Come and Get It (1936)

Born and raised in Los Angeles by mid-continent parents, Edward Curtiss "broke in to" the motion picture business, circa 1921, as an early-aviation, "barn-storming" pilot and wing-walking stunt-man, flying out of the old Western Avenue and "Mines" Field airports, among others. While doing stunt work on a picture directed by Howard Hawks, Curtiss made suggestions to Hawks concerning the continuity and choreography of the scene shooting. Hawks was so impressed that he arranged for Curtiss to try his hand as a film editor. The rest is history. His early works in such classics as THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (Lon Chaney, 1923), SCARFACE (Paul Muni, 1932), and COME AND GET IT (1936) are representative of his accomplishments and contributions to the motion picture industry during his 25-year-plus career as an editor. For his work on COME AND GET IT, he was nominated for an Academy Award. As a result, he was interviewed and writen-up in a lengthy article in the (then) New York Herald-Tribune newspaper. Other notable editing credits include THE CRIMINAL CODE (1931), GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1934), THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD and BARBARY COAST (both 1935), THE ROAD TO GLORY (1936), SECRETS OF A NURSE (1938), I STOLE A MILLION and TOWER OF LONDON (both 1939), MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (1940), THIS WOMAN IS MINE (1941), SABOTEUR (uncredited), INVISIBLE AGENT and SIN TOWN (all 1942), FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN and CORVETTE K-225 (both 1943), WEEKEND PASS and THE SINGING SHERIFF (both 1944), FRISCO SAL (1945), TANGIER (1946), BUCK PRIVATES COME HOME (1947), CASBAH (1948), ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER, BORIS KARLOFF (1949), WINCHESTER '73 (1950), THE MISSISSIPPI GAMBLER and CITY BENEATH THE SEA (both 1953), JOHNNY DARK (1954), TO HELL AND BACK (1955), MISTER CORY and THE KETTLES ON OLD MacDONALD'S FARM (both 1957), TOUCH OF EVIL (uncredited) and THE THING (THAT COULDN'T DIE) (both 1958), COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL (1960) and DONDI (1960). From 1936 until 1939, he went to London and worked on a number of pictures there. Curtiss spent the major portion of his career at Universal International and retired in 1961. He spent his remaining years living in North Hollywood, enjoying the good life and spending time with his family.    Nominated for Film Editing 1936: COME AND GET IT 1 nomination