Remembering American Film Giant Joshua Logan

Joshua Lockwood Logan was an American film and stage director best known for directing some of the most long lasting and renowned plays of 'Broadway', many of which were co-authored, produced and co-produced by him. Starting his career in the 'Broadway' as an actor with the play 'Carry Nation' in the early 1930s he eventually served as an assistant stage manager before endeavouring into stage direction.

He was born on October 5, 1908, in Texarkana, Texas, to Joshua Lockwood Logan and his wife Susan née Nabors. His father committed suicide when Logan was only three years of age. After the incident his mother relocated to her parent's house in Mansfield Louisiana with young Logan and his younger sister Mary Lee. Forty years hence Logan used the same location as the backdrop of his play 'The Wisteria Trees'. When he was around nine years of age, his mother remarried following which he began attending the 'Culver Military Academy' in Culver, Indiana, where his stepfather worked as a teacher. It is in this academy that he had the opportunity to attend a drama class, an activity that became quite to his liking.

His first significant success as stage director came with the musical 'I Married an Angel' during the late 1930s following which he delivered a series of outstanding plays that became great hits. Classics such as 'Fanny', 'South Pacific', 'Annie Get Your Gun', 'Mister Roberts' and 'Charley's Aunt' were brought to 'Broadway' by him. In 1948 he jointly received the 'Tony Award' for penning down 'Mister Roberts' along with Thomas Heggen, the writer of the original novel. In 1950 he co-received the 'Pulitzer Prize for Drama' along with Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers and for co-authoring 'South Pacific'. He was one of those theatre directors who also accomplished to carve out a niche for himself in Hollywood as well with hit and successful films like 'Picnic' and 'Sayonara'. Other notable films of Logan, most of which he delivered during the 1950s and 1960s included 'Paint Your Wagon', 'South Pacific' and 'Bus Stop'. His autobiography 'Josh: My Up-and-Down, In-and-Out Life' was published in 1976. His other notable directorial endeavours in 'Broadway' were 'Happy Birthday' (1945), 'John Loves Mary' (1946), 'Mister Roberts' (1948), 'South Pacific' (1949), 'Fanny' (1954), and 'The World of Suzie Wong' (1958).

In 1955 he went on to direct the film version of his 1953 play 'Picnic' with the same title. The film not only became a box office hit but also earned six 'Academy Award' nominations including Best Director and won two of them for Best Film Editing and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color. It was also winner of the prestigious 'Grand Prix' of the 'Belgian Film Critics Association'.

His next blockbuster was the 1957 Technicolor film 'Sayonara' starring Marlon Brando. The film not only proved to be a smashing success commercially but also bagged kudos from the critics. It earned a remarkable count of 10 nominations from the 'Academy Awards' including one for Logan's direction and won 4 out of them. Other notable films of Logan were 'Bus Stop' (1956), 'South Pacific' (1958), 'Camelot' (1967) and 'Paint Your Wagon' (1969). He served as a jury member in 1961 at the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival.

 Tomorrow marks the 110th birth anniversary of Joshua Lockwood Logan.
The writer is a freelance contributor.