Merian C. Cooper

Merian C. Cooper

Birth : 1893-10-24, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Death : 1973-04-21

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, screenwriter, film director, and producer. Cooper was the founder of the Kościuszko Squadron during the Polish–Soviet War and was a Soviet prisoner of war for a time. He was a notable movie producer, and got his start with film as part of the Explorers Club, traveling the world and documenting adventures. He was a member of the board of directors of Pan American Airways, but his love of film always took priority. During his film career, he worked for companies such as Pioneer Pictures, RKO Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is also credited as co-inventor of the Cinerama film projection process. Cooper's most famous film was the 1933 movie King Kong. He was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1952 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Description above from the Wikipedia article Merian C. Cooper, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.    

Profile

Merian C. Cooper

Movies

Kong: Skull Island
Characters
Explore the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island.
I'm King Kong!: The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper
Self (archive footage)
This documentary explores the incredible life of Merian C. Cooper, from his time as a soldier and pilot in three different wars, to his exploits in Hollywood, as a director, producer and cinematic innovator.
Cinerama Adventure
Self (archive)
A nostalgic and compelling look into the legendary three camera, three projector process that revolutionized motion pictures and led the industry into the widescreen era.
Mighty Joe Young
Story
As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.
King Kong Lives
Characters
After falling from the Twin Towers, Kong lies in a coma for ten years. When his heart begins to fail, scientists engineer an artificial heart, and a giant female ape is captured to serve as a source for a blood transfusion. When Kong awakens following his heart transplant, he senses the nearby presence of the female ape and the two escape to wreak havoc together.
The Searchers
Executive Producer
As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.
The Sun Shines Bright
Producer
John Ford weaves three "Judge Priest" stories together to form a good- natured exploration of honour and small-town politics in the South around the turn of the century. Judge William Priest is involved variously in revealing the real identity of Lucy Lake, reliving his Civil War memories, preventing the lynching of a youth and contesting the elections with Yankee Horace K. Maydew.
This Is Cinerama
Director
This is Cinerama is a 1952 full-length film designed to introduce the then-new widescreen process Cinerama, which broadens the aspect ratio so the viewer's peripheral vision is involved. This is Cinerama premiered on 30 September 1952 at the New York Broadway theatre, in New York City. The film includes scenes of the roller coaster from Rockaways' Playland, then moves on to a scene of the temple dance from Aida, views of Niagara Falls, a Viennese choir, scenes of the canals of Venice, a military tattoo in Edinburgh, a bullfight, more from Aida, a sound demonstration in stereo, scenes from the amusement park in Cypress Gardens, Florida for a water skiing sequence, and the playing of America the Beautiful as scenes are shown from the nose of a low flying B-25.
The Quiet Man
Producer
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.
Rio Grande
Producer
Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke is posted on the Texas frontier to defend settlers against depredations of marauding Apaches. Col. Yorke is under considerable stress by a serious shortage of troops of his command. Tension is added when Yorke's son (whom he hasn't seen in fifteen years), Trooper Jeff Yorke, is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Producer
After Custer and the 7th Cavalry are wiped out by Native Americans, everyone expects the worst. Capt. Nathan Brittles is ordered out on patrol but he's also required to take along Abby Allshard, wife of the Fort's commanding officer, and her niece Olivia Dandridge, who are being evacuated. Brittles is only a few days away from retirement and Olivia has caught the eye of two of the young officers in the Company. She's taken to wearing a yellow ribbon in her hair, a sign that she has a beau in the Cavalry, but refuses to say for whom she is wearing it.
Mighty Joe Young
Producer
A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.
Mighty Joe Young
Story
A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.
3 Godfathers
Presenter
Three outlaws on the run discover a dying woman and her baby. They swear to bring the infant to safety across the desert, even at the risk of their own lives.
3 Godfathers
Producer
Three outlaws on the run discover a dying woman and her baby. They swear to bring the infant to safety across the desert, even at the risk of their own lives.
Fort Apache
Producer
Owen Thursday sees his new posting to the desolate Fort Apache as a chance to claim the military honour which he believes is rightfully his. Arrogant, obsessed with military form and ultimately self-destructive, he attempts to destroy the Apache chief Cochise after luring him across the border from Mexico, against the advice of his subordinates.
The Fugitive
Producer
Anti-Catholic and anti-cleric policies in the Mexican state of Tabasco lead the revolutionary government to persecute the state's last remaining priest.
Dr. Cyclops
Producer
Four explorers are summoned to Peru by the brilliant physicist Dr Thorkel. They discover a rich source of radium and a half-mad Thorkel who shrinks them down to one-fifth their normal size when they threaten to stop his unorthodox experimentation.
The Toy Wife
Producer
A Southern belle finds herself torn between two suitors.
Dancing Pirate
Executive Producer
Jonathan Pride is a mild-mannered dance instructor in 1820 Boston. En route to visit relatives, Jonathan is shanghaied by a band of zany pirates and forced to work as a galley boy. When the pirate vessel arrives at the port of Las Palomas, Jonathan, clad in buccaneer's garb, makes his escape. Everyone in Las Palomas, including Governor Alcalde (Frank Morgan) and fetching senorita Serafina (Steffi Duna), assumes that Jonathan is the pirate chieftain, leading to a series of typical comic-opera complications.
The Last Days of Pompeii
Producer
In this action-filled spectacle set in ancient Pompeii, a blacksmith becomes a Roman gladiator, though his rise to wealth and power is jeopardized by his son's Christianity and the eruption of Vesuvius.
She
Producer
Leo Vincey, told by his dying uncle of a lost land visited 500 years ago by his ancestor, heads out with family friend Horace Holly to try to discover the land and its secret of immortality, said to be contained within a mystic fire. Picking up Tanya, a guide's daughter, in the frozen Russian arctic, they stumble upon Kor, revealed to be a hidden civilization ruled over by an immortal queen, called She, who believes Vincey is her long-lost lover John Vincey, Leo's ancestor.
Kentucky Kernels
Executive Producer
The Great Elmer and Company, two out-of-work magicians, help lovelorn Jerry Bronson adopt Spanky Milford, to distract him. When Bronson makes up and elopes, the pair are stuck with the little boy. But Spanky inherits a Kentucky fortune, so they head south to Banesville, where the Milfords and Wakefields are conducting a bitter feud.
Finishing School
Executive Producer
Virginia, who studies at a boarding school for upper-class girls, falls in love with a medical intern who works as a waiter for a living. Both the director of the school and her mother oppose such a relationship.
Sing and Like it
Executive Producer
While breaking into a bank safe, a gangster overhears a bank employee singing and decides to put her in a Broadway revue
This Man Is Mine
Executive Producer
The seemingly happy relationship between Tony and Jim is threatened when his manipulative, drama-queen ex-wife visits.
Success at Any Price
Executive Producer
A young man ruthlessly climbs the corporate ladder only to attempt suicide when the stock market crashes.
Spitfire
Executive Producer
Dirt-poor mountain girl Trigger Hicks is a loner. Her faith-healing is mistaken for witchcraft by the community. She falls for an engineer building a dam, who protects her.
Keep 'Em Rolling
Executive Producer
World War I drama about a soldier and the wild horse he befriends.
The Lost Patrol
Executive Producer
A World War I British Army patrol is crossing the Mesopotamian desert when their commanding officer, the only one who knows their destination, is killed by the bullet of unseen bandits. The patrol's sergeant keeps them heading north on the assumption that they will hit their brigade. They stop for the night at an oasis and awaken the next morning to find their horses stolen, their sentry dead, the oasis surrounded and survival difficult.
Hips, Hips, Hooray!
Executive Producer
Hips, Hips, Hooray! is a 1934 slapstick comedy film starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Ruth Etting, Thelma Todd, and Dorothy Lee.
Two Alone
Executive Producer
Mazie, a poor orphan girl, is mistreated by cruel farmer Slag and his wife for whom she works. Mazie, who is growing into a woman, does not like they way Slag has been looking at her lately.
Long Lost Father
Executive Producer
A long-absent father is reunited with his daughter, who still holds a grudge that he had deserted his family years earlier.
Man of Two Worlds
Executive Producer
A British explorer brings an Eskimo hunter to London, where he misreads a woman.
The Meanest Gal in Town
Executive Producer
A stranded actress turned manicurist affects the lives of people in a small American town.
Flying Down to Rio
Executive Producer
A dance band leader finds love and success in Brazil.
If I Were Free
Executive Producer
A recently divorced interior decorator falls in love with a married barrister.
Little Women
Executive Producer
Little Women is a coming-of-age drama tracing the lives of four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. During the American Civil War, the girls father is away serving as a minister to the troops. The family, headed by their beloved Marmee, must struggle to make ends meet, with the help of their kind and wealthy neighbor, Mr. Laurence, and his high spirited grandson Laurie.
The Right To Romance
Executive Producer
Against her better judgment, a dedicated and hard-working plastic surgeon (Ann Harding) finds herself falling in love with a playboy (Robert Young). Drama.
After Tonight
Executive Producer
When war is declared in 1914, glamorous Russian Carla Vanirska manages to get to Vienna from Luxembourg, with the help of Captain Rudolph Ritter of the Austrian army. Meanwhile, Ritter is assigned to detect the identity of a spy.
Chance at Heaven
Executive Producer
A young woman's ambitious boyfriend falls for a ditzy socialite.
Ace of Aces
Executive Producer
A sculptor who doesn't want to have any part of World War I is shamed by his girlfriend into joining the army. He becomes a fighter pilot, and undergoes a complete personality change.
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men
Executive Producer
Tough Aggie gives a street guy polish and a rich kid gumption.
Ann Vickers
Executive Producer
After a love affair ending in an abortion, a young prison reformer submerges herself in her work. She then falls for a controversial and married judge and scandal looms again.
Midshipman Jack
Producer
Director Christy Cabanne's 1933 film dramatizes one year in the lives of four midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Rafter Romance
Executive Producer
A working girl shares her apartment with an artist, taking the place in shifts.
Morning Glory
Executive Producer
Wildly optimistic chatterbox Eva Lovelace is a would-be actress trying to crash the New York stage. She attracts the interest of a paternal actor, a philandering producer, and an earnest playwright. Is she destined for stardom, or will she fade like a morning glory after its brief blooming?
Blind Adventure
Executive Producer
Richard Bruce, an American in fog bound London stumbles into the midst of international intrigue, with Rose Thorne, an innocent dupe. Together they try to unravel the mystery, enlisting the aid of a cat burglar named Holmes, who they bump into along the way.
No Marriage Ties
Executive Producer
An unemployed reporter, fired because of his drinking, takes a job at an advertising agency. Drama.
Before Dawn
Production Executive
After the death of a gangster, those familiar with his million dollar stash start mysteriously dying. Police detectives with the help of a clairvoyant try to determine who, living or dead, is responsible.
Double Harness
Executive Producer
After tricking him into marriage, a woman tries to win the love of her philandering husband.
Bed of Roses
Executive Producer
A girl from the wrong side of the tracks is torn between true love and a life of sin.
Emergency Call
Executive Producer
A surgeon and an ambulance driver fight racketeers who take over their hospital.
Professional Sweetheart
Executive Producer
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" brings her to rebellion, the sponsor and his nutty henchmen pick her a public-relations "sweetheart" from fan mail, who turns out to be a hayseed.
Cross Fire
Executive Producer
Tom and five older respected business men run the Sierra mine. When Tom leaves for Europe to fight in WW1, everything is OK. When he returns after the war he finds his former assistant not only in control of the mine but the whole town. His former partners have fled becoming outlaws and are now robbing the mine shipments of money they believe is really theirs.
The Silver Cord
Executive Producer
A domineering matriarch is less than happy when her son brings home his new bride. She immediately sets to work at sabotaging their marriage as well as the engagement of her younger and weaker son.
Diplomaniacs
Executive Producer
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 debts, they force them to be ambassadors of their nation at the Peace conference in Geneva. Ammunition industry executive Winkelreid is scheming to prevent their mission becoming an success, but the vamp Dolores aboard the ship fails, falling in love with Nilly, and so does Fifi, the toughest person of the world in Paris, falling for Glub. Although Winkelreid is able to steal their secret papers, Nilly and Glub don't give up after being reminded by constant observation of their Indians and enter the Peace conference, which turns out to be a battlefield...
King Kong
Idea
Adventurous filmmaker, Carl Denham, sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to displayed on Broadway as Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
King Kong
Story
Adventurous filmmaker, Carl Denham, sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to displayed on Broadway as Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
King Kong
Pilot of Plane that Kills Kong (uncredited)
Adventurous filmmaker, Carl Denham, sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to displayed on Broadway as Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
King Kong
Producer
Adventurous filmmaker, Carl Denham, sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to displayed on Broadway as Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
King Kong
Director
Adventurous filmmaker, Carl Denham, sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to displayed on Broadway as Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
Lucky Devils
Associate Producer
Two Hollywood stuntmen compete for the same pretty extra.
The Monkey's Paw
Producer
A mother wishes for the return of her dead son, a wish that is granted by the severed paw of a dead monkey.
The Phantom of Crestwood
Associate Producer
Five men have to prove their innocence when a blackmailer is murdered.
Flaming Gold
Executive Producer
Two friends working a jungle oil field clash when one marries a lady of the evening.
The Most Dangerous Game
Producer
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.
Roar of the Dragon
Story
A boatload of Westerners is trapped in Manchuria as bandits led by Russian renegade Voronsky ravage the area. Seeking refuge in a fortified inn, the group is led by the boat's Captain Carson, who becomes involved with a woman who "belongs" to Voronsky. Carson must contend with the bandits outside and the conflicting personalities of those trapped inside the inn, as well as dealing with spies among the inn's personnel.
The Four Feathers
Director of Photography
An Englishman (Richard Arlen) fights in the Sudan after receiving white feathers of cowardice from his fiancee (Fay Wray) and friends.
The Four Feathers
Producer
An Englishman (Richard Arlen) fights in the Sudan after receiving white feathers of cowardice from his fiancee (Fay Wray) and friends.
The Four Feathers
Director
An Englishman (Richard Arlen) fights in the Sudan after receiving white feathers of cowardice from his fiancee (Fay Wray) and friends.
Gow the Head Hunter
Director of Photography
Captain Edward A. Salisbury (1875-1962) was a noted millionaire explorer and writer, whose exploration stories of the islands of the South Seas Pacific appeared often in "The National Geographic," and other magazines in the early part of the 20th-century, spent 18 months exploring the New Hebrides islands where head-hunting and cannibalism was practiced by some of the natives...and highly discouraged and frowned-upon the white-governments of their lands. The footage shot by Captain Edward A. Salisbury was put together to make this film. Captain Salisbury explained that 'gow' was the native term for the practice of head-hunting, and was not the name of one of the head-hunters.
Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness
Writer
Elephants disrupt the lives of a family deep in the jungles of Northern Siam, and an entire village.
Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness
Producer
Elephants disrupt the lives of a family deep in the jungles of Northern Siam, and an entire village.
Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness
Director
Elephants disrupt the lives of a family deep in the jungles of Northern Siam, and an entire village.
Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life
Camera Operator
A silent documentary which follows a branch of the Bakhtiari tribe of Persia as they and their herds make their epic seasonal journey to better pastures.
Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life
Producer
A silent documentary which follows a branch of the Bakhtiari tribe of Persia as they and their herds make their epic seasonal journey to better pastures.
Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life
Self (as Merian Cooper)
A silent documentary which follows a branch of the Bakhtiari tribe of Persia as they and their herds make their epic seasonal journey to better pastures.
Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life
Director
A silent documentary which follows a branch of the Bakhtiari tribe of Persia as they and their herds make their epic seasonal journey to better pastures.