Graham Cutts

Biography

Graham Cutts' career in the film industry began in 1909, when he became a film exhibitor. It wasn't long before he got involved in the production end of the business, and became a director in 1922. He was a co-founder of the prestigious studio Gainsborough Films, and while at Gainsborough guided the career of matinée idol Ivor Novello, who was considered by many to be the British Rudolph Valentino. Cutts was a power at Gainsborough and became one of the most respected directors in the industry, working with filmmakers who eventually rose to the top ranks of the British film industry, such as Victor Saville, Herbert Wilcox and Michael Balcon (one of Cutts' assistants was Alfred Hitchcock). He helped to rejuvenate the career of American actress Mae Marsh with such films as Flames of Passion (1922) and The Rat (1925) (with Novello). Unfortunately, Cutts was not able to sustain the level of his career once sound came in. After leaving Gainsborough his career rapidly deteriorated, and in the '30s he was reduced to making "quota quickies". It probably also didn't help that Cutts was not particularly well-liked by his colleagues and while at Gainsborough was known to have treated some of them, such as Hitchcock and future director Adrian Brunel, quite shabbily, which they did not forget when their stars began to eclipse his. He finished out his career making short documentaries, his last one being Rationing in Britain (1945). He died in London, England, in 1958.