De Rochemont, Louis, 1899-1978

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Louis de Rochemont was a film producer who created the "March of Time" newsreel series. He was also a pioneer in camera technology and developed projects using the Cinerama technique. De Rochemont began his professional career as a filmmaker for the U.S. Navy in the 1920s. He initiated "March of Time" in 1934. In 1943 de Rochemont began working for Darryl Zanuck at Twentieth Century Fox; and in 1947 he formed his own company, Louis de Rochemont Associates.

From the description of Louis De Rochemont papers, 1899-2004. (University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center). WorldCat record id: 56524156

Louis Clark de Rochemont was perhaps best known as the first producer of The March of Time. He produced numerous documentary, commercial and educational films as well as feature films. He was an imaginative and energetic non-Hollywood filmmaker.

De Rochemont was born in 1899 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He started making movies when he was in high school, filming people on the streets and selling his films to the local movie house. He joined the U.S. Navy at the close of World War I, earned a naval commission and remained on active duty until August, 1923. He made recruitment films for the Navy until he retired from the Naval Reserve in 1928. In 1929, de Rochemont married Virginia Shaler in New York City. The couple honeymooned in India and Southeast Asia where de Rochemont worked for Fox Movietone News. He continued with Fox after returning to New York in 1930.

In 1934 De Rochemont and Roy Larsen of Time, Inc. conceived the idea for The March of Time, a visual news magazine. The March of Time was awarded an Oscar in 1936. De Rochemont made The Ramparts We Watch in 1940 as the European war was reaching out towards the United States. Louis de Rochemont’s brother Richard took over the reins of The March of Time in 1943 when Louis left Time, Inc. to work as a producer for Darryl Zanuck at Twentieth Century Fox. While there, de Rochemont produced the Academy Award winning The Fighting Lady (1944), the story of the U.S.S. Yorktown, an aircraft carrier at war; House on 92nd St. (1945), based on an FBI operation; 13 Rue Madeleine (1946), a story of OSS operations in Nazi-occupied France; and Boomerang (1947), a story of a potential miscarriage of justice.

De Rochemont left Twentieth Century Fox to form Louis de Rochemont Associates in New York City. Within this framework, and three other related companies, de Rochemont produced Lost Boundaries (1949), which explored racial issues; The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951), showing both sides of labor/management problems; Walk East on Beacon (1952), an anti-Communist statement; Martin Luther (1953), a dramatic presentation of a man who sought freedom from religious tyranny; and Animal Farm (1955), an animated version of George Orwell’s anti-Communist book. Following these were Cinerama Holiday (1956), which traveled with Swiss and American couples as they visited each other’s countries; Windjammer (1959), which chronicled the voyage of a Norwegian square-rigger; Man On a String (1960), a drama of espionage in the U.S. and Russia; and The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams novel. In addition, the de Rochemont companies produced numerous commercial, educational and public service films, including The Earth and Its Peoples (1948) and Parlons Francais (1960). Louis de Rochemont was involved with writing, shooting, editing, and directing many of these films.

While most of Louis de Rochemont’s career centered in New York City, he and his wife renovated an old family house in Newington, New Hampshire, called Blueberry Bank. They had two children, Louis III and Virginia. In the early 1950s de Rochemont united many citizens of Newington and the Seacoast Region in an ultimately unsuccessful battle against the construction of Pease Air Force Base. Louis de Rochemont retired to Blueberry Bank and died there in 1978.

From the guide to the Louis De Rochemont papers, 1899-2004, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Tennessee Williams Collection TXRC99-A14., 1880-1993, (bulk 1930s-1970s) Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn De Rochemont family. Papers, 1867-1910. Portsmouth Athenaeum Library & Museum
referencedIn Orchard, Thomas. Papers, 1937-1971. Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
creatorOf Louis De Rochemont papers, 1899-2004 Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
referencedIn Glenn, Jack, 1904-1981. Jack Glenn papers, 1922-1981. Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
referencedIn Tennessee Williams Art Collection TXRC99-A14., ca. 1928-1980, bulk 1930s-1970s Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
creatorOf Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. Tennessee Williams Collection, 1880-1993 (bulk 1930s-1970s). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
creatorOf De Rochemont, Louis, 1899-1978. Louis De Rochemont papers, 1899-2004. Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
referencedIn De Rochemont, Richard. Richard De Rochemont papers, 1903-1983. Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
referencedIn Jack Glenn papers, 1922-1981 Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Cinerama. corporateBody
associatedWith Cinerama. corporateBody
associatedWith De Rochemont family. family
associatedWith De Rochemont, Richard. person
associatedWith Gaevernitz, Gero von. person
associatedWith Glenn, Jack, 1904-1981. person
associatedWith Louis De Rochemont Associates. corporateBody
associatedWith Orchard, Thomas. person
associatedWith Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Navy. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Office of Strategic Services. corporateBody
associatedWith Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983 person
associatedWith Zanuck, Darryl Francis, 1902-1979. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Burma
Indonesia
Burma
United States
Indonesia
Subject
Advertising
Advertising
Education
Documentary films
Documentary films
Language
Motion picture industry
Motion picture industry
Motion pictures
Motion pictures
Newsreels
Occupation
Motion picture producers and directors
Activity

Person

Birth 1899-01-13

Death 1978-12-23

Norwegian,

German,

English,

French

Information

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