David O. Selznick
American film producer and screenwriterWikipedia
43
MENTIONS
29
EPISODES
27
PODCASTS
Search complete. 43 mentions across 29 episodes found for "David O. Selznick".
Sep 19, 2026
Ray MortonGUEST
And there was an interesting transition.
Ray MortonGUEST
As King Kong was being finished, which would have been in January and February of 1933, the head of the studio, who was David O. Selznick, later the producer of Gone With the Wind, quit.
Ray MortonGUEST
And if you watch the original King Kong, he is listed as executive producer on the titles, which is what they used to do for the heads of studios in those days.
Ray MortonGUEST
They would always have their name on there.
Craig JohnsonHOST
And those of you who listened to that episode will remember that during pre-production, Universal purchased the film rights to not only the original Bram Stoker novel, but also all stage adaptations of the story, essentially guaranteeing them a monopoly on any films depicting the titular bloodsucker.
Craig JohnsonHOST
However, much to their chagrin, there was one aspect of the property that they forgot to purchase, which soon found its way into the hands of producer David O. Selznick and rival Hollywood studio MGM.
Craig JohnsonHOST
This was a story called Dracula's Guest, which had been published in 1914, two years after the death of author Bram Stoker.
Craig JohnsonHOST
On his publication, in a collection titled Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Tales, Stoker's widow Florence wrote in the preface that the story was an episode from Dracula that had been cut due to the novel's length.
19 MINS LATER
Craig JohnsonHOST
Perhaps most notably, the story Dracula's guest, if indeed it was ever created as part of the main novel, is set in Styria, the same location as Carmilla, and it features a female vampire, this time called the Countess Dollingen of Graz.
Craig JohnsonHOST
And so, Dracula's Guest was the story that Universal forgot to buy the rights to when they purchased pretty much everything associated with Bram Stoker's novel.
Craig JohnsonHOST
Their mistake was quickly noted and acted upon by the producer David O. Selznick, who at the time had just left RKO Studios and had begun working for MGM.
Craig JohnsonHOST
We've mentioned Selznick before, particularly in his relationship to Val Luton, and there is no doubt that he had a keen eye for the film business, as is evident from his purchasing of Dracula's Guest.
Marty GentiusHOST
Vivian Leigh, I don't think could've pulled this off at all.
Marty GentiusHOST
Hitchcock wanted Clifton Webb for Sebastian, and Selznick, who was the studio head, pushed f- r- Claude Rains because he was more recognizable and would do more in the box office.
Marty GentiusHOST
The box office actually did pretty good.
Marty GentiusHOST
I think the cost of the film was 800,000.
Terry Chester ShulmanGUEST
And all of his marriages were subjected to his police interrogations, whereas he perceived it.
Terry Chester ShulmanGUEST
On one occasion, Dolores danced with David O. Selznick.
Terry Chester ShulmanGUEST
I mean, which,
Jason NyeGUEST
you know, you don't say no to David
Sophia D'Aurelio AdairGUEST
And I know also I read that during dinner eight, she was really nervous.
Sophia D'Aurelio AdairGUEST
I think this is per, I know it was per David Selznick's assistant.
Sophia D'Aurelio AdairGUEST
that she just didn't think she was important and so she was scared to share scenes with um anybody and or even be on the same set with them which um people at that point were already beginning to realize her talent and star power so they were questioning why her she was so insecure and i find that pretty funny sad but funny Saba funny.
AshleyHOST
And I know what you're thinking.
BrianHOST
His mom, Kristen, this is why I wanted to bring this up.
BrianHOST
His mom remarried, and the man she remarried was David O. Selznick.
KristenHOST
Wow.
KristenHOST
Hey.
KristenHOST
Not a good-looking guy, but successful.
BrianHOST
Yes.
KristenHOST
So David O. Selznick, though, he first married one of Louis B. Mayer's daughters.
BrianHOST
I was not aware of that.
Drusilla AdelineHOST
It's the movie that kinda launched Keir Dullea, and it's a black and white 1960s, right? Yeah.
Drusilla AdelineHOST
Independent film, I believe from Canada, uh, called David and Lisa.
Drusilla AdelineHOST
Um-
Joshua ConkelHOST
No, I haven't seen it.
15 MINS LATER
Drusilla AdelineHOST
in the past about, like, you know, Universal Monsters were doing so well.
Drusilla AdelineHOST
RKO had lost their shirt on Orson Welles, um, Citizen Kane and Magnificent Ambersons, so they wanted to recoup with cheap O-horror movies.
Drusilla AdelineHOST
They hired him away from David O. Selznick, um, to make, uh, cheap, cheap movies where they would give them barely any money and a title, and he had to just run off of that.
Drusilla AdelineHOST
And he had very high aspirations for these projects and for himself, and he was raised as, you know, uh, I think a Crimean expat by a family that, you know, took art very seriously.
Jim ThayerHOST
A fool generates no respect.
Jim ThayerHOST
As Louis B. Mayer said to David O. Selznick, never ask an audience to sympathize with characters that are acting like fools, David.
Jim ThayerHOST
But lots of protagonists do something dumb, something foolish in the story.
Jim ThayerHOST
It helps make them human, as we all do dumb stuff once in a while.
EB JohnsonHOST
After a series of political upheavals, which are incredibly boring and involve a bunch of white men launching various corrupt vice squads, Crawford eventually got squeezed out.
EB JohnsonHOST
By the time the '30s were coming to a close, a new force, quote-unquote, "from the East," which appears to be Phil Selznick, the uncle of David O. Selznick, perhaps with some muscle from budding intelligence bodies that were also pushing in and trying to take over Hollywood during this time, they were all pushing the old syndicate out.
EB JohnsonHOST
It was around this time, the mid-'30s, that according to her early memoir manuscripts, Lee Francis tried to go straight.
EB JohnsonHOST
She claimed she was tired of the constant movement between houses and more tired of all the money she had been spending paying off the men of Hollywood.
6 MINS LATER
EB JohnsonHOST
Who was this power man who allegedly ripped Lee Francis off? Well, it was none other than Phil Selznick, the uncle of David O.
EB JohnsonHOST
Selznick, the guiding hand of such classics as Gone With the Wind, Rebecca, and A Star is Born.
EB JohnsonHOST
It's important to note that Phil Selznick was a popular nightclub owner with alleged criminal ties before David O. Selznick started making his movies.
EB JohnsonHOST
As the story goes, David's father, who had owned his own studio, had gone bankrupt around 1929, and David O. Selznick essentially rescued the family by becoming a big-wig producer.
Joseph CottenVOICE_ACTOR
He'll appear on suspense in a role quite different from anything you've ever associated with him.
Bill JohnstoneVOICE_ACTOR
Joseph Cotton will soon be seen in the David O. Selznick Technicolor production, Duel in the Sun.
Bill JohnstoneVOICE_ACTOR
Next Thursday, same time, Roma Wines will bring you Jackie Cooper as star of Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills.
Truman BradleyADVERTISER
Produced by William Spear for the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California.
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