Herbert Ross (Footloose) Footloose
Herbert Ross (May 13, 1927 – October 9, 2001) directed Footloose (1984). He was 56 when he made the film.
A choreographer's filmmaker
Ross began his working life on Broadway as a choreographer. He worked with Barbra Streisand, Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers, and Arthur Laurents before moving to film in his forties with the musical Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969). Even after he became a director, his sense of how bodies move through a frame stayed central to his style — the long unbroken takes in the dance films, the careful blocking in the chamber dramas. (wikipedia)
"Ross utilized his knowledge of ballet for The Turning Point (1977) and reteamed with Simon on The Goodbye Girl (1977) to win both critical acclaim and box office gold." — Variety, Variety (2001)
Footloose was Ross's biggest commercial success in years
By the time Pitchford and producer Daniel Melnick brought him onto Footloose, Ross was almost a decade past The Goodbye Girl and The Turning Point. Pennies from Heaven (1981) had been a critical-and-commercial failure; Max Dugan Returns (1983) had been modest. Footloose was an inflection point.
"Ross had a huge hit with Footloose (1984). Set in a small town where dancing is forbidden, the film made lead actor Kevin Bacon a star overnight, boasted a chart-topping soundtrack, and gave Ross his biggest commercial success in years." — Rotten Tomatoes, Rotten Tomatoes
His dance background showed up everywhere in the picture. He kept the warehouse solo in long-enough takes to let the doubles read as Bacon, deferred to Lynne Taylor-Corbett's choreography for the bridge dance and the line-dancing lesson, and structured the cutting so that the music videos felt continuous with the narrative even when reviewers complained that they weren't.
A selected filmography
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | Directorial debut |
| 1970 | The Owl and the Pussycat | First commercial hit |
| 1972 | Play It Again, Sam | Woody Allen screenplay |
| 1976 | The Sunshine Boys | Adapted from Neil Simon |
| 1977 | The Goodbye Girl | Five Oscar nominations; Dreyfuss wins Best Actor |
| 1977 | The Turning Point | Eleven Oscar nominations |
| 1981 | Pennies from Heaven | Steve Martin musical, commercial failure |
| 1984 | Footloose | Biggest hit since 1977 |
| 1986 | The Secret of My Success | Michael J. Fox comedy |
| 1989 | Steel Magnolias | Final major commercial success |
| 1995 | Boys on the Side | Final feature |