Entering films as a dialogue director in 1944, American director Frederick De Cordova quickly established himself as a man who made films quickly, inexpensively and entertainingly. A cursory glance at the list of De Cordova's films would lead one to believe he was handed all the unworkable projects in Hollywood and told to make them sparkle. In Universal's The Desert Hawk (1950), DeCordova had to direct Rock Hudson as a villain, Jackie Gleason as Aladdin and Joe Besser as Sinbad. The result was one of the better films of this singular genre. In Here Come the Nelsons (1952) DeCordova was expected to make viable movie stars of Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky; he did it. And in the immortal Bedtime for Bonzo (1951), DeCordova took the potentially disastrous combination of Ronald Reagan and a trained chimp and came up with a delightful, wholly credible heredity/environment comedy. As a TV director, De Cordova had some of the most capricious and contrary personalities in the business eating out of his hand. He managed to wrangle an apology from a temporarily temperamental George Burns, weathered a dark mood from Jack Benny by simply matching Benny's long silences, and survived nearly two decades with the virtually unapproachable Johnny Carson. Only when handling Ida Lupino and Howard Duff in the '50s TV series Mr. Adams and Eve was De Cordova unable to maintain a peaceful set; even here, however, the end result suggested that all was sunshine through the shooting schedule. In 1988, De Cordova wrote his autobiography, a masterpiece of diplomacy titled Johnny Came Lately. In the 1990s Fred De Cordova continues to be very active as a TV director.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | ||||
| 1997 | ||||
| 1995 | ||||
| 1994 | ||||
| 1994 | ||||
| 1994 | ||||
| 1994 | ||||
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ALF: Tonight, Tonight
Actor |
1988 | |||
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The King of Comedy
Actor |
1983 | |||
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Frankie and Johnny
Director |
1965 | |||
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I'll Take Sweden
Director |
1965 | |||
| 1962 | ||||
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Column South
Director |
1953 | |||
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Bonzo Goes to College
Director |
1952 | |||
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Here Come the Nelsons
Director |
1952 | |||
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Yankee Buccaneer
Director |
1952 | |||
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Bedtime for Bonzo
Director |
1951 | |||
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Finders Keepers
Director |
1951 | |||
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Katie Did It
Director |
1951 | |||
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Little Egypt
Director |
1951 | |||
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Too Young to Kiss
Director |
1951 | |||
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Buccaneer's Girl
Director |
1950 | |||
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Peggy
Director |
1950 | |||
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The Desert Hawk
Director |
1950 | |||
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Illegal Entry
Director |
1949 | |||
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The Gal Who Took the West
Director |
1949 | |||
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For the Love of Mary
Director |
1948 | |||
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The Countess of Monte Cristo
Director |
1948 | |||
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Wallflower
Director |
1948 | |||
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Always Together
Director |
1947 | |||
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Love and Learn
Director |
1947 | |||
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That Way with Women
Director |
1947 | |||
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Her Kind of Man
Director |
1946 | |||
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Too Young to Know
Director |
1945 |
