Changes between Initial Version and Version 1 of Ellis R. Duncan

Timestamp:

May 25, 2012, 11:49:22 AM (13 years ago)

Author:

Parth

Comment:

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Ellis R. Duncan

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+
+== Ellis R. Duncan ==
+
+Tamil director and American cinematographer
+aka Dungan. Born in Ohio; graduate of UCLA
+and the American Institute of Cinematography
+and worked in Hollywood as a cameraman
+(1927). Came to India (1935) to sell camera
+equipment and stayed for 17 years making
+several major Tamil films, starting with Sati
+Leelavathi, based on S.S. Vasan’s novel and
+introducing MGR. M.L. Tandon, who had
+earlier met Duncan at UCLA, got him to direct
+films. Iru Sahodarargal, also with MGR,
+made him the top director of a nascent Tamil
+film industry, also editing his own work and
+integrating music and comedy routines into the
+plot, which was perhaps his most influential
+contribution. A series of hits followed:
+Ambikapathy with M.K. Thyagaraja
+Bhagavathar at Salem Shankar Films;
+Shakuntalai and the memorable Meera with
+the singer M.S. Subbulakshmi at
+Chandraprabha Cinetone. Best-known work at
+Modern Theatres: Ponmudi and the seminal
+MGR hit Manthiri Kumari (which was
+completed by T.R. Sundaram). Although
+Duncan did not know Tamil (his interpreters
+were known as ‘ rush directors’), his work is
+remembered for its emphasis on Tamil
+dialogue: the famed scenarist Elangovan
+débuted in his Ambikapathy while Ponmudi
+remains one of the poet Bharatidasan’s bestknown
+scripts; Manthiri Kumari was
+Karunanidhi’s first major literary contribution
+to cinema. Duncan worked with well-known
+actor-singers such as G.N. Balasubramanyam,
+M.S. Subbulakshmi (the two acting together in
+Shakuntalai), and T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai (who
+featured in Kalamegham). Credited with codirection
+of an Indo-US co-prod. The Jungle
+(William Berke, 1952), starring Rod Cameron,
+Marie Windsor and Caesar Romero, later
+dubbed into Tamil as Kaadu. During WW2
+made propaganda shorts (e.g. Returning
+Soldier with T.S. Balaiah), and after
+Independence was commissioned by the
+government to film the transfer of power ritual.
+In the 50s returned to live in Wheeler city, West
+Virginia, occasionally working in India, e.g. as
+a 2nd unit photographer for Hugo Fregonese’s
+Harry Black (1958) and John Guillermin’s
+Tarzan Mera Saathi (1962).
+
+FILMOGRAPHY: 1936: Sati Leelavathi;
+Simantini; Iru Sahodarargal; 1937:
+Ambikapathy; 1940: Shakuntalai;
+Suryaputri; Kalamegham; 1943: Daasi Penn;
+1945: Valmiki; Meera; Returning Soldier;
+1949: Ponmudi; 1950: Manthiri Kumari;
+1952: Kaadu.