Clarence Kolster

Clarence Kolster (September 6, 1895 – May 6, 1972) was an American film editor, active during the later years of the silent era, right through the 1950s.

Clarence Kolster
Born	(1895-09-06)September 6, 1895 Plattsburgh, New York, United States
Died	May 6, 1972(1972-05-06) (aged 76) Santa Monica, California, United States
Occupation	Film editor
Years active	1922–1958

Biography

Born in Plattsburgh, New York, in 1895, Clarence began his film career editing the 1922 silent film Rags to Riches. During his 30-year career, he would edit almost 100 films, in addition to working as assistant director on the 1924 film The Lighthouse by the Sea.^[1] His career would include such classics as The Painted Desert, also in 1931, which featured Clark Gable's first speaking role; the 1946 remake of Of Human Bondage; Always Leave Them Laughing, starring Milton Berle and Virginia Mayo; and 1958's Our Miss Brooks starring Eve Arden.

But Kolster's crowning achievement was his first mega-hit, the 1931 version of Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff. Kolster's editing of when the monster is revealed has been called, "... possibly the most distinguished piece of cutting in all of horror movie history."^[2] In addition, the creation sequence, the monster finding the small child by the lake, and the confrontation between the monster and Frankenstein's bride, have all become iconic scenes in film history, often imitated and parodied in later pictures.^[2]

In 1958, Kolster would make the switch from the big screen to the small screen, where he worked on several television series, including Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip. Kolster retired in 1962, and would die 10 years later.

Filmography

(as per AFI's database)^[1]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1922	Rags to Riches	Editor
1923	The Country Kid	Editor
1923	Little Johnny Jones	Editor
1923	The Printer's Devil	Editor
1924	Conductor 1492	Editor
1924	The Lighthouse by the Sea	Assistant director
1925	Three Weeks in Paris	Editor
1925	Hogan's Alley	Editor
1925	The Clash of the Wolves	Editor
1925	On Thin Ice	Editor
1926	The Fighting Edge	Editor
1926	The Little Irish Girl	Editor
1926	Broken Hearts of Hollywood	Editor
1926	His Jazz Bride	Editor
1926	The Night Cry	Editor
1926	The Sap	Editor
1926	The Third Degree	Editor
1927	The College Widow	Editor
1927	A Dog of the Regiment	Editor
1927	Ginsberg the Great	Editor
1927	Husbands for Rent	Editor
1930	Sunny Skies	Editor
1930	Hot Curves	Editor
1930	Peacock Alley	Editor
1930	The Thoroughbred	Editor
1930	Troopers Three	Editor
1930	Wings of Adventure	Editor
1931	Frankenstein	Editor
1931	The Painted Desert	Editor
1931	Waterloo Bridge	Editor
1932	The Old Dark House	Editor
1932	The Impatient Maiden	Editor
1932	Doomed Battalion	Editor
1933	King of the Wild Horses	Editor
1933	Havana Widows	Editor
1933	The Fighting Code	Editor
1933	Unknown Valley	Editor
1934	Twenty Million Sweethearts	Editor
1934	Circus Clown	Editor
1934	The St. Louis Kid	Editor
1934	I've Got Your Number	Editor
1935	The White Cockatoo	Editor
1935	Special Agent	Editor
1935	Mary Jane's Pa	Editor
1935	Miss Pacific Fleet	Editor
1936	Brides Are Like That	Editor
1936	Polo Joe	Editor
1936	Hot Money	Editor
1936	The Law in Her Hands	Editor
1937	Her Husband's Secretary	Editor
1937	Back in Circulation	Editor
1937	Empty Holsters	Editor
1937	Once a Doctor	Editor
1937	Sh! The Octopus	Editor
1938	Gold Is Where You Find It	Editor
1938	Four's a Crowd	Editor
1938	Going Places	Editor
1939	Hell's Kitchen	Editor
1939	On Your Toes	Editor
1940	River's End	Editor
1940	South of Suez	Editor
1940	An Angel from Texas	Editor
1940	Brother Rat and a Baby	Editor
1941	Bad Men of Missouri	Editor
1941	Thieves Fall Out	Editor
1942	Men of Texas	Editor
1942	The Spoilers	Editor
1942	Wild Bill Hickok Rides	Editor
1943	The Mysterious Doctor	Editor
1943	Truck Busters	Editor
1943	Adventure in Iraq	Editor
1944	Make Your Own Bed	Editor
1946	Of Human Bondage	Editor
1947	Escape Me Never	Editor
1948	Smart Girls Don't Talk	Editor
1948	The Woman in White	Editor
1949	Always Leave Them Laughing	Editor
1949	South of St. Louis	Editor
1950	Barricade	Editor
1950	Dallas	Editor
1951	Close to My Heart	Editor
1951	Fort Worth	Editor
1951	Sugarfoot	Editor
1951	Storm Warning	Editor
1952	The Big Trees	Editor
1952	Operation Secret	Editor
1952	She's Working Her Way Through College	Editor
1953	South Sea Woman	Editor
1953	The System	Editor
1954	The Bounty Hunter	Editor
1954	Drum Beat	Editor
1955	I Died a Thousand Times	Editor
1955	Target Zero	Editor
1956	Our Miss Brooks	Editor
1956	Zarak	Editor
1956	The Burning Hills	Editor
1956	The Lone Ranger	Editor
1957	Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend	Editor
1958	Fort Dobbs	Editor

References

1. "Clarence Kolster". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
2. Essman, Scott (November–December 1999). . The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter. Archived from the original on March 18, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2014.

External links

• Clarence Kolster at IMDb
• at the TCM Movie Database