Harry D'Abbadie D'Arrast

Filmmaker Harry D'Abbadie D'Arrast directed seven distinguished films between 1927 and 1933. These films were much-appreciated for their sophisticated comedy, superb cinematography and fast pacing. Unfortunately, though obviously a brilliant filmmaker, D'Arrast, had trouble getting along with the studio moguls and was quietly blackballed in Hollywood. D'Arrast was born in Argentina and was the son of French aristocrats. He started out in the film industry after meeting filmmaker George Fitzmaurice while recuperating from battle wounds in WW I. It was Fitzmaurice influenced D'Arrast to begin moviemaking in America. D'Arrast arrived in 1922 and began working as a researcher and advisor on Chaplin's Woman of Paris starring Edna Purivance and a young Adolphe Menjou. He then assisted on Chaplin's classic The Gold Rush (1925). D'Arrast made his own directorial debut with three silent films for Paramount starring Menjou. In addition to directing, D'Arrast also assisted on his screenplays. In 1930, he co-directed Raffles but received no credit. He left Hollywood in 1934 because he could no longer find work and went to Spain where he directed a version of The Three Corner Hat. D'Arrast eventually returned to Hollywood, but did not work. In 1946, he and his wife, actress Eleanor Boardman moved to the Basses-Pyrenees in France to live in his ancestral castle.

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide