Gregory La Cava, the Screwball Comedy Pioneer

Born on March 10, 1892, in Towanda, Pennsylvania, Gregory La Cava began his professional career in animation and cartooning before establishing himself as a director in classic Hollywood cinema. After studying painting at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students’ League of New York, he interrupted his studies for financial reasons and turned to journalism and satirical drawing, working as a cartoonist for publications such as the New York Globe and the Evening World. In 1913, he joined Raoul Barré’s animation studio, working on the series “Animated Grouch Chaser.” In 1915, he was appointed director of the International Film Service, a company founded by William Randolph Hearst to adapt his newspapers’ comic strips into animated cartoons. In this role, La Cava directed over one hundred animated shorts based on popular series like “Katzenjammer Kids” and “Mutt and Jeff,” collaborating with Walter Lantz. When the studio closed in 1918, he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in live-action filmmaking.

His entry into cinema came through directing comedy shorts. In 1924, he signed a contract with Paramount and directed silent films, including several productions with W.C. Fields, with whom he developed a professional relationship. His collaboration with Fields helped solidify his reputation as a competent and reliable director. Over the years, he also worked with actors such as Gary Cooper and William Powell, establishing himself as a respected figure in the industry.

With the advent of sound, La Cava moved to RKO, where he experimented with various film genres. In 1932, he directed “Symphony of Six Million,” starring Irene Dunne, notable for one of the first symphonic scores of the sound era, composed by Max Steiner. That same year, he made “The Half-Naked Truth,” marking his entry into the screwball comedy genre. In 1933, he directed “Gabriel over the White House,” an MGM production about a corrupt president who receives a vision after a car accident.