Basil Wrangell
{{Short description|American film maker (1906–1977)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Basil Wrangell
| birth_name = Basilio Petrovich von Wrangell
| birth_date = June 19, 1906
| birth_place = Ponte a Moriano, Toscana, Italy
| death_date = April 26, 1977 (aged 70)
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, USA
| education =
| occupation = Film editor, Film Director
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Isabelle Fair|||end=divorced}}
- Vivian Ducloux
}}
| children =
}}
Basil Wrangell (born Basilio Petrovich von Wrangell) was an Italian-born film and television editor and director who worked in Hollywood from the 1920s through the 1970s.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9elJAgAAQBAJ&q=%22basil+wrangell%22&pg=PT278|title=Motion Picture Series and Sequels: A Reference Guide|last=Drew|first=Bernard A.|date=2013-12-04|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-92893-5|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yiqtSteBU-8C&q=%22basil+wrangell%22&pg=PA140|title=John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars|last=Golden|first=Eve|date=2013-03-29|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=978-0-8131-4163-3|language=en}}
Biography
Basil was born at the Russian embassy in Ponte a Moriano, Italy, to Peter von Wrangell and Marussia Sasso-Ruffo. On his father's side, his family line had reportedly served as court attaches of old Russia since 1200 A.D.{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/84772321/?terms=%22basil+wrangell%22|title=When Royalty Comes to Hollywood|last=|first=|date=25 Aug 1935|website=The Decatur Herald|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-02-05}} Basil's brother, George Wrangell, was a society columnist in New York City.{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/580314270/?terms=%22basil+wrangell%22|title=Basil Wrangell Directs First Feature-Length Film|last=|first=|date=20 Dec 1946|website=Valley Times|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-02-05}}
Basil attended the elite Grosvenor School in Nottingham, England, as a young man, until his family lost their wealth during the Russian Revolution. A chance opportunity to serve as an interpreter for Fred Niblo on Ben-Hur led to Basil traveling to America to take an entry-level job in a cutting room at a studio.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jid5xNh89wgC&q=%22basil+wrangell%22&pg=PA104|title=Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer|last=Eyman|first=Scott|date=2008-06-23|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4391-0791-1|language=en}} He ended up becoming a proficient editor, eventually earning the chance to direct shorts and features. For television, he edited many episodes of I Spy, Peyton Place, Combat!, and Adventures in Paradise.
Selected filmography
As editor:
- The Only Way to Spy (1978)
- Tobor the Great (1954)
- Love Happy (1949)
- The Good Earth (1937)
- Whipsaw (1935)
- Shadow of Doubt (1935)
- Hide-Out (1934)
- Hips, Hips, Hooray! (1934)
- Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men (1933)
- Midshipman Jack (1933)
- Bed of Roses (1933)
- Gabriel Over the White House (1933)
- Ladies They Talk About (1933)
- Freaks (1932)
- Sidewalks of New York (1931)
- Min and Bill (1930)
- Love in the Rough (1930)
- Let Us Be Gay (1930)
- The Woman Racket (1930)
- Marianne (1929)
- The Voice of the City (1929)
- All at Sea (1929)
- The Cameraman (1928)
- The Cardboard Lover (1928)
- A Certain Young Man (1928)
- The Latest from Paris (1928)
- In Old Kentucky (1927)
- Twelve Miles Out (1927)
- California (1927)
As director:
- South Seas Adventure (1958)
- Heartaches (1947)
- Philo Vance's Gamble (1947)