Norman Foster (director)

Norman Foster (born Norman Foster Hoeffer; December 13, 1903 – July 7, 1976) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed many Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto films as well as projects for Orson Welles and Walt Disney. As an actor he was a leading man in early talkies and also appeared in Welles' final film, The Other Side of the Wind.

Norman Foster
Foster in Rafter Romance (1933)
Born	Norman Foster Hoeffer (1903-12-13)December 13, 1903 Richmond, Indiana, U.S.
Died	July 7, 1976(1976-07-07) (aged 72) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery
Occupations	Director screenwriter actor
Years active	1926–1976
Spouses	Claudette Colbert ​ ​ (m. 1928; div. 1935)​ Sally Blane ​ (m. 1935)​
Children	2

Life and career

Norman Foster was born Norman Foster Hoeffer on December 13, 1903,^[1] in Richmond, Indiana.^[2] He became a cub reporter on a local newspaper in Indiana before going to New York in the hopes of getting a better newspaper job but there were no vacancies.

He tried a number of theatrical agencies before getting stage work including The Barker (1927, New York; 1928, London) in which he appeared opposite future wife Claudette Colbert.^[3]

He later appeared on Broadway in the George S. Kaufman/Ring Lardner play June Moon in 1929. He began working in crowd scenes in films before moving to bigger parts.

Foster wrote several plays. He gave up acting in the late 1930s to pursue directing, although he occasionally appeared in movies and television programs. Foster directed a number of Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto mysteries, including Charlie Chan in Panama (1940), Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939), Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939), Charlie Chan in Reno (1939), Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939), Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938), Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938), Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937), and Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937). He co-wrote and directed the "My Friend Bonito" segment of Orson Welles's unfinished Pan-American anthology film It's All True (1941).^{[4]: 310–311}

Initially engaged as a second-unit director who would film background material,^[5]: 189 Foster came to do much more and the quality of his work would have been recognized with a co-director credit on the film.^{[6]: 31–34} A co-production of RKO Pictures and the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, the non-commercial project was later terminated by RKO.^[4]: 41

As Welles prepared to go to Brazil to film the Rio Carnival for It's All True, he temporarily suspended "Bonito" (for which filming was never completed) so Foster could return to Hollywood to direct Journey into Fear (1943). Welles played a small on-screen role in the Mercury Production, and denied that he took over direction of the film himself.^[7]: 155

Some of Foster's other directorial efforts include Kiss the Blood off My Hands (1948), Rachel and the Stranger (1948), Woman on the Run (1950) and The Sign of Zorro (1958). He directed the Davy Crockett segments of the Walt Disney anthology television series Disneyland that were edited into the feature films Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955) and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (1956). Foster's second verse of his lyrics to Disney's Zorro theme song which was "He is polite, but the wicked take flight, when they catch the sight of Zorro. He's friend of the weak, and the poor, and the meek, this very unique Senor Zorro." never aired on the television series. This version of the Zorro Theme including these verses was performed by The Chordettes. These verses later appeared in the Disney Sing-Along Songs version of the Zorro Theme in its 1987 direct-to-video episode, "Heigh-Ho".

Personal life

In 1928, Foster secretly married Claudette Colbert in London. Concerned about the reaction of Colbert's mother to their union, they continued to keep their marriage a secret from her, even to the point of living apart.^[3]

In 1935, they divorced, and Foster in October that same year married actress Sally Blane, sister of actress Loretta Young. They had two children: Gretchen (named for Loretta Young, whose birth name was Gretchen) and Robert.^[8]

Theatre credits

Date	Title	Role	Notes
September 14 – November 1926	Just Life	Dick Fellows	Henry Miller's Theatre, New York[9]
October 20 – November 1926	Sure Fire	Philip Cole	Waldorf Theatre, New York[9]
January 18 – July 1927	The Barker	Chris Miller	Biltmore Theatre, New York[9]
November 22, 1927 – March 1928	The Racket	Dave Ames	Ambassador Theatre, New York[9]
September 12 – December 1928	Night Hostess	Rags Conway	Martin Beck Theatre, New York[9]
November 1 – December 1928	Tin Pan Alley	Fred Moran	Biltmore Theatre, New York[9]
April 24 – May 11, 1929	Carnival	Bobbie Spencer	Forrest Theatre, New York[9]
October 9, 1929 – June 4, 1930	June Moon	Fred M. Stevens	Broadhurst Theatre, New York[9]
December 31, 1930 – January 1931	Savage Rhythm		Writer (with Harry Hamilton) John Golden Theatre, New York[9]

Film and television credits

Actor

Norman Foster and Claudette Colbert in Young Man of Manhattan (1930)

Norman Foster and Clara Bow in No Limit (1931)

Norman Foster and Carole Lombard in It Pays to Advertise (1931)

Norman Foster and Ginger Rogers in Rafter Romance (1933)

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1929	Gentlemen of the Press	Ted Hanley	[10]
1929	Love at First Sight	Richard Norton	[10]
1930	Young Man of Manhattan	Toby McLean	[10]
1931	No Limit	Douglas Thayer	[10]
1931	It Pays to Advertise	Rodney Martin	[10]
1931	Men Call It Love	Jack Mills	[10]
1931	Up Pops the Devil	Steve Merrick	[10]
1931	Confessions of a Co-Ed	Hal	[10]
1931	Reckless Living	Doggie	[10]
1931	Under Eighteen	Alf	[10]
1932	Girl of the Rio	Johnny Powell	[10]
1932	Play Girl	Wallie Dennis	[10]
1932	Steady Company	Jim	[10]
1932	Alias the Doctor	Stephan Brenner	[10]
1932	The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood	Melville Cohen	[10]
1932	Week-End Marriage	Ken Hays	[10]
1932	Skyscraper Souls	Tom	[10]
1932	Strange Justice	Wally Baker	[10]
1932	Prosperity	John Warren	[10]
1933	State Fair	Wayne Frake	[10]
1933	Professional Sweetheart	Jim Davey	[10]
1933	Pilgrimage	Jim Jessop	[10]
1933	Rafter Romance	Jack Bacon	[10]
1933	Walls of Gold	Barnes Ritchie	[10]
1934	Orient Express	Carlton Myatt	[10]
1934	Strictly Dynamite	Nick Montgomery	[10]
1934	Elinor Norton	Bill Carroll	[10]
1935	Behind the Evidence	Tony Sheridan
1935	Behind the Green Lights	Dave Britten	[10]
1935	The Hoosier Schoolmaster	Ralph Hartsook	[10]
1935	Ladies Crave Excitement	Dan Phelan	[10]
1935	Superspeed	Randy Rogers	[10]
1935	The Bishop Misbehaves	Donald Meadows	[10]
1935	Escape from Devil's Island	Andre Dion	[10]
1935	The Fire Trap	Bill Farnsworth	[10]
1935	Suicide Squad	Larry Parker	[10]
1936	The Leavenworth Case	Bob Gryce	[10]
1936	Everybody's Old Man	Ronald Franklin	[10]
1936	Fatal Lady	Philip Roberts	[10]
1936	High Tension	Eddie Mitchell	[10]
1936	I Cover Chinatown	Eddie Barton	[10]
1938	Mysterious Mr. Moto	Hoodlum in tavern	uncredited[10]
2018	The Other Side of the Wind	Billy Boyle	filmed in 1974, not released until 2018[11][12]

Director

George Cooper, Sig Ruman and Peter Lorre in Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)

Jayne Regan and Peter Lorre in Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)

Promotional photo of Dolores del Río and Joseph Cotten for Journey into Fear (1943)

Year	Title	Notes
1936	I Cover Chinatown	[10]
1937	Fair Warning	Also screenwriter[10]
1937	Think Fast, Mr. Moto	Also screenwriter[10]
1937	Thank You, Mr. Moto	Also screenwriter[10]
1938	Walking Down Broadway	[10]
1938	Mr. Moto Takes a Chance	Also screenwriter[10]
1938	Mysterious Mr. Moto	Also screenwriter[10]
1939	Mr. Moto's Last Warning	Also screenwriter[10]
1939	Charlie Chan in Reno	[10]
1939	Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation	Also screenwriter[10]
1939	Charlie Chan at Treasure Island	[10]
1939	20,000 Men a Year	Second unit director, uncredited[10]
1940	High School	[10]
1940	Northwest Passage	Second unit director, uncredited[10]
1940	Charlie Chan in Panama	[10]
1940	Viva Cisco Kid	[10]
1940	Maryland	Second unit director, uncredited[10]
1941	Ride, Kelly, Ride	[10]
1941	Scotland Yard	[10]
1941	It's All True	Segment "My Friend Bonito" Also screenwriter; unfinished film[4]: 310–311
1943	Journey into Fear	[10]
1943	Santa	[1][13]
1944	The Escape	[1][13]
1945	The Hour of Truth	[1]
1946	El ahijado de la muerte	[1]
1948	Rachel and the Stranger	[10]
1948	Kiss the Blood Off My Hands	[10]
1949	Tell It to the Judge	[10]
1950	Father Is a Bachelor	[10]
1950	Woman on the Run	Also screenwriter[10]
1952	Navajo	Also screenwriter[10]
1952	Sky Full of Moon	Also screenwriter[10]
1953	Sombrero	Also screenwriter[10]
1965	Indian Paint	Also screenwriter[10]
1966	Brighty of the Grand Canyon	Also screenwriter[10]