# Clarence Kolster

Clarence Kolster (September 6, 1895 – May 6, 1972) was an American film editor, active during the later years of the silent era, right through the 1950s.

## Biography

Born in Plattsburgh, New York, in 1895, Clarence began his film career editing the 1922 silent film Rags to Riches. During his 30-year career, he would edit almost 100 films, in addition to working as assistant director on the 1924 film The Lighthouse by the Sea. His career would include such classics as The Painted Desert, also in 1931, which featured Clark Gable's first speaking role; the 1946 remake of Of Human Bondage; Always Leave Them Laughing, starring Milton Berle and Virginia Mayo; and 1958's Our Miss Brooks starring Eve Arden.
But Kolster's crowning achievement was his first mega-hit, the 1931 version of Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff. Kolster's editing of when the monster is revealed has been called, "... possibly the most distinguished piece of cutting in all of horror movie history." In addition, the creation sequence, the monster finding the small child by the lake, and the confrontation between the monster and Frankenstein's bride, have all become iconic scenes in film history, often imitated and parodied in later pictures.
In 1958, Kolster would make the switch from the big screen to the small screen, where he worked on several television series, including Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip. Kolster retired in 1962, and would die 10 years later.

## Filmography

(as per AFI's database)
| Year | Title | Role |
| 1922 | Rags to Riches | Editor |
| 1923 | The Country Kid | Editor |
| 1923 | Little Johnny Jones | Editor |
| 1923 | The Printer's Devil | Editor |
| 1924 | Conductor 1492 | Editor |
| 1924 | The Lighthouse by the Sea | Assistant director |
| 1925 | Three Weeks in Paris | Editor |
| 1925 | Hogan's Alley | Editor |
| 1925 | The Clash of the Wolves | Editor |
| 1925 | On Thin Ice | Editor |
| 1926 | The Fighting Edge | Editor |
| 1926 | The Little Irish Girl | Editor |
| 1926 | Broken Hearts of Hollywood | Editor |
| 1926 | His Jazz Bride | Editor |
| 1926 | The Night Cry | Editor |
| 1926 | The Sap | Editor |
| 1926 | The Third Degree | Editor |
| 1927 | The College Widow | Editor |
| 1927 | A Dog of the Regiment | Editor |
| 1927 | Ginsberg the Great | Editor |
| 1927 | Husbands for Rent | Editor |
| 1930 | Sunny Skies | Editor |
| 1930 | Hot Curves | Editor |
| 1930 | Peacock Alley | Editor |
| 1930 | The Thoroughbred | Editor |
| 1930 | Troopers Three | Editor |
| 1930 | Wings of Adventure | Editor |
| 1931 | Frankenstein | Editor |
| 1931 | The Painted Desert | Editor |
| 1931 | Waterloo Bridge | Editor |
| 1932 | The Old Dark House | Editor |
| 1932 | The Impatient Maiden | Editor |
| 1932 | Doomed Battalion | Editor |
| 1933 | King of the Wild Horses | Editor |
| 1933 | Havana Widows | Editor |
| 1933 | The Fighting Code | Editor |
| 1933 | Unknown Valley | Editor |
| 1934 | Twenty Million Sweethearts | Editor |
| 1934 | Circus Clown | Editor |
| 1934 | The St. Louis Kid | Editor |
| 1934 | I've Got Your Number | Editor |
| 1935 | The White Cockatoo | Editor |
| 1935 | Special Agent | Editor |
| 1935 | Mary Jane's Pa | Editor |
| 1935 | Miss Pacific Fleet | Editor |
| 1936 | Brides Are Like That | Editor |
| 1936 | Polo Joe | Editor |
| 1936 | Hot Money | Editor |
| 1936 | The Law in Her Hands | Editor |
| 1937 | Her Husband's Secretary | Editor |
| 1937 | Back in Circulation | Editor |
| 1937 | Empty Holsters | Editor |
| 1937 | Once a Doctor | Editor |
| 1937 | Sh! The Octopus | Editor |
| 1938 | Gold Is Where You Find It | Editor |
| 1938 | Four's a Crowd | Editor |
| 1938 | Going Places | Editor |
| 1939 | Hell's Kitchen | Editor |
| 1939 | On Your Toes | Editor |
| 1940 | River's End | Editor |
| 1940 | South of Suez | Editor |
| 1940 | An Angel from Texas | Editor |
| 1940 | Brother Rat and a Baby | Editor |
| 1941 | Bad Men of Missouri | Editor |
| 1941 | Thieves Fall Out | Editor |
| 1942 | Men of Texas | Editor |
| 1942 | The Spoilers | Editor |
| 1942 | Wild Bill Hickok Rides | Editor |
| 1943 | The Mysterious Doctor | Editor |
| 1943 | Truck Busters | Editor |
| 1943 | Adventure in Iraq | Editor |
| 1944 | Make Your Own Bed | Editor |
| 1946 | Of Human Bondage | Editor |
| 1947 | Escape Me Never | Editor |
| 1948 | Smart Girls Don't Talk | Editor |
| 1948 | The Woman in White | Editor |
| 1949 | Always Leave Them Laughing | Editor |
| 1949 | South of St. Louis | Editor |
| 1950 | Barricade | Editor |
| 1950 | Dallas | Editor |
| 1951 | Close to My Heart | Editor |
| 1951 | Fort Worth | Editor |
| 1951 | Sugarfoot | Editor |
| 1951 | Storm Warning | Editor |
| 1952 | The Big Trees | Editor |
| 1952 | Operation Secret | Editor |
| 1952 | She's Working Her Way Through College | Editor |
| 1953 | South Sea Woman | Editor |
| 1953 | The System | Editor |
| 1954 | The Bounty Hunter | Editor |
| 1954 | Drum Beat | Editor |
| 1955 | I Died a Thousand Times | Editor |
| 1955 | Target Zero | Editor |
| 1956 | Our Miss Brooks | Editor |
| 1956 | Zarak | Editor |
| 1956 | The Burning Hills | Editor |
| 1956 | The Lone Ranger | Editor |
| 1957 | Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend | Editor |
| 1958 | Fort Dobbs | Editor |