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Saul Bass

Saul Bass

Photograph © Harrie Verstappen. Used with permission.

Saul Bass (May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was a graphic designer and filmmaker, perhaps best known for his design of film posters and title sequences.

IMAGE: Saul Bass and Elaine Bass working together

Saul worked side-by-side with his wife Elaine Bass for much of his career. 

During his 40-year career Bass worked for some of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, and Martin Scorsese. He became well-known in the film industry after creating the title sequence for Otto Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm in 1955. For Alfred Hitchcock, Bass designed effective and memorable title sequences, inventing a new type of kinetic typography, for North by Northwest, Vertigo (working with John Whitney), and Psycho.

Bass also designed some of the most iconic corporate logos in North America, including the original AT&T "bell" logo in 1969, as well as their later "globe" logo in 1983. He also designed Continental Airlines' 1968 "jetstream" logo and United Airlines' 1974 "tulip" logo which have become some of the most recognized logos of the era.

In 1955, Elaine Makatura came to work with Saul Bass and after the opening title sequence to Spartacus in 1960, which Elaine co-directed and produced, the two were married. Much of Saul Bass's title design and film work thereafter was made in close collaboration with Elaine. After the birth of their children, Jennifer in 1964 and Jeffrey in 1967, the Basses concentrated on their family, short films, and title sequences. Their first joint venture into short filmmaking was with promotional films for pavilions at the 1964 World’s Fair, From Here to There for United Airlines and The Searching Eye for Eastman Kodak. In 1968, they made the short film Why Man Creates, which won an Oscar.

Why Man Creates (1968), the Oscar-winning short film directed by Saul and Elaine Bass

From the mid-60s to the late 1980s, Saul and Elaine moved away from main titles to focus on filmmaking and their children. Of this time, Saul has said:

"Elaine and I feel we are there to serve the film and to approach the task with a sense of responsibility. We saw a lot of pyrotechnics and fun and games and I suppose we lost interest. At the same time, an increasing number of directors now sought to open their own films in ambitious ways rather than hire someone else to do it. Whatever the reasons, the result was 'Fade Out.' We did not worry about it: we had too many other interesting projects to get on with. Equally, because we still loved the process of making titles, we were happy to take it up again when asked. 'Fade In'..."

Toward the end of his career, Saul Bass was “rediscovered” by James L. Brooks and Martin Scorsese, who urged the Basses to return to main title design.

For Scorsese, Elaine and Saul Bass created title sequences for Goodfellas, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, and Casino, their last title sequence.

IMAGE: Credit – Cape Fear credit for Saul & Elaine

Credits for Elaine & Saul Bass in the Cape Fear (1991) main titles

In a sense, all modern opening title sequences that introduce the mood or theme of a film are a legacy of the Basses' work.

Articles

  • The Title Design of Saul and Elaine Bass

    The Title Design of Saul and Elaine Bass

    feature

  • Psycho

    Psycho

    interview

  • Casino

    Casino

    summary

  • Higher Learning

    Higher Learning

    title only

  • The Age of Innocence

    The Age of Innocence

    summary

  • Mr. Saturday Night

    Mr. Saturday Night

    title only

  • Cape Fear

    Cape Fear

    summary

  • Goodfellas

    Goodfellas

    summary

  • The War of the Roses

    The War of the Roses

    summary

  • Tonkô

    Tonkô

    summary

  • Big

    Big

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  • Broadcast News

    Broadcast News

    summary

  • That's Entertainment, Part II

    That's Entertainment, Part II

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  • Rosebud

    Rosebud

    summary

  • Grand Prix

    Grand Prix

    summary

  • Not With My Wife, You Don't!

    Not With My Wife, You Don't!

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  • Seconds

    Seconds

    summary

  • Bunny Lake is Missing

    Bunny Lake is Missing

    summary

  • In Harm's Way

    In Harm's Way

    summary

  • The Victors

    The Victors

    summary

  • The Cardinal

    The Cardinal

    summary

  • It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

    It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

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  • Nine Hours to Rama

    Nine Hours to Rama

    summary

  • Advise & Consent

    Advise & Consent

    summary

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    summary

  • Something Wild

    Something Wild

    summary

  • West Side Story

    West Side Story

    summary

  • Exodus

    Exodus

    summary

  • The Facts of Life

    The Facts of Life

    summary

  • Spartacus

    Spartacus

    summary

  • Psycho

    Psycho

    summary

  • Ocean’s Eleven

    Ocean’s Eleven

    summary

  • North by Northwest

    North by Northwest

    summary

  • Anatomy of a Murder

    Anatomy of a Murder

    summary

  • The Big Country

    The Big Country

    summary

  • Vertigo

    Vertigo

    summary

  • Cowboy

    Cowboy

    summary

  • Bonjour Tristesse

    Bonjour Tristesse

    summary

  • The Pride and The Passion

    The Pride and The Passion

    summary

  • Saint Joan

    Saint Joan

    summary

  • The Young Stranger

    The Young Stranger

    title only

  • Edge of the City

    Edge of the City

    summary

  • Attack

    Attack

    summary

  • Around the World in Eighty Days

    Around the World in Eighty Days

    summary

  • Storm Center

    Storm Center

    summary

  • Johnny Concho

    Johnny Concho

    title only

  • The Man With The Golden Arm

    The Man With The Golden Arm

    summary

  • The Big Knife

    The Big Knife

    title only

  • The Shrike

    The Shrike

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  • The Seven Year Itch

    The Seven Year Itch

    summary

  • Carmen Jones

    Carmen Jones

    summary

  • Complete filmography
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