---
name: "Tay Garnett"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/tay-garnett"
fi1m_id: "tay-garnett"
imdb_id: "nm0307819"
tmdb_id: 74878
wikidata_id: "Q1348110"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "13 June 1894"
died: "3 October 1977"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "director"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T03:56:17.856644+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."
---

# Tay Garnett

## Identity

Tay Garnett

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/tay-garnett
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** tay-garnett
- **IMDb ID:** nm0307819
- **TMDB ID:** 74878
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1348110
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tay_Garnett, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1348110, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0307819/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/74878

Director. Born 13 June 1894 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 3 October 1977.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 13 June 1894, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 3 October 1977
- **Active:** 1946–1959
- **Also known as:**  Taylor Garnett, William Taylor Garnett
- **Frequently works with:** [Allen Reisner](https://film.one/person/allen-reisner.md), [Bernard L. Kowalski](https://film.one/person/bernard-l-kowalski.md), [Bernard McEveety](https://film.one/person/bernard-mceveety.md), [Buzz Kulik](https://film.one/person/buzz-kulik.md), [Charles R. Rondeau](https://film.one/person/charles-r-rondeau.md), [Christian Nyby](https://film.one/person/christian-nyby.md), [Harry Harris](https://film.one/person/harry-harris.md), [Herschel Daugherty](https://film.one/person/herschel-daugherty.md)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tay_Garnett, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1348110, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0307819/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/74878

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*The Postman Always Rings Twice*](https://film.one/film/the-postman-always-rings-twice.md) (82)

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

## Fi1m on Tay Garnett

> Tay Garnett is worth seeking out for the conviction he draws from his stars, especially when desire gets people into trouble. His strongest work has patience, though some of his comedies and adventures let the running jokes take over.

John Garfield and Lana Turner are given time to want each other in *The Postman Always Rings Twice* (1946). Tay Garnett does not hurry them towards suspense, because the crime will mean little unless the attraction is persuasive. This is where we recommend him most readily, directing a romance carefully enough to make its bad decisions credible. The opening takes its time, and we would not pretend otherwise. But the patience is useful: we need to believe in the couple before we worry about them.

That interest in romance was already there in *One Way Passage* (1932), with William Powell and Kay Francis as lovers aboard a ship. Its mixture of sentiment and comedy points towards the romantic adventures of his strongest period, from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s. *China Seas* (1935) gives him Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery; *Seven Sinners* (1940) pairs Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne. Comedy belongs in these films, but Garnett sometimes gives it too much space. In *Her Man* (1930), the running gags can crowd out the story.

In *Postman*, cinematographer Sidney Wagner’s shadows supply much of the unease while Garnett concentrates on the leads. We felt anxious for the couple because Turner and Garfield make their desire convincing enough for their bad judgement to matter. They do much of the work without explicitness, though the film’s restraint about sex sometimes makes the relationship harder to believe than it should be. Garnett’s decision to establish desire before building suspense is still the right one. It gives us a reason to care about something beyond the next development in the crime story.

The later features are less dependable, a falling-off after the mid-1940s that makes recommendations beyond that period harder to give. From the late 1950s Garnett worked primarily in television, including *Rawhide* and *Gunsmoke*. That is no reason to treat the earlier films merely as exercises by a reliable craftsman. Start with *The Postman Always Rings Twice*, and allow the lovers their time; anyone impatient for the crime may find the first stretch a long wait.

## Biography

Tay Garnett (born William Taylor Garnett) was an American film director and writer. He entered the film industry as a screenwriter in 1920 after serving as a naval aviator in the First World War, later working as a gag writer for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach before directing his first feature in 1928.

Garnett directed nearly 50 films across genres. His credits include *One Way Passage* (1932), *China Seas* (1935), *The Postman Always Rings Twice* (1946) and *Cause for Alarm!* (1951). In later years he worked extensively in television, directing episodes of series including *Gunsmoke* and *Rawhide*.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Postman Always Rings Twice* (1946), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-postman-always-rings-twice.md)

## Complete filmography (94)

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

- *Timber Tramps* (1975), Director
- *Challenge to be Free* (1975), Director
- *The Delta Factor* (1970), Director, Producer, Screenplay
- *The Loner* (1965), series, Director
- *The Legend of Jesse James* (1965), series, Director
- *The Best of Cinerama* (1963), Director
- *Cattle King* (1963), Director
- *87th Precinct* (1961), series, Director
- *The Tall Man* (1960), series, Director
- *A Terrible Beauty* (1960), Director
- *Overland Trail* (1960), series, Director
- *The Deputy* (1959), series, Director
- *Rawhide* (1959), series, Director
- *Naked City* (1958), series, Director
- *Alcoa Theatre* (1957), series, Director
- *The Carroll Formula* (1956), Director
- *Partners* (1956), Director
- *Seven Wonders of the World* (1956), Director
- *Screen Director's Playhouse* (1955), series, Director
- *Gunsmoke* (1955), series, Director
- *The Black Knight* (1954), Director
- *Main Street to Broadway* (1953), Director
- *Letter to Loretta* (1953), series, Director
- *Death Valley Days* (1952), series, Director
- *One Minute to Zero* (1952), Producer, Director
- *Soldiers Three* (1951), Director
- *Cause for Alarm!* (1951), Director
- *The Fireball* (1950), Director, Writer
- *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court* (1949), Director
- *Wild Harvest* (1947), Director
- *The Postman Always Rings Twice* (1946), Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-postman-always-rings-twice.md)
- *The Valley of Decision* (1945), Director
- *Mrs. Parkington* (1944), Director
- *The Cross of Lorraine* (1943), Director
- *Bataan* (1943), Director
- *My Favorite Spy* (1942), Director
- *Weekend for Three* (1941), Producer
- *Unexpected Uncle* (1941), Producer
- *Cheers for Miss Bishop* (1941), Director
- *Seven Sinners* (1940), as Drunken Sailor (uncredited) · Director
- *Cafe Hostess* (1940), Writer
- *Slightly Honorable* (1939), as Reporter (Uncredited) · Director, Producer
- *Eternally Yours* (1939), as Pilot (uncredited) · Director, Producer
- *Trade Winds* (1938), Director, Story, Producer
- *Joy of Living* (1938), as Man on Phone in Newspaper Office (Uncredited) · Director, Producer
- *Stand-In* (1937), Director
- *Slave Ship* (1937), Director
- *Love Is News* (1937), Director
- *Professional Soldier* (1935), Director
- *She Couldn't Take It* (1935), Director
- *China Seas* (1935), Director
- *S.O.S. Iceberg* (1933), Director
- *Destination Unknown* (1933), Director
- *One Way Passage* (1932), Director
- *Okay, America!* (1932), as Man in Newspaper Office (uncredited) · Director
- *Prestige* (1932), Director, Adaptation
- *Panama Flo* (1932), Co-Director
- *Bad Company* (1931), Writer, Director
- *Her Man* (1930), Director, Screenstory
- *Officer O'Brien* (1930), Director
- *Oh, Yeah!* (1929), Director, Writer
- *The Flying Fool* (1929), Director
- *The Spieler* (1928), Director, Writer
- *Power* (1928), Story, Screenplay
- *The Cop* (1928), Scenario Writer, Writer
- *Celebrity* (1928), Director
- *Skyscraper* (1928), Writer
- *Fiddlesticks* (1927), Title Graphics
- *The Wise Wife* (1927), Screenplay
- *Turkish Delight* (1927), Writer
- *No Control* (1927), Writer
- *Long Pants* (1927), Writer
- *Getting Gertie's Garter* (1927), Writer
- *White Gold* (1927), Adaptation
- *Rubber Tires* (1927), Adaptation
- *The Cruise of the Jasper B* (1926), Adaptation
- *There You Are!* (1926), Writer
- *Up in Mabel's Room* (1926), Writer
- *That's My Baby* (1926), Writer
- *The Funnymooners* (1926), Story
- *All Wool* (1925), Director
- *Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride* (1925), Writer
- *The Sleuth* (1925), Writer
- *Riders of the Kitchen Range* (1925), Director
- *Navy Blue Days* (1925), Writer
- *Twins* (1925), Writer
- *West of Hot Dog* (1924), Title Designer
- *Off His Trolley* (1924), Story
- *Galloping Bungalows* (1924), Writer
- *Detained* (1924), Writer
- *Mandarin Mix-Up* (1924), Writer
- *Fast Black* (1924), Director
- *Broken Chains* (1922), Writer
- *The Quack Doctor* (1920), Scenario Writer

## Gallery

- ![Tay Garnett](https://film.one/media/person/3726546/gallery-4d5a9e793e78.jpg) Tay Garnett — Photographer not credited, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Tay_Garnett_and_Marlene_Dietrich%2C_1940.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Tay Garnett](https://film.one/media/person/3726546/gallery-801bac772629.jpg) Tay Garnett — Image via TMDB

---
© 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/tay-garnett