Robert Youngson

Robert Youngson (November 27, 1917 – April 8, 1974) was a film producer, director, and screenwriter, specializing in reviving antique silent films.

Biography

Robert George Youngson, born in Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Harvard University with a master's degree in business administration. He entered the film business in 1941, writing newsreel scripts.

In 1948 Warner Bros. Pictures hired him to produce a series of short subjects about sports. Most of these were straight roundups of current sporting events, but in some of them Youngson indulged his fascination with antique newsreels of the 1920s, and included vintage sports footage in the new productions.

This led to Youngson writing and producing a long series of historical short subjects for Warners, two of which won him Academy Awards. Most of these films took an affectionate look back at the fads and lifestyles of the 1920s. Youngson's narration was nostalgic in tone, unlike the facetious commentaries that usually accompanied silent-film revivals like Gaslight Follies (1945) and Warners' compilations of Mack Sennett comedies. Youngson also produced a feature-length documentary for Warners, Fifty Years Before Your Eyes (1950).

Warners discontinued live-action short subjects in 1956 and released Youngson, forcing him to work as an independent producer. He assembled a full-length feature of silent-comedy highlights, The Golden Age of Comedy (1958). This was a triumphant success, earning rave reviews from national columnists and receiving network exposure on TV talk shows.

He followed this with When Comedy Was King (1960) and six more vintage-comedy anthologies, the last being released in 1970.

Academy Awards and nominations He was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film (one reel).

Year Film Academy Award Notes 1949 Spills and Chills Nominated Daredevil stunts of the teens and twenties. 1950 Blaze Busters Nominated Newsreels of epic fire scenes. 1951 The World of Kids Winner Children at play in the 1920s. 1954 This Mechanical Age Winner Oddly designed airplanes. 1955 Gadgets Galore Nominated History of the automobile. 1956 I Never Forget a Face Nominated Celebrities of the 1920s.

Full list of short films All produced by Warner Bros. and narrators included Dan Donaldson, Jackson Beck, Clem McCarthy, Dwight Weist, Ward Wilson and Jay Jackson. Walton C. Ament produced the earliest shorts. Those not part of a series were marketed as “varieties” and “novelties”.

Football Magic (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – September 4, 1948 Roaring Wheels (Sports News Review) – October 2, 1948 Ski Devils (Sports News Review) – December 4, 1948 Swim Parade (Sports News Review) – February 5, 1949 Batter Up (Sports News Review) – April 9, 1949 They're Off (Sports News Review) – June 18, 1949 Spills and Chills (Sports News Review) – August 13, 1949 (DVD release: It's a Great Feeling: TCM Doris Day Collection) Pigskin Passes (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – September 23, 1949 A-Speed on the Deep – December 24, 1949 Shoot the Basket (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – April 29, 1950 A Cavalcade of Girls – August 12, 1950 Blaze Busters – December 30, 1950 Horsehide Heroes – March 10, 1951 World of Kids – June 23, 1951 Disaster Fighters – August 11, 1951 Lighter than Air – October 20, 1951 Animals Have All the Fun – April 19, 1952 Daredevil Days – August 9, 1952 Too Much Speed – January 3, 1953 No Adults Allowed – April 11, 1953 Head Over Heels – June 20, 1953 Looking At Life (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – July 18, 1953 Say It with Spills – October 24, 1953 Magic Movie Moments – December 26, 1953 They Were Champions (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – January 23, 1954 I Remember When – March 19, 1954 This Wonderful World (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – March 27, 1954 Thrills from the Past – May 8, 1954 When Sports Were King – June 19, 1954 This Was Yesterday (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – July 31, 1954 This Mechanical Age – August 28, 1954 Camera Hunting (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – November 20, 1954 A Bit of the Best – December 25, 1954 Those Exciting Days – March 12, 1955 When the Talkies Were Young (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – March 26, 1955 (DVD releases: The Jazz Singer & Lucky Me) Fire, Wind and Flood – April 30, 1955 Some of the Greatest – June 18, 1955 (Excerpts from Don Juan (1926 film), with John Barrymore.) The Glory Around Us (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – July 2, 1955 Gadgets Galore – July 30, 1955 (DVD release: Pete Kelly's Blues) An Adventure to Remember – October 1, 1955 It Happened to You (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – December 31, 1955 Faster and Faster – January 21, 1956 The Picture Parade (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – March 31, 1956 I Never Forget a Face – April 28, 1956 Through the Camera's Eyes (two reel “Classic of the Screen”) – August 11, 1956 Animals and Kids – August 18, 1956

Feature-film compilations Youngson also produced the following feature-length compilations:

Fifty Years Before Your Eyes (1950) The Golden Age of Comedy (1957) When Comedy Was King (1960) Days of Thrills and Laughter (1961) 30 Years of Fun (1963) M-G-M's Big Parade of Comedy (1964) Laurel and Hardy's Laughing 20's (1965) The Further Perils of Laurel and Hardy (1967) 4 Clowns (1970)

Private life and death He died at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City on April 8, 1974, at age 56, survived by his wife Jeanne Keyes.