---
name: "Hal C. Kern"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/hal-c-kern"
roles: ["Supervising film editor"]
born: "14 July 1894"
died: "24 February 1985"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-20T01:28:23.530971+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."
---

# Hal C. Kern

Supervising film editor. Born 14 July 1894 in Anaconda, Montana, USA. Died 24 February 1985.

## Details

- **Work:** Supervising film editor
- **Born:** 14 July 1894, Anaconda, Montana, USA
- **Died:** 24 February 1985
- **Active:** 1937–1945
- **Also known as:** Hal G. Kern, Hal Kern
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 2 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 76 (2), 1940s 76 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 76 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Romance 4, Drama 3, Mystery 2, Thriller 2, Crime 1, War 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $412m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_C._Kern, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1192220, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0449456/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/119397

## Biography

Hal C. Kern was an American film editor whose career spanned the silent era to the 1960s. He began editing shorts at Inceville in 1915 and worked on Thomas H. Ince productions, including the 1916 film *Civilization*.

From 1935 to 1947 he served as supervising film editor for producer David O. Selznick, overseeing the editing of numerous major releases. These included *A Star Is Born* (1937), *Gone with the Wind* (1939), *Rebecca* (1940), *Spellbound* (1945) and *The Paradine Case* (1947). He shared the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for *Gone with the Wind* and received further nominations for *Rebecca* and *Since You Went Away* (1944).

Kern's brother Robert J. Kern was also a film editor. Later in his career he worked at Paramount.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, latimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Spellbound* (1945), Fi1m 66, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/spellbound.md)
- *Rebecca* (1940), Fi1m 85, Supervising Film Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/rebecca.md)
- *Gone with the Wind* (1939), Fi1m 74, Supervising Film Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/gone-with-the-wind.md)
- *A Star Is Born* (1937), Fi1m 78, Supervising Editor, Supervising Film Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/a-star-is-born-1937.md)

## Complete filmography (44)

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

- *Strange Bedfellows* (1965), Associate Producer
- *The Facts of Life* (1960), Associate Producer
- *Li'l Abner* (1959), Producer's Assistant
- *The Five Pennies* (1959), Production Assistant
- *Houseboat* (1958), Associate Producer
- *That Certain Feeling* (1956), Producer's Assistant
- *The Court Jester* (1955), Producer's Assistant
- *The Paradine Case* (1947), Supervising Film Editor
- *Duel in the Sun* (1946), Supervising Film Editor
- *Spellbound* (1945), Editor — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/spellbound.md)
- *I'll Be Seeing You* (1944), Supervising Editor
- *Stage Door Canteen* (1943), Supervising Editor
- *Tarzan Triumphs* (1943), Supervising Editor
- *Rebecca* (1940), Supervising Film Editor — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/rebecca.md)
- *Gone with the Wind* (1939), Supervising Film Editor — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/gone-with-the-wind.md)
- *Intermezzo: A Love Story* (1939), Supervising Editor
- *Made for Each Other* (1939), Supervising Film Editor
- *The Young in Heart* (1938), Editor
- *The Prisoner of Zenda* (1937), Supervising Editor
- *A Star Is Born* (1937), Supervising Editor, Supervising Film Editor — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/a-star-is-born-1937.md)
- *The Garden of Allah* (1936), Editor
- *Little Lord Fauntleroy* (1936), Editor
- *Night Flight* (1933), Editor
- *Corsair* (1931), Editor
- *Reaching for the Moon* (1930), Editor
- *The Bat Whispers* (1930), Editor
- *Abraham Lincoln* (1930), Editorial Coordinator
- *New York Nights* (1929), Editor
- *The Locked Door* (1929), Editor
- *Alibi* (1929), Editor
- *The Woman Disputed* (1928), Editor
- *The Dove* (1927), Editor
- *The Beloved Rogue* (1927), Editor
- *The Duchess of Buffalo* (1926), Editor
- *Kiki* (1926), Editor
- *The Bat* (1926), Editor
- *The Eagle* (1925), Editor
- *Her Sister from Paris* (1925), Editor
- *The Lady* (1925), Editor
- *Within the Law* (1923), Editor
- *Brass* (1923), Editor
- *The Toll of the Sea* (1923), Editor
- *The Adventures of Daredevil Jack* (1920), Editor
- *Civilization* (1916), Editor

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 2 nominated

- 1945: Best Film Editing (nominated), for *Since You Went Away*
- 1941: Best Film Editing (nominated), for *Rebecca*
- 1940: Best Film Editing (won), for *Gone with the Wind*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/hal-c-kern