Clarence G. Badger

A graduate of the Boston Polytechnic Institute, Clarence Badger had a varied early career as an artist, stage actor, editor and journalist with several newspapers and magazines (including "The Youth's Companion"), before entering the film business with 'Mack Sennett' (qv) in 1915. At Sennett's Triangle-Keystone, his qualifications ensured rapid promotion to writer/director of numerous two-reel situation comedies. Badger's style was gentler, more subtle and based on character development, rather than on the prevalent visual slapstick. Several of his early shorts featured a young 'Gloria Swanson' (qv) in the first stages of her climb to stardom.Badger was lured away from Sennett by 'Samuel Goldwyn' (qv) in 1917, to direct a series of comedies with 'Will Rogers' (qv), including the small town farce _Jubilo (1919)_ (qv), _Doubling for Romeo (1921)_ (qv) and _Honest Hutch (1920)_ (qv). During the 1920's, he worked for Paramount and Metro, where his best films were the Civil War romp _Hands Up! (1926)_ (qv), _Potash and Perlmutter (1923)_ (qv), and the romantic comedy that made 'Clara Bow' (qv) into a major star, _It (1927)_ (qv). During the remainder of the decade, Badger directed some of the biggest names in the business, from 'Colleen Moore' (qv) and 'Betty Compson' (qv), to 'Jack Buchanan' (qv) and 'Bebe Daniels' (qv). Pick of the bunch among his last few directorial efforts (under contract to Warner Brothers/First National) was the high-spirited first-time screen adaptation of the Broadway hit musical _No, No, Nanette (1930)_ (qv). There were also two back-to-back box office flops, the 'Herbert Fields' (qv) musical _The Hot Heiress (1931)_ (qv) and the woefully under-acted melodrama _Woman Hungry (1931)_ (qv). These failures may have persuaded Badger to leave the industry.In 1935, he moved out of his Spanish colonial-style mansion in the Hollywood Hills and emigrated to Australia a year later. Except for a couple of independently produced melodramas filmed in New South Wales, Clarence Badger spent the remainder of his life in happy retirement.::I.S.Mowis