Dorothy Spencer | |
|---|---|
 Spencer, June 1985 | |
| Born | (1909-02-03)February 3, 1909 Covington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | May 23, 2002(2002-05-23) (aged 93) Encinitas, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film editor |
| Years active | 1926–1979 |
| Family | Jeanne Spencer (sister) |
Dorothy Spencer (February 3, 1909 – May 23, 2002), known asDot Spencer, was an Americanfilm editor with 75 feature film credits from a career that spanned more than 50 years.[1] Nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Film Editing on four occasions, Spencer is remembered for editing three ofJohn Ford's best known films, includingStagecoach (1939) andMy Darling Clementine (1946).
Dorothy Spencer was born inCovington, Kentucky in 1909 to Charles Spencer and Catherine (née Spellbrink). She was the youngest of four children, which included her older sisterJeanne. When she was a child, her family relocated to Los Angeles, where Jeanne evidently became a film editor.[2] In 1924, at the age of 15, Dorothy joined Consolidated-Aller Lab as an uncredited assistant editor on several films directed byRaoul Walsh andThe Strong Man (1926) andLong Pants (1927), both directed byFrank Capra. In 1929, she joinedTwentieth Century-Fox as an editor.[3] Her first credits wereMarried in Hollywood andNix on Dames (both released in 1929).[1]
By the 1930s, Spencer worked freelance on several films distributed byParamount andUniversal Pictures.[1] She next teamed withOtho Lovering, in which they shared editing credits on severalUnited Artists films, includingThe Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936) andWinter Carnival (1939). Several of these films were directed byTay Garnett and produced byWalter Wanger, includingStand-In (1937),Trade Winds (1938), andEternally Yours (1939).[3]
In 1939, Spencer and Lovering co-editedJohn Ford's seminalWesternStagecoach. They have been retrospectively praised for theApache attack on the stagecoach and the ensuing chase across the desert terrain.[4] Most notably, both had broken the180-degree rule in film editing, with the intention to "disorient, confuse, and heighten anxiety for viewers, and by achieving this, the scene achieved a couple of intriguing results."[4] In this way, the audience is drawn closer to "the characters in the stagecoach, who are themselves thoroughly disoriented and confused."[4]
In 1974, Spencer reflected that Ford had allowed them much editorial freedom: "With most directors, you cut it exactly the way they want it, and there's no room for editorial creativity [...] Ford never told me anything and he never looked at the picture until it was finished."[5] They received an Academy Award nomination forBest Film Editing.[1]
By the 1940s, Spencer collaborated with several notable film directors, includingErnst Lubitsch forTo Be or Not to Be (1942) and concluding with his last posthumous creditThat Lady in Ermine (1948). In 1943, Spencer rejoined Twentieth Century-Fox as a hired staff editor. There, she editedAlfred Hitchcock'sLifeboat (1944).[6] Spencer next editedElia Kazan's directorial film debut,A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945). She also edited John Ford'sMy Darling Clementine (1946) with its notable depiction of thegunfight at the O.K. Corral. It has been noted that in "its editing, a tight, pared-down construction in which only the barest (and most pertinent) of information is conveyed."[6]
Spencer collaborated withAnatole Litvak withThe Snake Pit (1948) and was followed byDecision Before Dawn (1951), which earned her second Oscar nomination. The success of the film began Spencer's association with historical spectacles and action films.[6] She once reflected, "For some reason I always seem to get assigned to pictures that are very physical. I don't know why."[5]
Spencer was handed the "most difficult task" of her career when she editedJoseph L. Mankiewicz'sCleopatra (1963).[7] Initially budgeted at $2 million (equivalent to $21,257,593 in 2024), the production was plagued by cost overruns and casting changes. Mankiewicz was hired to replaceRouben Mamoulian, who had been the film's initial director, after the production had spent $5 million (equivalent to $53,143,982 in 2024). Dissatisfied with the earlier scripts, Mankiewicz had written an incomplete shooting script and rewrote the script by longhand as filming proceeded.[7]
When principal photography was completed, Mankiewicz had shot 120 miles (630,000 ft) of footage. By October 1962, Mankiewicz had screened a five-and-a-half hour rough cut toDarryl F. Zanuck in Paris. Undeterred by the film's length, Mankiewicz had envisioned releasingCleopatra in two parts: the first installment titledCaesar and Cleopatra and the secondAntony and Cleopatra.[8] Zanuck disagreed with Mankiewicz's vision as the studio aimed to publicize the onscreen pairing ofElizabeth Taylor andRichard Burton. He hired editorElmo Williams to write a detailed analysis of the rough cut, in which Zanuck delivered a written response considering the battle sequences amateurish and unconvincing. Mankiewicz replied back in a letter sent days later, defending himself as he and Spencer had prepared a "rough cut" of the film and planned to discuss the final editing.[8]
As plans for another meeting were rebuffed, Mankiewicz learned that Zanuck and Williams had went to Spencer's hotel to discuss the footage he and Spencer had removed. Mankiewicz tried to arrange to view the cut himself but was told it would be unavailable to him. Two weeks had passed since the rough-cut screening, and Mankiewicz sent a three-page letter to Zanuck demanding where he stood in relation to the film.[9] Zanuck replied in a nine-page letter, blaming him for the film's cost overruns and fired him upon the completion of the dubbing. Months later, Zanuck rehired Mankiewicz to reshoot two key battle sequences inAlmería,Spain.[10]
At Zanuck's request, Spencer reedited the film down to four hours for the premiere. However, to maximize the number of showings per day in each theatre,Cleopatra had its runtime truncated to slightly over three hours for first-run engagements.[7] A year later, in 1964,Cleopatra garnered nine Oscar nominations at theAcademy Awards, including Spencer's third nomination for Best Film Editing.[11]
Spencer collaborated withMark Robson on several of his films, includingVon Ryan's Express (1965) andValley of the Dolls (1967). Spencer then edited thedisaster filmEarthquake (1974), her eight collaboration with Robson. In an article forAmerican Cinematographer magazine, Spencer wrote: "[Robson and I] have a very nice relationship and I like working with him. Although he is a top‑notch editor himself, he gives me free rein to exercise my own creative individuality in cutting a sequence the way I feel it should go."[5] She received her fourth and final Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing. Her last film credit was forThe Concorde...Airport '79.[12] She retired toEncinitas, California.[2]
In 1989, Spencer was awarded theAmerican Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award and was among the first four editors to receive the award.[12] In November 2001, Eileen Kowalski ofVariety commemorated, "Indeed, many of the editorial greats have been women:Dede Allen,Verna Fields,Thelma Schoonmaker,Anne V. Coates and Dorothy Spencer."[13]
She died on May 23, 2002, at the age of 93. Her death was not widely reported in the press of the time.[2]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
