett Horton  •  Nat Pendleton

We're Rich Again (1934)

A polo-playing grandmother and her broke brood get back in the money with a Wall Street bet.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Edna May Oliver  •  Billie Burke  •  Marian Nixon  •  Reginald Denny

A polo-playing grandmother and her broke brood get back in the money with a Wall Street bet.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Edna May Oliver  •  Billie Burke  •  Marian Nixon  •  Reginald Denny

In Person (1935)

Carol Corliss, a beautiful movie star so insecure about her celebrity that she goes around in disguise, meets a rugged outdoorsman who is unaffected by her star status.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Ginger Rogers  •  Alan Mowbray  •  George Brent  •  Grant Mitchell

Carol Corliss, a beautiful movie star so insecure about her celebrity that she goes around in disguise, meets a rugged outdoorsman who is unaffected by her star status.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Ginger Rogers  •  Alan Mowbray  •  George Brent  •  Grant Mitchell

The Life of the Party (1937)

A singer finds another heir (Gene Raymond) to marry, to avoid the one (Joe Penner) her mother found.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Joe Penner  •  Gene Raymond  •  Harry Parke  •  Harriet Nelson

A singer finds another heir (Gene Raymond) to marry, to avoid the one (Joe Penner) her mother found.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Joe Penner  •  Gene Raymond  •  Harry Parke  •  Harriet Nelson

Professional Sweetheart (1933)

Radio singer Glory Eden is publicized as the ideal of American womanhood in order to sell the sponsor's product Ippsie-Wippsie Washcloths. In reality, Glory would like to at least sample booze, jazz, gambling, and men. When the strain of representing "purity" ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Ginger Rogers  •  Norman Foster  •  Zasu Pitts  •  Frank McHugh

Radio singer Glory Eden is publicized as the ideal of American womanhood in order to sell the sponsor's product Ippsie-Wippsie Washcloths. In reality, Glory would like to at least sample booze, jazz, gambling, and men. When the strain of representing "purity" ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Ginger Rogers  •  Norman Foster  •  Zasu Pitts  •  Frank McHugh

Orchids to You (1935)

An unlikely courtroom romance blooms between a flower-shop owner and her unscrupulous landlord's married attorney.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  John Boles  •  Jean Muir  •  Charles Butterworth  •  Ruthelma Stevens

An unlikely courtroom romance blooms between a flower-shop owner and her unscrupulous landlord's married attorney.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  John Boles  •  Jean Muir  •  Charles Butterworth  •  Ruthelma Stevens

The Daring Young Man (1935)

The Daring Young Man is hotshot-reporter Don McLane, played by James Dunn. Always on the prowl for a good story, McLane is persistently outscooped by his rival, sob sister Martha Allen (Mae Clarke). After several reels of double-crossing one another, hero and ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  James Dunn  •  Mae Clarke  •  Neil Hamilton  •  Sidney Toler

The Daring Young Man is hotshot-reporter Don McLane, played by James Dunn. Always on the prowl for a good story, McLane is persistently outscooped by his rival, sob sister Martha Allen (Mae Clarke). After several reels of double-crossing one another, hero and ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  James Dunn  •  Mae Clarke  •  Neil Hamilton  •  Sidney Toler

Hired Wife (1940)

Ad man Stephen Dexter asks his secretary Kendall to marry him as a loophole in order to protect his finances during an important business deal. Once the deal is completed, he asks Kendall for a divorce and is dismayed when she refuses.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Rosalind Russell  •  Brian Aherne  •  Virginia Bruce  •  Robert Benchley

Ad man Stephen Dexter asks his secretary Kendall to marry him as a loophole in order to protect his finances during an important business deal. Once the deal is completed, he asks Kendall for a divorce and is dismayed when she refuses.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Rosalind Russell  •  Brian Aherne  •  Virginia Bruce  •  Robert Benchley

That Night with You (1945)

In this musical comedy, a young singer becomes so desperate to appear on Broadway that she goes to a prominent producer and tells him that she is the daughter who resulted from his day-long marriage to a young woman he knew years ago. The producer is delighted and ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Franchot Tone  •  Susanna Foster  •  David Bruce  •  Louise Allbritton

In this musical comedy, a young singer becomes so desperate to appear on Broadway that she goes to a prominent producer and tells him that she is the daughter who resulted from his day-long marriage to a young woman he knew years ago. The producer is delighted and ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Franchot Tone  •  Susanna Foster  •  David Bruce  •  Louise Allbritton

This Is My Affair (1937)

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President McKinley asks Lt. Richard L. Perry to go underground to identify some obviously very well briefed Mid-Western bank robbers based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Robert Taylor  •  Barbara Stanwyck  •  Victor McLaglen  •  Brian Donlevy

President McKinley asks Lt. Richard L. Perry to go underground to identify some obviously very well briefed Mid-Western bank robbers based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Robert Taylor  •  Barbara Stanwyck  •  Victor McLaglen  •  Brian Donlevy

Make Haste to Live (1954)

A single mother in New Mexico senses her own death in the hands of a mysterious stalker.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Dorothy McGuire  •  Stephen McNally  •  Mary Murphy  •  Edgar Buchanan

A single mother in New Mexico senses her own death in the hands of a mysterious stalker.  (more)

DIRECTION:  William A. Seiter
CAST:  Dorothy McGuire  •  Stephen McNally  •  Mary Murphy  •  Edgar Buchanan
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