Carl Lerner (17 June 1912 â 26 August 1973) was an American film editor, director and educator whose career bridged New York's postâÂÂwar documentary movement and Hollywood's studio and independent features, earning recognition for his editorial work on 12 Angry Men (1957) and for directing the civilâÂÂrights drama Black Like Me (1964).
Lerner was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 17 June 1912 to RussianâÂÂJewish immigrant parents. He earned a degree in theatre arts at Temple University in the early 1930s, where he also staged student productions. After acting with Philadelphia and New York repertory companies, he moved behind the scenes as a stage director before entering film in the late 1940s.
LernerâÂÂs first credited feature was Cry Murder (1950) for Columbia Pictures, initiating a prolific decade that included the docuâÂÂfiction On the Bowery (1956), which won the Grand Prize for Documentary at the Venice Film Festival and the 1957 BAFTA for Best Documentary. His taut cutting of Sidney LumetâÂÂs courtroom drama 12 Angry Men (1957) has been widely cited for intensifying the filmâÂÂs claustrophobic tension through an accelerating pattern of shot lengths. Despite critical success, LernerâÂÂs progressive politics led to his grayâÂÂlisting during the Hollywood blacklist, making him one of the few EastâÂÂCoast editors named in the eraâÂÂs antiâÂÂCommunist campaigns. Continuing freelance, he cut The Fugitive Kind (1959), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), The Swimmer (1968) and Alan J. PakulaâÂÂs thriller Klute (1971).
In 1964, Lerner made his solo directing debut with Black Like Me, adapting John Howard GriffinâÂÂs bestâÂÂseller into a stark account of segregationâÂÂera racism. Alongside film work, he taught editing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, influencing a generation of editors, including Paul Barnes of Ken Burnsâ Florentine Films.
Among Lerner's significant editing credits are the melodrama Cry Murder (1950), 12 Angry Men (1957), Middle of the Night (1959), The Fugitive Kind (1959), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), The Swimmer (1968) and Klute (1971); his directing credits include the short documentary American Homes (1949) and Black Like Me (1964).
Lerner married AustrianâÂÂborn writer, Gerda Lerner, in 1941; they had two children and often collaborated, with Gerda coâÂÂwriting Black Like Me. Diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in 1972, he died in New York City on 26 August 1973, aged 61.