Phil Rosen

Biography

Russian-born Phil Rosen began his film career as a cameraman during the silent era, and worked his way into directing. Rosen was a highy regarded director in the silent era, as evidenced by the fact that when MGM fired Josef von Sternberg from Exquisite Sinner (1926)--for, among other things, his extravagance, slow shooting schedule and total disregard for the budget--the studio brought in Rosen to re-edit, re-shoot and generally tighten it up, and by most contemporary accounts he did a first-rate job. However, like all too many of his colleagues of the period, the success he enjoyed during the silent era didn't carry over into talking pictures, and Rosen spent most of the rest of his career churning out B-grade (and cheaper) fodder for outfits like Monogram, PRC, and the bottom-of-the-barrel states-rights market.