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Fred Sersen is a Scriptwriter, Art Direction, Visual Effects and Special Effects American born on 24 february 1890

Fred Sersen

Fred Sersen
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Nationality USA
Birth 24 february 1890
Death 11 december 1962 (at 72 years) at Los Angeles (USA)

Fred Sersen (February 24, 1890 – December 11, 1962) was a Czechoslovak/American painter and cinema special effects artist working mainly at 20th Century Fox Studios from the 1930s to the 1950s with credits in over 200 movies. He won two Academy Awards for Best Effects, Special Effects (photographic), in 1940 for The Rains Came, and in 1944 for Crash Dive. An artificial lake created for the former film was named in his honor.

Biography

Fred Sersen was born Ferdinand Sersen, February 24, 1890, in Czechoslovakia. At the age of 17 he came to the United states. He studied art at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design, the Portland Art Academy, and the San Francisco Institute of Art. His first credited film was A Connecticut Yankee (1931). In 1937 he recreated the 1871 Great Chicago Fire on the screen for the film In Old Chicago. Other notable effects for which he is credited include the fire in Hangover Square, the flying saucer in The Day the Earth Stood Still, and the sinking of the ship in Titanic.

He died December 11, 1962 in Los Angeles, California.

Best films

Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
(Visual Effects Supervisor)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
(Visual Effects)
All About Eve (1950)
(Visual Effects)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
(Visual Effects)
The Black Swan (1942)
(Special Effects)
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
(Special Effects)

Usually with

Thomas Little
Thomas Little
(86 films)
Ben Nye
Ben Nye
(68 films)
Lyle Wheeler
Lyle Wheeler
(63 films)
Roger Heman Sr.
Roger Heman Sr.
(59 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Fred Sersen (91 films)

Display filmography as list

Scriptwriter

The Big Trail, 2h5
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Romance, Western
Themes Children's films
Actors John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, Tyrone Power Sr., El Brendel, Tyrone Power, Tully Marshall
Rating71% 3.591723.591723.591723.591723.59172
A large caravan of settlers attempt to cross the Oregon Trail. Breck Coleman (John Wayne) is a young trapper who just got back to Missouri from his travels near Santa Fe, seeking to avenge the death of an old trapper friend who was killed the winter before along the Santa Fe Trail for his furs, by Red Flack (Tyrone Power, Sr.) and his minion Lopez (Charles Stevens). At a large trading post owned by a man named Wellmore, Coleman sees Flack and suspects him right away as being one of the killers. Flack likewise suspects Coleman as being somebody who knows too much about the killing. Coleman is asked by a large group of settlers to scout their caravan west, and declines, until he learns that Flack and Lopez were just hired by Wellmore to boss a bull train along the as-yet-unblazed Oregon Trail to a trading post north of Oregon, owned by another Missouri fur trader. Coleman agrees to scout for the train, so he can keep an eye on the villains and kill them as soon as they reach their destination. The caravan of settlers in their Prairie schooners would follow Wellmore's ox-drawn train of Conestoga Wagons, as the first major group of settlers to move west on the Oregon Trail. The action takes place between 1837 and 1845. This is historically accurate, as the first major wave of settlers on the Oregon Trail was in 1843, although the details were completely different.

Art

The Big Trail, 2h5
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Romance, Western
Themes Children's films
Actors John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, Tyrone Power Sr., El Brendel, Tyrone Power, Tully Marshall
Roles Production Design
Rating71% 3.591723.591723.591723.591723.59172
A large caravan of settlers attempt to cross the Oregon Trail. Breck Coleman (John Wayne) is a young trapper who just got back to Missouri from his travels near Santa Fe, seeking to avenge the death of an old trapper friend who was killed the winter before along the Santa Fe Trail for his furs, by Red Flack (Tyrone Power, Sr.) and his minion Lopez (Charles Stevens). At a large trading post owned by a man named Wellmore, Coleman sees Flack and suspects him right away as being one of the killers. Flack likewise suspects Coleman as being somebody who knows too much about the killing. Coleman is asked by a large group of settlers to scout their caravan west, and declines, until he learns that Flack and Lopez were just hired by Wellmore to boss a bull train along the as-yet-unblazed Oregon Trail to a trading post north of Oregon, owned by another Missouri fur trader. Coleman agrees to scout for the train, so he can keep an eye on the villains and kill them as soon as they reach their destination. The caravan of settlers in their Prairie schooners would follow Wellmore's ox-drawn train of Conestoga Wagons, as the first major group of settlers to move west on the Oregon Trail. The action takes place between 1837 and 1845. This is historically accurate, as the first major wave of settlers on the Oregon Trail was in 1843, although the details were completely different.

Visual effects

Around the World in Eighty Days, 2h47
Directed by John Farrow, Michael Anderson
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Films based on science fiction novels
Actors David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton, Shirley MacLaine, Charles Boyer, Cedric Hardwicke
Roles Visual Effects Supervisor
Rating66% 3.3493553.3493553.3493553.3493553.349355
Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow presents an onscreen prologue, featuring footage from A Trip to the Moon (1902) by Georges Méliès, explaining that it is based loosely on the book From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne. Also included is the launching of an unmanned rocket and footage of the earth receding.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 2h7
Directed by Richard Fleischer, James Haven
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Films about animals, Seafaring films, Transport films, Underwater action films, Submarine films, Pirate films, Films based on science fiction novels, Films about cephalopods, Children's films
Actors Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre, Ted de Corsia, Robert J. Wilke
Roles Visual Effects
Rating71% 3.597483.597483.597483.597483.59748
In 1868, rumors of a sea monster attacking ships in the Pacific Ocean have created apprehension and fear among sailors, disrupting shipping lanes. The United States government invites Professor Pierre M. Aronnax (Paul Lukas) and his assistant, Conseil (Peter Lorre), onto an expedition to prove or disprove the monster's existence. On board with them is the cocky master harpooner Ned Land (Kirk Douglas).
King Richard and the Crusaders, 1h54
Directed by David Butler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Adventure, Historical, Musical
Themes Political films
Actors Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders, Laurence Harvey, Robert Douglas, Michael Pate
Roles Visual Effects
Rating55% 2.757772.757772.757772.757772.75777
In 1191, King Richard the Lionheart, along with several other European monarchs, is in the Holy Land intent on retaking Jerusalem from the Saracens. There is much infighting and outright treachery in the European encampment however. Two nobles in particular, Sir Giles Amaury and Conrad of Montferrat, want to eliminate the English king and attempt to have him assassinated. Severely wounded and on his death bed, Richard is brought back to health by a Saracen doctor recruited by one of his loyal knights, Sir Kenneth of Huntington. The king recovers from his wounds but when he hears that Sir Kenneth wishes to marry Lady Edith Plantagenet, the knight is banished only to be taken in by the very doctor who treated the king and who has an altogether different identity.
Viva Zapata!, 1h53
Directed by Elia Kazan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Biography, Adventure, Historical, Western
Themes Political films, Children's films
Actors Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn, Joseph Wiseman, Alan Reed, Margo
Roles Visual Effects
Rating72% 3.645883.645883.645883.645883.64588
Emiliano Zapata (Marlon Brando) is part of a delegation sent to complain about injustices to corrupt longtime President Porfirio Díaz (Fay Roope), but Díaz dismisses their concerns, and tries to bribe their leader, offering him some land which Zapata rejects. As a result, Zapata is driven to open rebellion, along with his brother Eufemio (Anthony Quinn). He in the south and Pancho Villa (Alan Reed) in the north unite under the leadership of naive reformer Francisco Madero (Harold Gordon).
Rawhide
Rawhide (1951)
, 1h29
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Origin USA
Genres Western
Themes Children's films
Actors Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, Edgar Buchanan, Hugh Marlowe, Jack Elam, George Tobias
Roles Visual Effects
Rating70% 3.5444053.5444053.5444053.5444053.544405
Tom Owens (Tyrone Power) is the clean-cut and sophisticated gentlemen son of the Eastern Division Manager of the Overland Mail Company, J. C. Owens. His father decides he needs to learn the business from the ground up so sends Tom out west to a remote relay station, Rawhide Pass, to take lessons from the stationmaster, Sam Todd (Edgar Buchanan), whom he has known for over forty years. Owens has received his "pardon" from his father, however, and is scheduled to return to civilization in one week. He can't wait.
Elopement
Elopement (1951)
, 1h22
Directed by Henry Koster
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Clifton Webb, Anne Francis, Charles Bickford, William Lundigan, Reginald Gardiner, Evelyn Varden
Roles Visual Effects
Rating63% 3.190563.190563.190563.190563.19056
Jacqueline "Jake" Osborne is sent to college to follow in the footsteps of her successful father Howard, only to fall in love with a professor there and impulsively decide to elope.
Fixed Bayonets!, 1h32
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action
Themes Politique, Political films, Children's films
Actors Richard Basehart, Gene Evans, Michael O'Shea, Craig Hill, Skip Homeier, Paul Burke
Roles Visual Effects
Rating68% 3.4441353.4441353.4441353.4441353.444135
The film is set in the first winter of the Korean War during the Red Chinese intervention . The story follows the fate of a lone 48 man platoon left as a rear guard to defend a choke point, to cover the withdrawal of their division over an exposed bridge. The subplot explores the psychological makeup of the individuals charged with leadership of the platoon, and therein examines the nature of service and valor. Ultimately command of the platoon falls upon Cpl. Denno (Richard Basehart), who has an innate aversion to responsibility for the lives of others.
David and Bathsheba, 1h56
Directed by Henry King, Robert D. Webb
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Historical, Peplum, Romance
Themes Films about religion, Films about sexuality, Films based on the Bible, Films about Jews and Judaism, Children's films
Actors Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Raymond Massey, Kieron Moore, James Robertson Justice, Francis X. Bushman
Roles Visual Effects
Rating60% 3.0470053.0470053.0470053.0470053.047005
Un jeune berger de quinze ans tue le géant Goliath à coup de fronde. Plus tard, fort de sa célébrité, il devient le roi David et règne sur le peuple juif. Aujourd'hui, ses troupes assiègent la ville ammonite de Rabbath-Ammon. Marié à Mikhal, David s’éprend d’une femme d’une grande beauté aperçue prenant son bain, Bethsabée. Épouse délaissée d’un officier du roi, Urie le Hittite, Bethsabée devient la maîtresse de David. Lorsque celle-ci lui apprend qu’elle est enceinte et, son mari étant loin sur le champ de bataille, risque selon la loi d’être lapidée pour adultère, le roi décide pour la sauver d’envoyer Urie en première ligne au plus fort de la bataille. Urie meurt au combat et le roi épouse Bethsabée, après avoir répudié sa femme.
The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1h32
Directed by Robert Wise
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller
Themes Radio, Films about religion, Films set in the future, Films about extraterrestrial life, Political films, Dystopian films, Children's films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Robot films, Disaster films, American disaster films
Actors Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Billy Gray, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Frances Bavier
Roles Visual Effects
Rating76% 3.8479253.8479253.8479253.8479253.847925
When a flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C., the U. S. Army quickly encircles the spaceship. A humanoid (Michael Rennie) emerges, announcing that he has come in peace. As he advances, he unexpectedly opens a small cylindrical device and is shot by a nervous soldier who thinks it's a weapon. A tall robot emerges from the saucer and quickly disintegrates the army's deployed weapons with an energy ray. The alien orders the robot, Gort, to stop. He explains that the broken device was a gift for the President, which would have enabled him "to study life on the other planets".
On the Riviera, 1h29
Directed by Walter Lang
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Films based on plays, Children's films
Actors Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney, Corinne Calvet, Marcel Dalio, Sig Ruman, Henri Letondal
Roles Visual Effects
Rating62% 3.146893.146893.146893.146893.14689
The film follows Jack Martin as he is offered a large amount of money to impersonate his look alike, Henri Duran.
The 13th Letter, 1h25
Directed by Otto Preminger
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Themes Children's films
Actors Charles Boyer, Linda Darnell, Constance Smith, Michael Rennie, Françoise Rosay, Judith Evelyn
Roles Visual Effects
Rating62% 3.144093.144093.144093.144093.14409
The film concerns a doctor at a Canadian hospital in the province of Quebec, Canada who receives a series of poison pen letters. Later, more letters all signed with the mysterious pseudonym "Raven," are delivered to others in the small Canadian town. The wife of the doctor receives a letter accusing her of having an affair. One letter informs a shell-shocked veteran that he is dying of cancer, causing the distraught man to commit suicide. Quickly, the townsfolk begin pointing fingers at all possible suspects.
Fourteen Hours, 1h32
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller
Themes Films about suicide, Children's films
Actors Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Barbara Bel Geddes, Debra Paget, Agnes Moorehead, Robert Keith
Roles Visual Effects
Rating70% 3.547333.547333.547333.547333.54733
Early one morning, a room service waiter at a New York City hotel is horrified to discover that the young man to whom he has just delivered breakfast (Richard Basehart) is standing on the narrow ledge outside his room on the fifteenth floor. Charlie Dunnigan (Paul Douglas), a policeman on traffic duty in the street below, tries to talk him off the ledge to no avail. He is ordered back to traffic patrol by police emergency services deputy chief Moksar (Howard Da Silva). But he is ordered to return when the man on the ledge will not speak to psychiatrists summoned to the scene. Coached by a psychiatrist (Martin Gabel), Dunnigan tries to relate to the man on the ledge as one human to another.
The House on Telegraph Hill, 1h32
Directed by Robert Wise
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Noir
Actors Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese, William Lundigan, Fay Baker, Steven Geray, Gordon Gebert
Roles Visual Effects
Rating68% 3.4444053.4444053.4444053.4444053.444405
Viktoria Kowalska (Valentina Cortese) has lost her home and her husband in the German occupation of Poland, and has been imprisoned in the concentration camp at Belsen. She befriends another prisoner, Karin Dernakova (Natasha Lytess), who dreams of reuniting with her young son Christopher (Gordon Gebert), who was sent to live in San Francisco with a wealthy Aunt. Karin dies shortly before the camp can be liberated, and Viktoria, seeing a way to a better life, uses Karin's papers to assume her identity. After the camp is liberated, she is interviewed by Major Marc Bennett (William Lundigan), who gets her a place in a camp for persons displaced by the war. She writes to Karin's Aunt Sophia in San Francisco, but receives a cable from Sophia's lawyers that she has died.