Menzies joined
Famous Players–Lasky, later to evolve into
Paramount Pictures, working in special effects and design. He soon worked on such films as
Robin Hood (1922),
The Thief of Bagdad (1924),
The Bat (1926),
The Dove (1927),
Sadie Thompson (1928), and
Tempest (1928). His contributions to
The Dove (1927), as well as
Tempest (1928) led to Menzies receiving the first Academy Award for Best Production Design, an accolade for achievement in art direction. In 1929, Menzies formed a partnership with producer
Joseph M. Schenck to create a series of early sound short films visualizing great works of music, including a 10-minute version of Dukas's ''
The Sorcerer's Apprentice,'' and created the production design and special effects for Schenck's feature film
The Lottery Bride (1930). Menzies's work on
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) prompted
David O. Selznick to hire him for
Gone with the Wind (1939). Selznick's faith in Menzies was so great that he sent a memorandum to everyone at
Selznick International Pictures who was involved in the production reminding them that "Menzies is the final word" on everything related to
Technicolor,
scenic design,
set decoration, and the overall look of the production. His work on the film would also net Menzies an
Honorary Academy Award "for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood." "Production designer" (which is sometimes used interchangeably with "art director") was coined specifically for Menzies, to refer to his being the final word on the overall look of the production; it was intended to describe his ability to translate Selznick's ideas to drawings and paintings from which he and his fellow directors worked. Menzies was the director of the
burning of Atlanta sequence in
Gone with the Wind. He also re-shot the
Salvador Dalí dream sequence of Alfred Hitchcock's
Spellbound (1945). In addition, Menzies directed dramas and fantasy films. He made two science-fiction films:
Things to Come (1936), based
on a novel by
H.G. Wells, for producer
Alexander Korda which predicted war and technical advancement; and
Invaders from Mars (1953), which mirrored many fears about aliens and outside threats to humanity in the 1950s. ==Death==