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Monta Bell, the film director, producer and screenwriter, was born on February 5, 1891 in Washington, DC. He turned to the stage as an actor after trying his hand at journalism in Washington, DC. He was cast by `Charlie Chaplin` in the great comedian`s "The Pilgrim", which was his sole screen appearance as an actor. He worked for Chaplin as a film editor and assistant director before becoming a director in his own right in 1924. He specialized in comedies of manners akin to early Cecil B. DeMille and Ernst Lubitsch. He directed Greta Garbo in her American film debut "The Torrent" at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Bell left MGM to take over Paramount`s Astoria Studios in New York City as head of production at the New York-based Astoria sound studios. While he was studio chief, Astoria turned out the Marx Brothers` debut film "The Cocoanuts" (1929). Going back behind the camera, Bell the director made comedies and melodramas in the early `30s, the time of the "talkies". He quit directing in 1933 to return full-time to producing. Twelve years later, he directed a final film during World War II, the low-budget war picture "China`s Little Devils", starring former silent film star Harry Carey.

Monta Bell died on April 4, 1958 Hollywood, California.