The son of a tailor, Archibald L. “Archie” Mayo was born on January 29, 1891 in New York City. After attending the city’s public schools, he studied at Columbia University.
Mayo moved to Hollywood in 1915 and began working as a director in 1917.
His films include Is Everybody Happy? (1929) with Ted Lewis, Bought! (1931) with Constance Bennett, Night After Night (1932) with Mae West, The Doorway to Hell (1930) with James Cagney and Lew Ayres, Convention City (1933) with Joan Blondell, The Mayor of Hell (1933) with James Cagney, The Petrified Forest (1936) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, and The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) with Gary Cooper.
Mayo retired in 1946, shortly after completing A Night in Casablanca with the Marx Brothers, and Angel on My Shoulder with Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, and Claude Rains.
He died in Mexico of cancer on December 4, 1968, age 77.
Filmography
Silent: 14
All Over Twist (1923)
Christine of the Big Tops (1926)
Money Talks (1926)
Unknown Treasures (1926)
Johnny Get Your Hair Cut (1927)
The College Widow (1927)
Dearie (1927)
Quarantined Rivals (1927)
Slightly Used (1927)
State Street Sadie (1928)
The Crimson City (1928)
On Trial (1928)
My Man (1928)
Beware of Married Men (1928)
Sound Features
Sonny Boy (1929)
Is Everybody Happy? (1929)
The Sacred Flame (1929)
1930s: 32 films
Wide Open (1930)
Courage (1930)
Oh Sailor Behave (1930)
The Doorway to Hell (1930)
Vengeance (1930)
Illicit (1931)
Svengali (1931)
Under Eighteen (1931)
Bought (1931)
Night After Night (1932)
Street of Women (1932)
Two Against the World (1932)
The Expert (1932)
The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
The Mayor of Hell (1933)
Ever in My Heart (1933)
Convention City (1933)
Gambling Lady (1934)
The Man with Two Faces (1934)
Desirable (1934)
Bordertown (1935)
Go Into Your Dance (1935)
The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935)
The Petrified Forest (1936)
I Married a Doctor (1936)
Give Me Your Heart (1936)
Black Legion (1937)
It’s Love I’m After (1937)
Call It a Day (1937)
The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938)
Youth Takes a Fling (1938)
They Shall Have Music (1939)
1940s: 11 films
The House Across the Bay (1940)
Four Sons (1940)
The Great American Broadcast (1941)
Charley’s Aunt (1941)
Confirm or Deny (1941)
Moontide (1942)
Orchestra Wives (1942)
Crash Dive (1943)
Sweet and Low-Down (1944)
A Night in Casablanca (1946), Marx Brothers
Angel on My Shoulder (1946), Paul Muni