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{{short description|American director of Indian films}}
{{use mdy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ellis R. Dungan
| image = EDungan.jpg
| birth_name = Ellis Roderick Dungan
| birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=y|1909|05|11}}
| birth_place = [[Barton, Ohio|Barton]], [[Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2001|12|01|1909|05|11|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Wheeling, West Virginia]], U.S.
| occupation = [[Film director]]
| spouse = Elaine Dungan
| years_active = 1935–87
}}

'''Ellis Roderick Dungan''' (May 11, 1909 – December 1, 2001) was an American [[film director]], who was well known for working in Indian films, predominantly in [[Tamil cinema]], from 1936 to 1950.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thehindujobs.com/thehindu/mp/2002/01/21/stories/2002012100030300.htm |title=The Hindu article on Ellis Dungan |access-date=June 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007044804/http://thehindujobs.com/thehindu/mp/2002/01/21/stories/2002012100030300.htm |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was an alumnus of the [[University of Southern California]] and moved to India in 1935. During his film career in South India, Dungan directed the debut films of several popular Tamil film actors, such as [[M. G. Ramachandran]] in ''[[Sathi leelavathi (1936 film)|Sathi Leelavathi]]'',<ref name="thehindu.com">[https://web.archive.org/web/20050109181852/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2004/09/06/stories/2004090600190300.htm The Hindu article on Americans in Tamil cinema]</ref> [[T. S. Balaiya]], [[Kali N. Rathnam|Kali N.Ratnam]] and [[N. S. Krishnan]].<ref>[http://www.sangam.org/articles/view2/?uid=691 Reminiscences on Directing M.S., the Musician-Movie Star on www.sangam.org]</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life===
An Irish-American, Dungan was born in [[Barton, Ohio]].<ref name="ReferenceA">[https://web.archive.org/web/20020614032704/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/01/21/stories/2002012100030300.htm ]</ref> on May 11, 1909.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} He attended [[St. Clairsville High School]] in [[St. Clairsville, Ohio|St. Clairsville]], where he played quarterback on the school football team. He bought his first box camera to take pictures for the school yearbook, for which he was editor-in-chief. He later enrolled at the [[University of Southern California]] in 1932 in the newly established Cinema Department.

===Career===
[[File:Ellis Dungan SD Santhanalakshmi MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Ambikavathy 1937.jpg|thumb|left|Ellis R. Dungan directing [[M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar]] and [[M. R. Santhanalakshmi]] in ''[[Ambikapathy (1937 film)|Ambikapathy]]'' (1937)]]
In 1935, he came to India with his college mate Michael Ormalev at the invitation of another USC student - Manik Lal Tandon of [[Bombay]]. Tandon's family was then planning to enter the film industry. When those plans did not take off, Tandon invited them to [[Calcutta]] where he was directing the Tamil film ''[[Nandanar (1935 film)|Nandanar]]''. There Tandon introduced them to A. N. Marudhachalam Chettiar, a film producer who was making the film ''[[Sathi leelavathi (1936 film)|Sathi Leelavathi]]'' and recommended Dungan be hired to direct the film as he himself was busy directing ''Nandanar''. Thus Dungan made his directing debut with ''Sathi Leelavathi'' which was also the first film of future-[[Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu]], [[M. G. Ramachandran]].<ref name="thehindu.com"/> During 1936-50, Dungan made a number of Tamil films and one Hindi film - ''Meera'' (1947). Dungan had no knowledge of Indian languages, a problem which never affected his career as a director of films in Indian languages, especially Tamil.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030704142055/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2002/02/01/stories/2002020100850300.htm He transcended barriers with aplomb on The Hindu website]</ref> He introduced many new techniques to Indian cinema despite the technical limitations of that period. Many of his movies were based on the mythical characters of the [[Hinduism|Hindu religion]] and he had to shoot them in Hindu temples where non-Hindus were not allowed in those days. Dungan filmed his movies in the temples by passing himself off as a [[Kashmiri people|Kashmiri]] pundit.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004121700410500.htm&date=2004%2F12%2F17%2F&prd=fr& |title=Full of technical innovations - Article on the movie Meera |access-date=December 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425031537/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004121700410500.htm&date=2004%2F12%2F17%2F&prd=fr& |archive-date=April 25, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Dungan is credited with introducing modern make-up, the mobile camera and cabaret dance numbers to Tamil Cinema and moving it away from the influence of stage plays. For his introduction of intimate love scenes in ''[[Ponmudi (1950 film)|Ponmudi]]'' (1950), Dungan was criticized by the press for introducing "vulgar" scenes and for "corrupting the population with American ways".<ref name="thehindu.com"/><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121107174750/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/10/04/stories/2008100452520700.htm Blast From the Past - Ponmudi 1950, The Hindu, 4 October 2008]</ref>

His last Tamil film was ''[[Manthiri Kumari]]'' in 1950. He returned to America and settled in [[Wheeling, West Virginia]] in 1958. There he started his company - "Ellis Dungan productions" and for the next thirty years made documentary movies for the Hollywood producer Duke Goldstone.<ref name="westvirginia1">{{cite book | first=Ken| last=Sullivan| year= 2006| title=The West Virginia encyclopedia | publisher= West Virginia Humanities Council| pages=119 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g0cUAQAAIAAJ}}</ref>

===Death===
Dungan died in [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]] on December 1, 2001 at the age of 92.<ref name="wheeling">{{Cite web |url=http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/history/people/hallfame/1994dung.htm |title=Article on Dungan on West Virginia, Wheeling library webpage |access-date=November 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605031446/http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/history/people/hallfame/1994dung.htm |archive-date=June 5, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Legacy ==
Dungan is credited with having revolutionized Indian cinema and introduced western innovations. In 2013, American film maker Karan Bali made a one-hour documentary on Dungan titled ''[[An American in Madras]]'' by consulting West Virginia State Archives and interviewing people who had known Dungan.

== Filmography ==
=== Tamil ===
* ''[[Bhakta Nandanar]]'' (1935) (uncredited)
* ''[[Sathi Leelavathi (1936 film)|Sathi Leelavathi]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Seemanthini]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Iru Sahodarargal]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Ambikapathy (1937 film)|Ambikapathy]]'' (1937)
* ''[[Surya Puthri]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Sakuntalai]]'' (1940)
* ''[[Kalamegam]]'' (1940)
* ''[[Dhaasippen|Daasi Penn]]'' (1943)
* ''Valmiki'' (1945)
* ''Returning Soldier'' (1945)
* ''[[Meera (1945 film)|Meera]]'' (1945)
* ''[[Ponmudi (1950 film)|Ponmudi]]'' (1950)
* ''[[Manthiri Kumari]]'' (1950)

===Hindi===
* ''Meera'' (1947)

===English===
* ''[[Kaadu (1952 film)|The Jungle]]'' (1952)
* ''[[Smilin' Ed's Gang]]'' (1951–1954) (TV show)
* ''[[Andy's Gang]]'' (1955–1960) (TV show)
* ''[[Harry Black and the Tiger]]'' (1958)
* ''[[Wheeling 1959: Wheels to Progress]]'' (1959)
* ''[[The Big Hunt (1959 film)|The Big Hunt]]'' (1959)
* ''[[Tarzan Goes to India]]'' (1962) (as second unit producer)
* ''[[For Liberty and Union]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Josiah Fox - Architect of the United States First Navy]]'' (1987)<ref name="westvirginia1"/><ref name="afi">{{cite book | year= 1997| title=The American Film Institute catalog of motion pictures produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1961-1970, | publisher= American Film Institute| isbn= 978-0-520-20970-1| pages=86 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s1k1RsGvFwwC}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* ''A Guide to Adventure - An Autobiography'' (with Barbara Diane Smik), Pittsburg: [[Dorrance Publishing Company|Dorrance Publishing Co.]] (2002)

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="ReferenceA">[https://web.archive.org/web/20020614032704/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/01/21/stories/2002012100030300.htm ]</ref>
}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|0006497|Ellis R. Dungan}}
* [http://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/history/people/hallfame/1994dung.htm Entry in the Wheeling Hall of Fame]
* [https://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/an-american-in-madras-traces-career-of-unlikely-pioneer-in-tamil-language-films NYT blog post on Ellis R. Dungan]
{{Ellis R. Dungan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dungan, Ellis R.}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Tamil film directors]]
[[Category:USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Hindi-language film directors]]
[[Category:Film directors from Ohio]]

Ellis R. Dungan - Revision history

134.195.196.227 at 16:34, 6 June 2021