Biography
A stage actor by the late '20s, Chester Erskine came to New York, where he scored a hit writing, producing, and directing the all-black revue
Harlem in 1929. He produced and directed several Broadway plays and then went to Hollywood in 1932 and assisted Lewis Milestone on
Rain. He began directing films with the psychological drama
Midnight in 1934; as a writer/director, his credits include
The Egg and I, the debut film of the characters Ma and Pa Kettle; the mystery
Take One False Step, co-scripted with
Irwin Shaw; the comedy
A Girl in Every Port, starring
Groucho Marx; and the Shaw adaptation
Androcles and the Lion. As a writer/producer, Erskine made the Arthur Miller adaptation
All My Sons and the thriller
Witness to Murder starring Barbara Stanwyck, as well as episodes of television's
Reader's Digest anthology series. ~ All Movie Guide