What Person Appears Most in Movie Credits? (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

By that I mean what individual. This came to mind when we watched “The Cat and the Canary” the other day. A saw a credit and that she must have received the most credits of all time. I’m thinking of Edith Head.

This is probably something that can’t be proven. What do you think? Am I right or do you know of someone else to nominate?

 

[BobO'Link]

Alan Smithee

 

[Thomas T]

Certainly the prolific Max Steiner would be a candidate. Between 1931 and 1965, Steiner was grinding out film scores like like hotcakes. In 1939 alone, he wrote 13 film scores including Gone With The Wind, Dark Victory and Dodge City. In addition to composing film scores, he often conducted the music like the Astaire & Rogers musicals (The Gay Divorcee, Follow The Fleet). In addition, his music was often used in other films. For example, his score for Adventures Of Don Juan (1948) was adapted for the film Zorro The Gay Blade (1981).

 

[David Weicker]

My guess would be Natalie Kalmus

 

[ScottHM]

I would guess Cedric Gibbons, 1000+ credits as art director.

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[Angelo Colombus]

I see casting director Lynn Stalmaster and makeup artist William Tuttle on a few films.

 

[ScottHM]

A good runner-up might be Douglas Shearer, recording director / supervisor with 900+ credits.

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[Johnny Angell]

Alan Smithee

But Alan Smithee is not a real person.

 

[Johnny Angell]

My guess would be Natalie Kalmus

Don’t recognize the name.

I would guess Cedric Gibbons, 1000+ credits as art director.

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A good runner-up might be Douglas Shearer, recording director / supervisor with 900+ credits.

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900+ and 1000+, wow. That probably beats out Head.

 

[ChristopherG]

But Alan Smithee is not a real person.

But you have to admit that's kind a of a humorous suggestion.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Clint Howard?

 

[BobO'Link]

But Alan Smithee is not a real person.

Sure he is... he just goes by many, many, nom de plumes.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Here’s an obnoxiously serious response to Alan Smithee, which actually did make me smile quite a bit:

The Director’s Guild agreement with studios makes it very hard for a director to have their name removed from a film, regardless of whether it’s the director or studio that has an issue with the credit. As such, there just aren’t many films that actually have the credit. The name to be used when a director is able to take their name off it was also changed away from Smithee, with the name Thomas Lee being substituted about two decades ago. The thought was that the Smithee name had become so well known that using it defeated the purpose, which was for a director to not receive credit without the audience being signaled that there was any issue. It seems quite likely that there will never be another new usage of the Smithee name.

Today’s dose of useless trivia has been brought to you by my kids actually sleeping at their nap time

My honest guess for who it might be would either be someone who works briefly on many, many productions, like a casting director, or someone who was contractually obligated to receive credit regardless of how much or how little work they did on a specific project, like Natalie Kalmus. The question there may be, how make Technicolor productions were made in the period where use of the camera required providing her with screen credit?

 

[Wayne_j]

Don’t recognize the name.

She was a Technicolor color consultant who automatically had her name added to the majority of Technicolor films in the 30's and 40's. She had credits in over 400 films.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Here’s an obnoxiously serious response to Alan Smithee, which actually did make me smile quite a bit:

The Director’s Guild agreement with studios makes it very hard for a director to have their name removed from a film, regardless of whether it’s the director or studio that has an issue with the credit. As such, there just aren’t many films that actually have the credit. The name to be used when a director is able to take their name off it was also changed away from Smithee, with the name Thomas Lee being substituted about two decades ago. The thought was that the Smithee name had become so well known that using it defeated the purpose, which was for a director to not receive credit without the audience being signaled that there was any issue. It seems quite likely that there will never be another new usage of the Smithee name.

Today’s dose of useless trivia has been brought to you by my kids actually sleeping at their nap time

My honest guess for who it might be would either be someone who works briefly on many, many productions, like a casting director, or someone who was contractually obligated to receive credit regardless of how much or how little work they did on a specific project, like Natalie Kalmus. The question there may be, how make Technicolor productions were made in the period where use of the camera required providing her with screen credit?

If I were now starting this thread I’d add something like “and maked a significant contribution to the film.”

 

[Worth]

My guess would have been negative cutter Mo Henry, but it appears she has a mere 470 credits to her name.

 

[Ejanss]

That would probably be one of MGM's 30's-40's Technicolor consultants, like Natalie Kalmus.
Since Technicolor kept their "patent" on how the system was used by contractually sending one of their own people on the studio production to kibitz on how color should best be shown off.

...Like, giving Dorothy bright red slippers instead of silver ones from the book.

 

[Detour (1945)]

Well, Bud Westmore has 1,940 credits, according to IMDb, so there's your front runner.

 

[TravisR]

Well, Bud Westmore has 1,940 credits, according to IMDb, so there's your front runner.

Having watched a ton of Universal horror movies last month, I was going to say Westmore or set decorator Russell Gausman. I'd imagine that Gausman isn't anywhere near 2,000 credits though.

 

[Detour (1945)]

Having watched a ton of Universal horror movies last month, I was going to say Westmore or set decorator Russell Gausman. I'd imagine that Gausman isn't anywhere near 2,000 credits though.

Gausman has 839 credits, but he didn't do the sheer amount of television work that Westmore did, in additional to his film work.

(And by sheer amount of work, I mean contractually obligated to get credited)