Book Review: S. Sylvan Simon, Moviemaker

It has often been stated that MGM was a bad studio for comedians due to the fact that legendary comics like Laurel and Hardy and The Marx Brothers made films there that are considered weaker than those they made elsewhere. This theory is challenged by the work of producer-director S. Sylvan Simon, whose life and work are the subject of a new McFarland book by David Tucker.

Simon helmed the Red Skelton “Whistling” series – a detective spoof that effectively utilized the comedian’s unique talents – as well as his two best films, A Southern Yankee and (for Columbia) The Fuller Brush Man. He directed Abbott and Costello in their MGM triumphs Rio Rita and Abbott and Costello in Hollywood. Along with these successful MGM comedies, Simon also helmed movies featuring Wallace Beery, Lucille Ball, Glenn Ford, Lana Turner, Van Heflin, even Lassie.

Lucy, in fact, called him “one of the best Hollywood directors” and insisted that his acting as producer for her 1950 film The Fuller Brush Girl was instrumental in leading her to her iconic career in television comedy. While he directed and produced both A pictures and B movies, comedies and dramas, Simon had a real knack for slapstick comedy and it is there where he excelled. Sadly, he died in 1951, before I Love Lucy and The Red Skelton Show hit the TV airwaves, so he never saw the continued success he inspired.

David Tucker’s book gives us a biographical overview and then goes through Simon’s career film-by-film, not only assessing each movie and giving background information, he also provides historical context, and offers, when possible, comments by actors who worked on the movies – the memories of Margaret O’Brien, Arlene Dahl, and Terry Moore, et al, add another layer of significance to the book.

Simon was able to get work out of actors who had a reputation of being difficult or challenging, including Wallace Beery whom he worked with and several films, and even W.C. Fields who was especially lackadaisical toward the end of his career when he worked with Simon. He had a keen visual sense, understood timing and editing, and his succession of shots not only supported the narrative, it maintained the movie’s pace.

We learn a great deal about S. Sylvan Simon the man and the filmmaker, his talent and skills evident in each of his movies. What is perhaps most interesting about this biographical study of his screen work, is that a good portion of Simon’s films are those with which any rudimentary film buff would be familiar. When realizing this disparate myriad of films were directed by one man, we immediately respect Simon’s work. David Tucker’s book helps us to realize the depth of his impact in fascinating detail from one of our finest writers on film and TV subjects.

The book is available here: S. Sylvan Simon