Born August 12, 1905 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Warren Low was an American silent screen actor before he became a film editor.
Low began as editor at Warner Brothers, first as an assistant editor beginning in 1930. Among the film on which he worked as assistant editor without credit were 1934’s British Agent and 1935’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His first film as editor was 1936’s White Angel.
The Warner Bros. films which Low subsequently edited included 1937’s Oscar winner, The Life of Emile Zola, 1938’s Jezebel, 1939’s Juarez and We Are Not Alone, 1940’s Dr. Ehlich’s Magic Bullet, All This, and Heaven Too, A Dispatch from Reuter’s and The Letter for which he received his first Oscar nomination, 1941’s Shining Victory and One Foot in Heaven, 1942’s Now, Voyager and 1943’s Princess O’Rourke after which he left the studio.
Low became supervising editor at Paramount in 1946. His early Paramount films included 1946’s The Searching Wind, 1947’s Johnny O’Clock and Desert Fury, and 1948’s Sorry, Wrong Number.
In 1950, Low and fellow Paramount film editor, Jack Ogilvie arranged for an historic meeting of representative editors from the various studios to discuss starting an organization of film editors.
Held at the Masquers Club in Hollywood on October 26, 1950 attendees besides Low and Ogilvie, the meeting was attended by George Amy, Folmar Blangsted, James Clark, Frank Gross, Richard Heermance, William Hornbeck, Fred Knudtson, William Lyon, Fredrick Smith, Richard Van Enger and Hugh Winn.
That meeting was the founding of the American Cinema Editors (ACE).
Low’s subsequent films included 1952’s Come Back, Little Sheba for which he received his second Oscar nomination, 1954’s About Mrs. Leslie, 1955’s The Rose Tattoo for which he received his third Oscar nomination, 1956’s The Bad Seed and The Rainmaker, 1957’s Gunfight at the O.K. Corral for which he received his fourth Oscar nomination and Wild Is the Wind, 1959’s Career, and 1961’s Summer and Smoke before ACE began giving out its Eddie awards in 1962.
Low was later editor of 1965’s The Sons of Katie Elder, 1967’s Will Penny, 1969’s True Grit, and 1971’s Willard, his last film before his retirement for which he was nominated for an ACE Eddie for the first and only time.
Warren Low received a Life Achievement award from the American Cinema Editors in 1989, the year he died at the Motion Picture Retirement Home in Woodland Hills, California, the Hollywood retirement community where the industry takes care of its own in their last days. Those who can pay, pay, those who can’t, don’t have to.
Warren Low was 83.
ESSENTIAL FILMS
THE LETTER (1940), directed by William Wyler
The highlight of Low’s tenure at Warner Bros. (1930-1943) was his Oscar nomination for The Letter after being passed over for The Life of Emile Zola and Jezebel. Oddly, he was passed over again for Now, Voyager two years later. Those films are all Warner Bros. standouts of the era. Why The Letter was the only one to earn him a nomination is puzzling. Wyler’s remake of the 1929 film version of W. Somerset Maugham’s play is nevertheless a strong one. With its highly atmospheric cinematography by Tony Gaudio and Max Steiner’s classic score, as well as Low’s editing, the film is more than just another vehicle for Bette Davis.
COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA (1952); THE ROSE TATTOO (1955), directed by Daniel Mann
Mann was a journeyman director who somehow managed to direct both Shirley Booth and Anna Magnani to Oscars opposite an overbearing Burt Lancaster in both films. Both films were derived from Broadway plays. The Rose Tattoo, for which James Wong Howe won an Oscar for his cinematography, is the more cinematic of the two, but Howe’s cinematography does wonders with the cramped spaces of the house to which most of the film is confined. Low’s editing compliments Howe’s cinematography admirably and he went on to do exemplary work on follow-up vehicles with both Booth and Magnani.
THE BAD SEED (1956), directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Low returned to Warner Bros. for the first and only time after his 1943 departure to edit this tongue-in-cheek adaptation of Maxwell Anderson’s Broadway thriller with its tacky add-on ending to placate the censors in which star Nancy Kelly spanks brat Patty McCormack. The film was one of the rare Broadway to Hollywood transpositions in which the play’s stars, Kelly, McCormack, Eileen Heckart, and Henry Jones, all got to repeat their stage roles, all but Jones receiving an Oscar nomination for their work. Low’s deft editing helps considerably to hide the film’s origins.
GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL (1957), directed by John Sturges
Low was once again Oscar nominated for editing a Paramount film in which Burt Lancaster was one of its stars. This time, he delivered a much more relaxed performance as Wyatt Earp opposite Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday in one of the best film versions of the oft-told tale of which only John Ford’s My Darling Clementine ranks higher with film historians. Low’s editing is superb. Sturges gives him plenty to work with as the film sashays amongst its many sets from dark rooms and streets to sunlit vistas and a cast of many fine actors including Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet, John Ireland Earl Holliman, Dennis Hopper, and Olive Carey.
WILLARD (1971), directed by Daniel Mann
Low, who was the driving force behind the establishment of the American Cinema Editors (ACE), finally received one of the group’s Eddy awards for his editing of his last film. Once again working with the director of two of the four films for which received Oscar nominations, Low’s cleareyed editing makes the film a joy to watch despite its eerie premise about a lonely young man (Bruce Davison) who uses his pet rats to wreak havoc on his enemies. The film features Sondra Locke, Elsa Lanchester, and Ernest Borgnine in key supporting roles. It was followed by a sequel, Ben, in 1972 with a completely different cast.
Warren Low’s Oscar Nominations:
The Letter (1940) – nominated – Best Film Editing
Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) – nominated – Best Film Editing
The Rose Tattoo (1955) – nominated – Best Film Editing
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) – nominated – Best Film Editing
