Earl St. John
| Earl St. John | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 14, 1892 Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Died | February 26, 1968 (aged 75) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1950–1964 |
| Known for | Executive producer, Rank Organisation |
Earl St. John (14 June 1892 – 26 February 1968) was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from 1950 to 1964.
He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His father wanted him to become a soldier but he ran away from a military academy aged 17 and began his career as a page boy for Sarah Bernhardt's company.
St John had an uncle in the film business who he went to work for when he was 21. He worked as a poster boy then took two religious films around the US and Mexico. He worked during the Mexican Civil War and met Pancho Villa. He fell out with his uncle and went to work for the Mutual Film Company.
St John served in France with the Texas division during World War One. He demobilised in Liverpool, England, and elected to stay on in that country.
St John ran a small picture theatre in Manchester and became successful. In 1924 he joined Paramount, building up its circuit and opening the Plaza and Carlton cinemas. In 1930 they took over the Astoria Cinemas and St John was responsible for themtoo.
Paramount was bought out by Odeon in 1938 and St John joined the Rank Organisation. In 1939 he became personal assistant to John Davis.
In 1946 he was appointed chief production adviser for Rank.
In 1948 he was appointed Executive Producer at the studios by Rank's Managing Director John Davis with a brief to reign in financial losses. "Some producers objected because he was a showman," said one producer of this time.
Under his austere and autocratic control, location filming was cut back, and budgets slashed. Despite this, a number of successful productions emerged from Pinewood including Genevieve, Reach for the Sky and A Night to Remember.
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