From a very early age, Kramer had contacts with the film industry. His uncle, Earl Kramer, worked in film distribution for Universal Pictures and his mother was a secretary for Paramount Pictures.
Thus, Kramer finished his studies at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx and at New York University. Kramer was planning to start law school when, in his final year of college, he was offered the chance to work in the scriptwriting department at 20th Century Fox.
In 1941, he worked as a production assistant at The Moon and Sixpence y So Ends Our NightTwo years later, Kramer is enlisted in the army and works in the film units of New York. In 1948 Kramer created an independent production company, Screen Plays Inc. His partners in the company were screenwriter Herbie Baker, publicist George Glass and producer Carl Foreman, whom he met during the war.
Although his first job with the company was a failure, So This Is New York (1948), by Richard Fleischer, the next film directed by Mark Robson, The clay idol, starring Kirk Douglas, was a huge success. The film received six Oscar nominations: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Black and White Cinematography, Best Score, and Best Original Screenplay, and won the Oscar in the Best Editing category. In the following years, Kramer would produce such important films as Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), by Michael Gordon, which was another resounding success as a producer or Men, by Fred Zinnemann and which would mark the debut of Marlon Brando.
Era with Columbia Pictures
A year later, Harry Cohn, president of Columbia Pictures, would offer Kramer the opportunity to make films with his studio. Kramer had complete freedom to carry out projects as long as they did not exceed the budget of one million dollars. Although Kramer accepted the job, he dedicated the rest of the year to finishing an independent project of great interest to him, Alone in the face of danger, a western directed by Fred Zinnemann. The project, apart from being a total success with the public, received four Oscars: best lead actor (Gary Cooper), best editing, best song and best original screenplay, in addition to four more nominations, among which were the one dedicated to best director, best film and best plot.
In October 1951, Kramer ended her relationship with Carl Foreman, who had to testify about his communist past before the Commission on Un-American Activities. Kramer began producing films for Columbia. A not very fruitful time where it is worth highlighting Death of a salesman (1951) The sniper (1952) The Member of the Wedding (1952) forgotten men (1953) o Wild! (1953), films of little style, value and success.
In 1953, Columbia president Harry Cohn and Stanley Kramer agreed to terminate the producer's contract. In any case, Kramer wanted to say goodbye to the company with the only success of his time for the production company. The movie, The Caine Mutiny, was adapted from the novel by Herman Wouk and was directed by Edward Dmytryk. Despite the success, Kramer had to resist criticism from the North American Navy since the irascible and tyrannical role of Lieutenant Philip Francis Queeg, played by Humphrey Bogart, threatened the morale of the Navy.
Director stage
From The Caine Mutiny, Kramer leaves Columbia and creates his own production company, although this time in the position of director. During this time, Kramer is busy directing and producing his own films. Thus, products such as You won't be a stranger (1955) and Pride and passion (1957). Although Kramer was known throughout Hollywood for his liberal ideas, he was never blacklisted by Hollywood. In 1961, he directed Winners or losers? which earns him his first Oscar nomination as a director.
In contrast to his more rebellious and social projects, in 1963 Kramer produced and directed the multimillion-dollar comedy The world is crazy, crazy, crazy. Four years later, Kramer makes Guess who's coming tonight, a very controversial film in its time for showing the marriage between a black man and a white woman but of which it is believed that the director was deeply proud. The film received two Oscars (best actress and best original screenplay) and eight other nominations for: best actor, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best art direction, best director, best editing, best original score and best film.
In the following years, Kramer directed titles such as Bless the animals and the children (1971) Oklahoma Crude (1973) and Beyond love (1979). Kramer would write his own autobiography under the title A Mad Mad Mad Mad World: A Life in Hollywood and would die on February 19, 2001 in Los Angeles.
Kramer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard.
His work was recognized with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1961. Beginning in 1937 at the Oscars ceremony, the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award has been awarded, intended to reward especially significant figures in the world. world of film production and which consists of a small bust of Irving Thalberg himself as opposed to the familiar Oscar statuette. Considered an honorary Oscar, it has not been awarded again since 2018.
Photo: Wikipedia – Public Domain