Edwin Booth Willis (1893-1963) worked on the design of over 800 MGM pictures, in a career lasting a little over thirty years. He was nominated for Academy Awards 32 times, and won on eight occasions. In broad terms, Willis was an art director, but his specialism was set decoration and the bulk of his credits were in this capacity.
After working as an art director for Tiffany Pictures in the 1920s, Willis worked exclusively for Metro, obtaining three types of credit: Associate Art Director (AAD), Interior Decorations (ID) and Set Decorator (SD). He did early work as SD on Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925).
Willis worked on some of the studio’s major critical and commercial successes, including Queen Christina (1933, for ID), The Thin Man (1934, as AAD), Anna Karenina (1935, as AAD, Fritz Lang’s Fury (1936, as AAD), Camille (1936, as AAD), The Good Earth (1937, as AAD), Captains Courageous (1937, as AAD), Boys’ Town (1938, as AAD), The Women (1939), Ninotchka (1939, as SD), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), Waterloo Bridge (1940), Pride and Prejudice (1940), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Blossoms in the Dust (1941, winning an Oscar), Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1941), Woman of the Year (1942), Mrs Miniver (1942), Lassie Come Home (1943), Madame Curie (1943), Gaslight (1944, winning an Oscar), John Ford’s They Were Expendable (1944), The Yearling (1946, winning an Oscar), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), State of the Union (1948), Act of Violence (1948), Intruder in the Dust (1949), Little Women (1949, winning an Oscar), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Red Badge of Courage (1951), The Bad and the Beautiful 1952, winning an Oscar), Julius Caesar (1953, winning an Oscar), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956, winning an Oscar), Forbidden Planet (1956) and Lust for Life (1956).
Willis had a particularly extensive collaboration with Vincente Minnelli, decorating most of his musical and non-musical pictures
Edwin B Willis contributed to 153 musicals, around 70 per cent of MGM’s total output. It could be argued that this makes him the single most influential figure on the look of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical. The pictures were:
Broadway to Hollywood
Stage Mother (ID)
Dancing Lady (ID)
Going Hollywood (ID)
The Cat and the Fiddle (ID)
Hollywood Party (ID)
Student Tour (AAD)
The Merry Widow (AAD)
The Night is Young (AAD/SD)
Naughty Marietta (AAD)
Reckless (AAD)
Broadway Melody of 1936 (AAD)
Here Comes the Band (AAD)
A Night at the Opera (AAD)
Rose Marie (AAD)
The Great Ziegfeld (AAD)
San Francisco (AAD)
Born to Dance (AAD)
Maytime (AAD)
A Day at the Races (AAD)
Broadway Melody of 1938 (AAD)
The Firefly (AAD)
Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry (AAD)
Rosalie (AAD)
Everybody Sing (AAD)
The Girl of the Golden West (AAD)
Listen, Darling (AAD)
The Great Waltz (AAD)
Sweethearts
Honolulu
Let Freedom Ring
Ice Follies of 1939
The Wizard of Oz
Babes in Arms
At the Circus
Balalaika
Broadway Melody of 1940
New Moon
Strike Up the Band
Hullabaloo (Associate Set Decorator, uncredited)
Bitter Sweet
Little Nellie Kelly
Go West
Free and Easy
Ziegfeld Girl
The Big Store
Lady Be Good
The Chocolate Soldier
Smilin’ Through
Babes on Broadway
Born to Sing
Ship Ahoy
Rio Rita
I Married an Angel
Cairo
Panama Hattie
For Me and My Gal
Seven Sweethearts
Cabin in the Sky
Presenting Lily Mars
Du Barry was a Lady
Best Foot Forward
Thousands Cheer
Swing Fever
Girl Crazy
Broadway Rhythm
Two Girls and a Sailor
Meet the People
Bathing Beauty
Meet Me in St Louis
Music for Millions
Thrill of a Romance
Anchors Aweigh
Ziegfeld Follies
Yolanda and the Thief
The Harvey Girls
Two Sister from Boston
Easy to Wed
Holiday in Mexico
No Leave, No Love
Till the Clouds Roll By
It Happened in Brooklyn
Living in a Big Way
Fiesta
The Unfinished Dance
Good News
Summer Holiday
On an Island With You
The Pirate
Easter Parade
A Date with Judy
Luxury Liner
The Kissing Bandit
Words and Music
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
The Barkeleys of Broadway
Neptune’s Daughter
In the Good Old Summertime
That Midnight Kiss
On the Town
Nancy Goes to Rio
Annie Get Your Gun
Three Little Words
Duchess of Idaho
The Toast of New Orleans
Summer Stock
Two Weeks with Love
Pagan Love Song
Grounds for Marriage
Royal Wedding
The Great Caruso
Excuse My Dust
Rich, Young and Pretty
Show Boat
An American in Paris (winning an Oscar)
The Strip
Texas Carnival
The Belle of New York
Singin’ in the Rain
Skirts Ahoy
Lovely to Look At
The Merry Widow
Because You’re Mine
Everything I Have is Yours
Lili
I Love Melvin
Small Town Girl
Dangerous When Wet
The Band Wagon
Latin Lovers
The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
Torch Song
Kiss Me Kate
Easy to Love
Rose Marie
The Student Prince
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Brigadoon
Athena
Deep in My Heart
Jupiter’s Darling
Hit the Deck
The Glass Slipper
Interrupted Melody
Love Me or Leave Me
It’s Always Fair Weather
Kismet
Meet Me in Las Vegas
High Society
The Opposite Sex
Ten Thousand Bedrooms
Silk Stockings
Les Girls
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