---
name: "Harold F. Kress"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/harold-f-kress"
roles: ["Editor"]
born: "26 June 1913"
died: "18 September 1999"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-20T01:29:19.488528+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."
---

# Harold F. Kress

Editor. Born 26 June 1913 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Died 18 September 1999.

## Details

- **Work:** Editor
- **Born:** 26 June 1913, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Died:** 18 September 1999
- **Active:** 1942–1946
- **Frequently works with:** [Sidney Franklin](https://film.one/person/sidney-franklin.md), [Greer Garson](https://film.one/person/greer-garson.md), [Arthur Wimperis](https://film.one/person/arthur-wimperis.md), [Claudine West](https://film.one/person/claudine-west.md), [George Froeschel](https://film.one/person/george-froeschel.md), [Henry Travers](https://film.one/person/henry-travers.md), [Mervyn LeRoy](https://film.one/person/mervyn-leroy.md), [Paul Osborn](https://film.one/person/paul-osborn.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won · 4 nominated)
- **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Romance 3, Family 1, History 1, War 1, Western 1
- **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $22m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_F._Kress, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q325190, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0470932/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7510

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Yearling*](https://film.one/film/the-yearling.md) (79)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Harold F. Kress (26 June 1913 – 18 September 1999) was an American film editor who worked on more than fifty feature films between 1939 and 1978, primarily at MGM. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he studied law at UCLA before entering the industry through an opportunity at MGM's editing department.

Kress edited several notable MGM productions in the 1940s, including *Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* (1941), *Mrs. Miniver* (1942) and *Random Harvest* (1942). He later edited *How the West Was Won* (1962), *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972) and *The Towering Inferno* (1974). He won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing for the latter two films and received four additional nominations.

In the early 1950s he directed a small number of feature films, among them *The Painted Hills* (1951) and *No Questions Asked* (1951). His son Carl Kress also became a film editor and shared an Oscar with him for *The Towering Inferno*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, allmovie.com, catalog.afi.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *The Yearling* (1946), Fi1m 79, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/the-yearling.md)
- *Madame Curie* (1943), Fi1m 72, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/madame-curie.md)
- *Mrs. Miniver* (1942), Fi1m 73, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/mrs-miniver.md)
- *Random Harvest* (1942), Fi1m 76, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/random-harvest.md)

## Complete filmography (60)

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

- *The Swarm* (1978), Editor
- *Viva Knievel!* (1977), Editor
- *Gator* (1976), Editor
- *The Towering Inferno* (1974), Editor
- *99 and 44/100% Dead* (1974), Editor
- *The Iceman Cometh* (1973), Editor
- *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972), Editor
- *Stand Up and Be Counted* (1972), Editor
- *The Horsemen* (1971), Editor
- *I Walk the Line* (1970), Supervising Film Editor
- *The Wrecking Crew* (1968), Associate Producer
- *Star Spangled Salesman* (1968), Editor
- *The Ambushers* (1967), Editor
- *Luv* (1967), Editor
- *Alvarez Kelly* (1966), Editor
- *The Greatest Story Ever Told* (1965), Editor
- *How the West Was Won* (1962), Editor
- *King of Kings* (1961), Editor
- *Home from the Hill* (1960), Editor
- *The World, the Flesh and the Devil* (1959), Editor
- *Count Your Blessings* (1959), Editor
- *Merry Andrew* (1958), Editor
- *Until They Sail* (1957), Editor
- *Silk Stockings* (1957), Editor
- *The Teahouse of the August Moon* (1957), Editor
- *The Rack* (1956), Editor
- *I'll Cry Tomorrow* (1955), Editor
- *The Cobweb* (1955), Editor
- *The Prodigal* (1955), Editor
- *Green Fire* (1954), Editor
- *Valley of the Kings* (1954), Editor
- *Rose Marie* (1954), Editor
- *Ride, Vaquero!* (1953), Editor
- *Apache War Smoke* (1952), Director
- *No Questions Asked* (1951), Director
- *The Painted Hills* (1951), Director
- *The Miniver Story* (1950), Editor
- *East Side, West Side* (1949), Editor
- *The Great Sinner* (1949), Editor
- *Command Decision* (1948), Editor
- *A Date with Judy* (1948), Editor
- *The Yearling* (1946), Editor — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/the-yearling.md)
- *Purity Squad* (1945), Director
- *Watchtower Over Tomorrow* (1945), Director
- *Dragon Seed* (1944), Editor
- *Madame Curie* (1943), Editor — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/madame-curie.md)
- *Cabin in the Sky* (1943), Editor
- *Random Harvest* (1942), Editor — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/random-harvest.md)
- *Mrs. Miniver* (1942), Editor — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/mrs-miniver.md)
- *Unholy Partners* (1941), Editor
- *Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* (1941), Editor
- *Rage in Heaven* (1941), Editor
- *Comrade X* (1940), Editor
- *Bitter Sweet* (1940), Editor
- *Andy Hardy Meets Debutante* (1940), Editor
- *New Moon* (1940), Editor
- *Remember?* (1939), Editor
- *These Glamour Girls* (1939), Editor
- *It's a Wonderful World* (1939), Editor
- *Broadway Serenade* (1939), Editor

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 2 won, 4 nominated

- 1975: Best Film Editing (won), for *The Towering Inferno*
- 1973: Best Film Editing (nominated), for *The Poseidon Adventure*
- 1964: Best Film Editing (won), for *How the West Was Won*
- 1947: Best Film Editing (nominated), for *The Yearling*
- 1943: Best Film Editing (nominated), for *Mrs. Miniver*
- 1942: Best Film Editing (nominated), for *Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde*

*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/harold-f-kress