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Dorothea Carothers "Dede" Allen (December 3, 1923 – April 17, 2010) was an American film editor, well-known "film editing doctor" to the major American movie studios, and one of cinema's all-time celebrated 'auteur' film editors.
Allen is known for having edited classic films such as The Hustler (1961), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Dog Day Afternoon (1975),and Reds (1981). She had an extended collaboration (1967–1976) with director Arthur Penn, and over the years had worked with other distinguished directors including Sidney Lumet, Robert Wise, Elia Kazan, and George Roy Hill. She was a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Early life
Allen was born in Cleveland, Ohio; her mother was an actress and her father worked for Union Carbide. She enrolledat Scripps College in Claremont, California.
Career
Allen worked her way up as a production runner, as a sound librarian and then as an assistant film editor at Columbia Pictures. She edited commercial and industrial films before becoming a full-fledged feature film editor. It took sixteen years working in the American film industry before Dede Allen edited her first important feature film, Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). She worked closely with and was mentored by film director Robert Wise, who had also been a film editor himself (most notably having cut Orson Welles' Citizen Kane). Wise encouraged Dede Allen to be brave and experiment with her editing -- "he was the first person who said, 'No matter how many directions I give you, if it doesn't play, don't show it to me.'He was excited as hell if I came up with something.He had a great influence on me because he was a tremendous editor in his own time so he knew."
Much like the raw editing of dadaist filmmaking (an approach followed by René Clair early in his career) or perhaps akin to that of the French New Wave, Allen pioneered the use of audio overlaps and utilized emotional jump cuts, stylistic flourishes that brought energy and realism to characters that until that point had not been a part of classic Hollywood film editing technique. Continuity editing and screen direction (being tied to the constraints of place and time) became the low priority, while using cutting to express the micro-cultural body language of the characters and moving the plot along in an artistic, almost three-dimensional manner became her modus operandi.
In 1992, Allen accepted the position of Vice-President in Charge of Creative Development at the Warner Bros. Studio. In 2000 she returned to editing with the film Wonder Boys, for which she was nominated for her third Academy Award.
On a 2012 listing of the 75 best edited films of all time, compiled by the Motion Picture Editors Guild based on a survey of its members, three films edited by Allen appear: Bonnie and Clyde, Dog Day Afternoon, and Reds. Only George Tomasini had more films on this listing.
Variety's Eileen Kowalski notes that, "Indeed, many of the editorial greats have been women: Dede Allen, Verna Fields, Thelma Schoonmaker, Anne V. Coates and Dorothy Spencer."
Personal life
Allen was married to film director Stephen Fleischman. Her son is renowned sound re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman and her daughter is Ramey Ward.
Allen died on April 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, California from a stroke.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Director | Co-editors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Odds Against Tomorrow | Robert Wise | |
| 1961 | The Hustler | Robert Rossen | |
| 1963 | America, America | Elia Kazan | |
| 1967 | Bonnie & Clyde | Arthur Penn | |
| 1968 | Rachel, Rachel | Paul Newman | |
| 1969 | Alice's Restaurant | Arthur Penn | |
| 1970 | Little Big Man | Arthur Penn | |
| 1972 | Slaughterhouse-Five | George Roy Hill | |
| 1973 | Serpico | Sidney Lumet | Richard Marks, Ronald Roose, and Angelo Corrao |
| 1975 | Dog Day Afternoon | Sidney Lumet | |
| Night Moves | Arthur Penn | Steven A. Rotter | |
| 1976 | The Missouri Breaks | Arthur Penn | Gerald B. Greenberg and Steven Rotter |
| 1977 | Slap Shot | George Roy Hill | |
| 1978 | The Wiz | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1981 | Reds | Warren Beatty | Craig McKay |
| 1984 | Harry & Son | Paul Newman | |
| Mike's Murder | James Bridges | ||
| 1985 | The Breakfast Club | John Hughes | |
| 1986 | Off Beat | Michael Dinner | Angelo Corrao |
| 1988 | The Milagro Beanfield War | Robert Redford | Jim Miller |
| 1989 | Let It Ride | Joe Pytka | Jim Miller |
| 1990 | Henry & June | Philip Kaufman | Vivien Hillgrove Gilliam and William S. Scharf (Interview in two parts) https://archive.org/details/DedeAllen7211990SideOneOfTwoEdited, https://archive.org/details/DedeAllen7211990SideTwoOfTwoEdited |
| 1991 | The Addams Family | Barry Sonnenfeld | |
| 2000 | Wonder Boys | Curtis Hanson | |
| 2002 | John Q. | Nick Cassavetes | |
| 2004 | The Final Cut | Omar Naim | Robert Brakey |
| 2007 | Have Dreams, Will Travel | Brad Isaacs | Robert Brakey |
| 2008 | Fireflies in the Garden | Dennis Lee | Robert Brakey |
Academy Awards and nominations
- 1976 – Dog Day Afternoon, nominated for Academy Award, Best Editing
- 1982 – Reds, nominated for Academy Award, Best Editing (w/ co-editor Craig McKay)
- 2001 – Wonder Boys, nominated for Academy Award, Best Editing
Other awards and nominations
- 1962 – The Hustler, nominated for American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie, Best Edited Feature Film
- 1968 – Bonnie and Clyde, nominated for American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie, Best Edited Feature Film
- 1975 – Dog Day Afternoon won BAFTA Film Award, Best Editing
- 1982 – Reds, nominated for American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie, Best Edited Feature Film (w/ co-editor Craig McKay)
- 1982 – recipient, Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry
- 1994 – honored with American Cinema Editors (ACE), Career Achievement Award
- 1999 – honored at Hollywood Film Festival, Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing
- 2000 – honored by Las Vegas Film Critics Association, Career Achievement Award