George Tomasini Explained

George Tomasini
Birth Date:	20 April 1909
Birth Place:	Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Place:	Hanford, California, U.S.
Occupation:	Film editor
Years Active:	1947–1964

George Tomasini (April 20, 1909 – November 22, 1964) was an American film editor, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, who had a decade long collaboration with director Alfred Hitchcock, editing nine of his movies between 1954 and 1964.^[1] Tomasini edited many of Hitchcock's best-known works, such as Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963), as well as other well-received films such as Cape Fear (1962). On a 2012 listing of the 75 best edited films of all time, compiled by the Motion Picture Editors Guild based on a survey of its members, four films edited by Tomasini for Hitchcock appear. No other editor appeared more than three times on this listing. The listed films were Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, and North by Northwest.^[2]

George Tomasini was known for his innovative film editing which, together with Hitchcock's stunning techniques, redefined cinematic language. Tomasini's cutting was always stylish and experimental, all the while pursuing the focus of the story and the characters. Hitchcock and Tomasini's editing of Rear Window has been treated at length in Valerie Orpen's monograph, Film Editing: The Art of the Expressive.^[3] His dialogue overlapping and use of jump cuts for exclamation points was dynamic and innovative (such as in the scene in The Birds where the car blows up at the gas station and Tippi Hedren's character watches from a window, as well as the infamous "shower scene" in Psycho). George Tomasini's techniques would influence many subsequent film editors and filmmakers.^[4]

George Tomasini was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for North by Northwest, but Ben-Hurs editors won the award that year.

In November 22, 1964, while he was editing In Harm's Way, Tomasini died of a massive heart attack. He was 55 years old.^{[5] [6]} He left behind Mary Brian, his wife of 17 years and no children.

Filmography as film editor

The director of each film is indicated in parentheses:

• Wild Harvest (1947 – Garnett)
• The Turning Point (1952 – Dieterle)
• Stalag 17 (1953 – Wilder)
• Houdini (1953 – Marshall)
• Elephant Walk (1954 – Dieterle)
• Rear Window (1954 – Hitchcock)
• To Catch a Thief (1955 – Hitchcock)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 – Hitchcock)
• The Wrong Man (1956 – Hitchcock)
• Hear Me Good (1957 - McGuire)
• Vertigo (1958 – Hitchcock)
• I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958 - Fowler)
• North by Northwest (1959 – Hitchcock)
• The Time Machine (1960 – Pal)
• Psycho (1960 – Hitchcock)
• The Misfits (1961 – Huston)
• Cape Fear (1962 – Thompson)
• The Birds (1963 – Hitchcock)
• Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963 – Mann)
• Marnie (1964 – Hitchcock)
• 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964 – Pal)
• In Harm's Way (1965 – Preminger)

See also

• List of film director and editor collaborations

Further reading

• News: I'll Let The Film Pile Up For You: An Interview With Mary Tomasini . Rachel . Igel . Motion Picture Editors Guild . Directory of Members 1996–1997 . 1996–1997 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130416034633/http://www.editorsguild.com/v2/magazine/newsletter/directory/tomasini.html . 2013-04-16 . dead . 2013-04-16 . This interview with Tomasini's wife appears to be unique as a source of biographical information about Tomasini.
• Book: O'Steen, Bobbie . The Invisible Cut . 136–150 . Michael Wiese Productions . 2009 . 9781615930227. Bobbie O'Steen provides a frame-by-frame analysis of an important scene from Rear Window.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Brennan . Sandra . George Tomasini . allmovie .
2. The 75 Best Edited Films . Editors Guild Magazine . May 2012 . 1 . 3 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150927223155/https://www.editorsguild.com/magazine.cfm?ArticleID=1102 . 2015-09-27 . 2015-08-02 .
3. Book: Orpen, Valerie . 2003 . Film Editing: The Art of the Expressive . 978-1-903364-53-6 . Wallflower Press . 51068299 .
4. Book: Monaco, Paul . 2003 . The Sixties . History of the American Cinema . 8 . Harpole . Charles. University of California Press . 0-520-23804-4 . 94–96.
5. News: In Memoriam . March 20, 2024 . The Film Daily . Wid's Films and Film Folk Incorporated . November 1964 . 12 . en.
6. Book: Smith . Fredrick Y. . ACE Second Decade Anniversary Book . In Memoriam . 1971 . American Cinema Editors, Inc . 73 .