Robert Z. Leonard
3 credits on HibingeTV
American film director, born Robert Zigler Leonard in 1889. A reliable MGM contract director for more than two decades, he specialized in sophisticated comedies and dramas, often starring his then-wife Norma Shearer. He directed The Divorcee (1930), for which Shearer won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and The Great Ziegfeld (1936), which won Best Picture. He worked in film from the silent era into the 1950s. He died in 1968.
Directed
Drama, Silent
An anti-Mormon silent drama directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Jesse L. Lasky's Feature Play Company. Mae Murray stars as Dora Hogue, a young woman traveling west with her family when their cabin is overtaken by a Mormon caravan. An elder demands Dora as his plural wife, setting in motion a melodramatic conflict that capitalizes on the anti-Mormon sentiment prevalent at the time. Frank Borzage — better known today as one of Hollywood's great directors — appears as an actor in the role of Tom Rigdon. The film was originally eight reels but cut to five before release. As a work published before 1930, the film is in the public domain in the United States.
Drama · Silent
A Mormon Maid
1917 - Drama
Comedy, Drama
A 1930 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Norma Shearer and Marie Dressler. Dowdy housewife Kitty Brown (Shearer) dotes on her self-centered husband Bob (Rod La Rocque), but divorces him when his mistress shows up at their home. Bob had become bored with her lackluster appearance. Kitty re-invents herself and becomes a Continental favorite, dressing like a fashion model and behaving gaily. Three years later, a wealthy socialite (Dressler) enlists Kitty's help to break up her granddaughter's infatuation with Bob — unaware that Kitty is his ex-wife. Based on the 1929 play by Rachel Crothers, which starred Tallulah Bankhead on Broadway.
Comedy · Drama · Romance
Let Us Be Gay
1930 - Comedy
Drama, Romance
A landmark pre-Code drama about marriage and infidelity, based on Ursula Parrott's 1929 novel Ex-Wife. Norma Shearer plays Jerry, a Manhattan advertising writer who, after learning of her husband Ted's (Chester Morris) affair, decides to even the score with a one-night stand of her own. When Ted cannot forgive her for what he himself committed, the marriage breaks apart and Jerry embarks on a series of affairs, taking what the film calls "a man's point of view." The film's frank treatment of the sexual double standard was controversial at the time, and Shearer won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role. Published in 1930, the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2026.
Drama · Romance
The Divorcee
1930 - Drama