| Michael Curtiz |
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LIFE Born Manó Kertész Kaminer to a Jewish family in Budapest , Hungary (then Austria-Hungary ), he ran away from home at age 17 to join a circus, then trained for an acting career at the Royal Academy for Theater and Art. In 1912 , he began his acting and directing career as '''Mihály Kertész''' in Hungary, making 43 films. Curtiz fought for the Hungarian army during World War I . Afterwards, he continued his work, making another 21 films, at first in Vienna , Austria and subsequently in Germany ; his best-known work from this period is the Austrian Silent Film '' Sodom Und Gomorrha '' ( 1922 ). In 1926 Curtiz emigrated to the United States , anglicizing his name. He had a lengthy and prolific Hollywood career, racking up directing credits on over 100 films in many Genres . At Warner Brothers during the 30s, Curtiz was often credited on four films in a single year, although he was not always the sole director on these projects. In the pre-Code period Curtiz directed such films as '' Mystery Of The Wax Museum '' (shot in two-strip Technicolor) and '' The Kennel Murder Case '' with William Powell as Philo Vance. In the mid-30s, he began the highly successful cycle of adventure films starring Errol Flynn that included '' Captain Blood '' (1935), '' The Charge Of The Light Brigade '' (1936) and '' The Adventures Of Robin Hood '' (1938). Prime examples of his work in the 1940s are '' The Sea Wolf '' (1941), '' Casablanca '' (1942) and '' Mildred Pierce '' (1945). During this period he also directed the pro-Soviet propoganda film '' Mission To Moscow '' ( 1943 ), which was commissioned at the request of president Franklin D. Roosevelt in order to aid the wartime effort. During his career, Curtiz received four nominations for the Academy Award For Best Director , including two in the same year, and took home the gold statue for '' Casablanca ''. Curtiz had a lifelong struggle with the English Language and there are many Anecdote s about his failures. He bewildered a set dresser on ''Casablanca'' by demanding a ' Poodle ', when he actually wanted a puddle of water. David Niven liked Curtiz's phrase "bring on the empty horses" (for "bring on the horses without riders") so much that he used it for the title of his autobiography. He was married three times:
He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California . STYLE Curtiz is often used as an example of a director who was not an Auteur - that is, an artist with a recognizable style; he worked in many different genres, and did not use unusual cinematography or editing. However, admirers of his work argue that by the 1940s, Curtiz had developed an extremely sophisticated visual style, marked by fluid camera movement, strong compositions and textured lighting, that is recognizable to the perceptive viewer. SELECT HOLLYWOOD FILMOGRAPHY
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