---
name: "George Marshall"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/george-marshall-19093"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "28 December 1891"
died: "17 February 1975"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "director"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T04:14:37.078240+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# George Marshall

Director. Born 28 December 1891 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Died 17 February 1975.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 28 December 1891, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- **Died:** 17 February 1975
- **Also known as:**  George E. Marshall
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Marshall_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1384550, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0550892/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/19093

## Fi1m on George Marshall

> George Marshall directed comedies, Westerns and the odd thriller for fifty years, most of them capably and none in a way you would recognise as his. His railroad chapter of *How the West Was Won* is typical: loud, handsome, well organised and never frightening.

In the railroad chapter of *How the West Was Won* (1962), a herd of buffalo comes through a railhead camp, and it goes on for a long time. Henry Fonda is on hand as Jethro Stuart, a buffalo hunter who has seen what is coming, and the Cinerama screen is as wide as it ever gets. This is George Marshall's share of a film that had three directors, and it is the most useful thing we can point to when asked what he was like. The stampede is loud and well organised and we admired the planning of it. We were never once frightened, and a herd of buffalo running through a camp full of people ought to manage that.

He had been at this for a long time. He arrived in Hollywood around 1912 as an extra and stuntman, was directing shorts and Westerns by 1916 with Harry Carey and Tom Mix, and spent the 1930s on features, among them Laurel and Hardy comedies at Roach. The good years came at Universal and Paramount: *Destry Rides Again* (1939), which put Marlene Dietrich back to work, *The Ghost Breakers* (1940) with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, and *The Blue Dahlia* (1946), a noir with Alan Ladd from a Raymond Chandler script. In the late 1950s he was making Glenn Ford pictures at MGM, starting with *The Sheepman* (1958). By the end of the 1960s he was mostly working in television.

That list is the case for him, and it is also the case against. Comedies, Westerns, a noir, a horror-comedy: he did whatever the studio needed, and the stars came back. Six films with Hope, six with Ford, five with Jerry Lewis, four with Goddard. Actors do not return to directors who waste their time. What critics have never found in him is a subject or a style of his own, and we cannot find one either; the reputation is of a reliable craftsman, and the one stretch of his work we have reviewed bears it out. In the same film, Henry Hathaway's train robbery and John Ford's Civil War chapter are the parts we told readers to stay for. Marshall's is part of the parade.

He knew this about himself, or near enough. "If you're a mechanic you just do it as written. If you're – I wouldn't say an artist – then you try to make more of it," he said of the job, and the hedge in the middle is the honest part. He made more of it than a mechanic would. He did not make it his own. If you come across one of his comedies on a wet afternoon, you will probably have a pleasant time and will not remember who directed it. That is what he did for fifty years, and the studios kept asking.

## Biography

George Marshall (1891–1975) was an American film and television director, actor, screenwriter and producer. He worked across six decades of cinema, beginning in the silent era with Westerns before moving into a range of genres.

He is known for directing *Destry Rides Again* (1939), *The Ghost Breakers* (1940), *The Blue Dahlia* (1946), *Houdini* (1953), *The Sheepman* (1958) and the railroad segment of the Cinerama epic *How the West Was Won* (1962), which he co-directed with John Ford and Henry Hathaway. Later in his career he directed several comedies starring Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis. Marshall received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the film industry.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, wikidata.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *How the West Was Won* (1962), Fi1m 62, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-west-was-won.md)

## Complete filmography (139)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder* (1974), as Corky
- *Hec Ramsey* (1972), series, Director
- *The Odd Couple* (1970), series, Director
- *Hook, Line and Sinker* (1969), Director
- *Here's Lucy* (1968), series, as Sheriff George · Director
- *The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz* (1968), Director
- *Eight on the Lam* (1967), Director
- *Tarzan* (1966), series, Director
- *Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!* (1966), Director
- *The Wackiest Ship in the Army* (1965), series, Director
- *Daniel Boone* (1964), series, Director
- *Valentine's Day* (1964), series, Director
- *Advance to the Rear* (1964), Director
- *Dark Purpose* (1964), Director
- *Papa's Delicate Condition* (1963), Director
- *How the West Was Won* (1962), Director — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-west-was-won.md)
- *The Happy Thieves* (1961), Director
- *Cry for Happy* (1961), Director
- *The Gazebo* (1959), Director
- *It Started with a Kiss* (1959), Director
- *The Mating Game* (1959), Director
- *Imitation General* (1958), Director
- *The Sheepman* (1958), Director
- *The Sad Sack* (1957), Director
- *The Guns of Fort Petticoat* (1957), Director
- *Beyond Mombasa* (1956), Director
- *Pillars of the Sky* (1956), Director
- *Screen Director's Playhouse* (1955), series, Director, Story
- *The Second Greatest Sex* (1955), Director
- *Destry* (1954), Director
- *Duel in the Jungle* (1954), Director
- *Red Garters* (1954), Director
- *Money from Home* (1953), Director
- *Girl on the Run* (1953), as Managing Editor
- *Houdini* (1953), Director
- *Scared Stiff* (1953), Director
- *Off Limits* (1952), Director
- *Cavalcade of America* (1952), series, Actor
- *The Savage* (1952), Director
- *A Millionaire for Christy* (1951), Director
- *Never a Dull Moment* (1950), Director
- *Fancy Pants* (1950), Director
- *My Friend Irma* (1949), Director
- *Tap Roots* (1948), Director
- *Hazard* (1948), Director
- *Variety Girl* (1947), as George Marshall · Director
- *The Perils of Pauline* (1947), Director
- *Monsieur Beaucaire* (1946), Director
- *The Blue Dahlia* (1946), Director
- *Hold That Blonde!* (1945), Director
- *Incendiary Blonde* (1945), Director
- *Murder, He Says* (1945), Director
- *And the Angels Sing* (1944), Director
- *True to Life* (1943), Director
- *Riding High* (1943), Director
- *The Forest Rangers* (1942), Director
- *Star Spangled Rhythm* (1942), Director
- *Valley of the Sun* (1942), Director
- *Texas* (1941), Director
- *Pot o' Gold* (1941), Director
- *When the Daltons Rode* (1940), Director
- *The Ghost Breakers* (1940), Director
- *Destry Rides Again* (1939), Director
- *You Can't Cheat an Honest Man* (1939), Director
- *Hold That Co-ed* (1938), Director
- *Battle of Broadway* (1938), Director
- *The Goldwyn Follies* (1938), Director
- *Love Under Fire* (1937), Director
- *Nancy Steele Is Missing!* (1937), Director
- *Can This Be Dixie?* (1936), Story, Director
- *The Crime of Dr. Forbes* (1936), Director
- *A Message to Garcia* (1936), Director
- *Show Them No Mercy!* (1935), Director
- *In Old Kentucky* (1935), Director
- *Music Is Magic* (1935), Director
- *$10 Raise* (1935), Director
- *Life Begins at Forty* (1935), Director
- *365 Nights in Hollywood* (1934), Director
- *Call It Luck* (1934), Story
- *She Learned About Sailors* (1934), Director
- *Wild Gold* (1934), Director
- *Ever Since Eve* (1934), Director
- *How to Break 90 #6: Fine Points* (1933), Director
- *How to Break 90 #5: Impact* (1933), Director
- *Husbands' Reunion* (1933), Director
- *How to Break 90 #4: Downswing* (1933), Director
- *How to Break 90 #3: Hip Action* (1933), Director
- *How to Break 90 #2: Position and Back Swing* (1933), Director
- *How to Break 90 #1: The Grip* (1933), Director
- *Caliente Love* (1933), Director
- *Easy on the Eyes* (1933), Director
- *Olsen’s Big Moment* (1933), Story
- *Towed in a Hole* (1932), Director, Idea
- *Their First Mistake* (1932), as Neighbor · Director
- *The Soilers* (1932), Director
- *Alum and Eve* (1932), Director
- *Pack Up Your Troubles* (1932), Director
- *The Old Bull* (1932), Director
- *Strictly Unreliable* (1932), Director
- *Just a Pain in the Parlor* (1932), Director
- *Big Dame Hunting* (1932), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 12: 'A Round of Golf'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 11: 'Practice Shots'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 10: 'Trouble Shots'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 9: 'The Driver'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 7: 'The Spoon'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 6: 'The Big Irons'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 5: 'The Medium Irons'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 4: 'The Mashie Niblick'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 3: 'The Niblick'* (1931), Director
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 2: 'Chip Shots'* (1931), Director
- *Uncle's Visit* (1929), Director
- *No Children* (1929), Director
- *A Man About Town* (1927), Director
- *Girls* (1927), Director
- *A Trip to Chinatown* (1926), Production Supervisor
- *Matrimony Blues* (1926), Supervising Producer
- *Pawnshop Politics* (1926), Supervising Producer
- *The Back Trail* (1924), Director
- *Men in the Raw* (1923), Director
- *Where Is This West?* (1923), Director
- *Don Quickshot of the Rio Grande* (1923), Director
- *Haunted Valley* (1923), Director
- *The Lady from Longacre* (1921), Director
- *After Your Own Heart* (1921), Director
- *A Ridin' Romeo* (1921), Director, Writer
- *Hands Off!* (1921), Director
- *Why Trust Your Husband?* (1921), Director, Story
- *Prairie Trails* (1920), Director
- *Ruth of the Rockies* (1920), Director
- *The Adventures of Ruth* (1919), Director
- *The Midnight Flyer* (1918), Director
- *The Man from Montana* (1917), Director, Writer
- *The Devil's Own* (1916), Director
- *A Woman's Eyes* (1916), Director, Scenario Writer
- *Love's Lariat* (1916), Writer, Director
- *The Committee on Credentials* (1916), Director
- *The Waiters' Ball* (1916), as Laundry Delivery Man (uncredited) (unconfirmed)

## Gallery

- ![Not believed to have been renewed. This page contains images of several directors from Hollywood in the late 1930s and early 1940s.](https://film.one/media/person/1241508/gallery-8ccce0f3dc6d.jpg) Not believed to have been renewed. This page contains images of several directors from Hollywood in the late 1930s and early 1940s. — Motion Picture Herald, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/George_Marshall_circa_1940_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![George Marshall](https://film.one/media/person/1241508/gallery-418c74c83a47.jpg) George Marshall — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/George_Marshall_1921.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![George Marshall](https://film.one/media/person/1241508/gallery-408f6b0fb158.jpg) George Marshall — Image via TMDB
- ![George Marshall](https://film.one/media/person/1241508/gallery-983109a08a9e.jpg) George Marshall — Image via TMDB

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/george-marshall-19093