Arthur P. Schmidt

Who was Arthur P. Schmidt?

Arthur P. Schmidt was an American film editor and producer. He had more than sixty film credits for editing from 1934 through 1962. In the 1950s, Schmidt edited five films directed by Billy Wilder, who has been called one of the great 20th Century filmmakers. In the 1960s, Schmidt was the associate producer for seven Jerry Lewis comedies.

Schmidt's first editing credits are for films from RKO Pictures, which was one of the major Hollywood studios in the 1930s; his RKO credits include Anne of Green Gables. By 1936 he was working at a second studio, Paramount Pictures, where he remained for twenty years. He worked on several of the Bulldog Drummond B-movies, The Blue Dahlia and When Worlds Collide. He edited seven films directed by George Marshall, including three comedies starring Bob Hope.

At Paramount, Schmit began his notable collaboration with director Billy Wilder. With Doane Harrison, he edited Sunset Boulevard, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. Harrison had been the editor for all of Wilder's films since his first American film as a director, The Major and the Minor; ultimately, the two worked together on films for nearly thirty years.