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      Michael Curtiz

      Michael Curtiz

      Highest Rated: 100% The Comancheros (1961)

      Lowest Rated: 25% Tenderloin (1928)

      Birthday: Dec 24, 1888

      Birthplace: Budapest, Austria-Hungary

      One of the most prolific directors in the history of the cinema, Hungarian-born Michael Curtiz thrived in the studio system as the top helmsman at Warner Bros. Studio in the 1930s and 40s. Tirelessly hammering out four or five films a year, Curtiz relentlessly tackled both low-budget pictures and more prestigious Oscar-baiting fare, all the while proving amazingly adept at creating lavish results on minimal budgets in a wide variety of genres. His most famous player, Errol Flynn, appeared in 12 films for him, including swashbuckler classics like "Captain Blood" (1935) and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938). Curtiz had a knack for detecting and fostering unknown talents, including Flynn, John Garfield - whom he introduced in "Four Daughters" (1938) - and Doris Day, among others. His highly developed visual approach combined with his technical mastery could elevate the most mundane material, and three of his finest films - "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942), "Casablanca" (1942) and "Mildred Pierce" (1945) - made a virtue of melodrama and sentimentality. Though he reached the culmination of his creative powers with "The Breaking Point" (1950), Curtiz entered a financially successful period with more crowd-pleasing pictures like "White Christmas" (1954) and "King Creole" (1958). Having tapped out with "The Commancheros" (1961), Curtiz was nonetheless a tireless director who left behind a rich legacy, some of which displayed the very best Hollywood had to offer.

      Photos

      NOAH'S ARK, DIRECTOR MICHAEL CURTIZ, 1928 NOAH'S ARK, DIRECTOR MICHAEL CURTIZ, 1928 NOAH'S ARK, DIRECTOR MICHAEL CURTIZ, 1928 NOAH'S ARK, DIRECTOR MICHAEL CURTIZ, 1928 NOAH'S ARK, Director Michael Curtiz, 1928 NOAH'S ARK, Director Michael Curtiz, 1928 THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX, director Michael Curtiz, Bette Davis on set, 1939 THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX, director Michael Curtiz, Bette Davis on set, 1939 CAPTAIN BLOOD, from left, Olivia de Havilland, director Michael Curtiz, on-set, 1935 CAPTAIN BLOOD, from left, Olivia de Havilland, director Michael Curtiz, on-set, 1935 MISSION TO MOSCOW, Michael Curtiz directs Oscar Homolka on set, 1943 MISSION TO MOSCOW, Michael Curtiz directs Oscar Homolka on set, 1943 CAPTAIN BLOOD, Errol Flynn, director Michael Curtiz on set, 1935 CAPTAIN BLOOD, Errol Flynn, director Michael Curtiz on set, 1935 LIFE WITH FATHER, on the set woht new compact wire recording equipment, from left, Irene Dunne, director Michael Curtiz, sound department head Nathan Levinson, 1947 LIFE WITH FATHER, on the set woht new compact wire recording equipment, from left, Irene Dunne, director Michael Curtiz, sound department head Nathan Levinson, 1947 FLAMINGO ROAD, from left: Joan Crawford, director Michael Curtiz, reviewing script, 1949 FLAMINGO ROAD, from left: Joan Crawford, director Michael Curtiz, reviewing script, 1949 THE HANGMAN, Director Michael Curtiz watches as Gary Cooper rolls his own cigarette while visiting Jack Lord and Fess Parker on set, 1959 THE HANGMAN, Director Michael Curtiz watches as Gary Cooper rolls his own cigarette while visiting Jack Lord and Fess Parker on set, 1959 MAMMY, Al Jolson, Darryl F. Zanuck, Irving Berlin, Lowell Sherman, Michael Curtiz, 1930 MAMMY, Al Jolson, Darryl F. Zanuck, Irving Berlin, Lowell Sherman, Michael Curtiz, 1930 ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Michael Curtiz, 1938 ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Michael Curtiz, 1938 THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Errol Flynn, director Michael Curtiz and many others on set, 1938 THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Errol Flynn, director Michael Curtiz and many others on set, 1938 GOLD IS WHERE YOU FIND IT, Tim Holt rehearsing with director Michael Curtiz on set, 1938 GOLD IS WHERE YOU FIND IT, Tim Holt rehearsing with director Michael Curtiz on set, 1938
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      Filmography

      Movies

      Credit
      No Score Yet 40% Francis of Assisi Director - 1961
      100% 75% The Comancheros Director - 1961
      No Score Yet 31% A Breath of Scandal Director - 1960
      No Score Yet 38% The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Director - 1960
      No Score Yet 33% The Man in the Net Director - 1959
      No Score Yet 38% The Hangman Director - 1959
      100% 83% King Creole Director - 1958
      No Score Yet 66% The Proud Rebel Director - 1958
      No Score Yet 31% The Helen Morgan Story Director - 1957
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Best Things in Life Are Free Director - 1956
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Scarlet Hour Director - 1956
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Vagabond King Director - 1956
      No Score Yet 81% We're No Angels Director - 1955
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Boy From Oklahoma Director - 1954
      77% 88% White Christmas Director - 1954
      No Score Yet 61% The Egyptian Director - 1954
      No Score Yet 0% The Jazz Singer Director - 1953
      No Score Yet 62% Trouble Along the Way Director - 1953
      No Score Yet 43% The Story of Will Rogers Director - 1952
      No Score Yet 55% Jim Thorpe, All American Director - 1951
      67% 64% I'll See You in My Dreams Director - 1951
      No Score Yet 44% Force of Arms Director - 1951
      100% 88% The Breaking Point Director - 1950
      No Score Yet 58% Bright Leaf Director - 1950
      83% 72% Young Man With a Horn Director - 1950
      No Score Yet 30% It's a Great Feeling Self - 1949
      83% 73% Flamingo Road Director - 1949
      No Score Yet 41% My Dream Is Yours Director,
      Producer       		- 1949
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Lady Takes a Sailor Director - 1949
      88% 62% Romance on the High Seas Director - 1948
      No Score Yet 78% The Unsuspected Director - 1947
      92% 77% Life With Father Director - 1947
      67% 42% Night and Day Director - 1946
      No Score Yet 64% Roughly Speaking Director - 1945
      88% 90% Mildred Pierce Director - 1945
      60% 57% Passage to Marseille Director - 1944
      No Score Yet 36% Janie Director - 1944
      No Score Yet 21% Mission to Moscow Director - 1943
      No Score Yet 49% This Is the Army Director - 1943
      100% 48% Captains of the Clouds Director - 1942
      90% 83% Yankee Doodle Dandy Director - 1942
      99% 95% Casablanca Director - 1942
      100% 79% The Sea Wolf Director - 1941
      No Score Yet 53% Dive Bomber Director - 1941
      93% 87% The Sea Hawk Director - 1940
      56% 52% Santa Fe Trail Director - 1940
      No Score Yet 54% Virginia City Director - 1940
      No Score Yet 65% Four Wives Director - 1939
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Daughters Courageous Director - 1939
      80% 64% Elizabeth the Queen Director - 1939
      100% 74% Dodge City Director - 1939
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Sons of Liberty Director - 1939
      No Score Yet 22% Gold Is Where You Find It Director - 1938
      100% 78% Four Daughters Director - 1938
      No Score Yet 59% Four's a Crowd Director - 1938
      100% 92% Angels With Dirty Faces Director - 1938
      100% 89% The Adventures of Robin Hood Director - 1938
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Stolen Holiday Director - 1937
      100% 68% Kid Galahad Director - 1937
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Mountain Justice Director - 1937
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Perfect Specimen Director - 1937
      No Score Yet 57% The Walking Dead Director - 1936
      71% 59% The Charge of the Light Brigade Director - 1936
      80% 33% Front Page Woman Director - 1935
      80% 50% Black Fury Director - 1935
      100% 89% Captain Blood Director - 1935
      No Score Yet 67% Bright Lights Producer - 1935
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Little Big Shot Director - 1935
      No Score Yet 29% The Case of the Curious Bride Director - 1935
      No Score Yet 33% British Agent Director - 1934
      No Score Yet 67% Jimmy the Gent Director - 1934
      No Score Yet 75% The Key Director - 1934
      No Score Yet 45% Mandalay Director - 1934
      No Score Yet No Score Yet High Peril Director - 1934
      No Score Yet 61% 20,000 Years in Sing Sing Director - 1933
      83% 66% The Kennel Murder Case Director - 1933
      No Score Yet 33% Man Killer Director - 1933
      92% 63% Mystery of the Wax Museum Director - 1933
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Goodbye Again Director - 1933
      83% 53% Female Director - 1933
      No Score Yet 86% The Keyhole Director - 1933
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Alias the Doctor Director - 1932
      82% 50% Doctor X Director - 1932
      No Score Yet 40% Strange Love of Molly Louvain Director - 1932
      No Score Yet 69% Cabin in the Cotton Director - 1932
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Woman From Monte Carlo Director - 1932
      No Score Yet 67% The Mad Genius Director - 1931
      No Score Yet No Score Yet God's Gift to Women Director - 1931
      No Score Yet No Score Yet River's End Director - 1931
      No Score Yet No Score Yet A Soldier's Plaything Director - 1931
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Matrimonial Bed Director - 1930
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Mammy Director - 1930
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Bright Lights Director - 1930
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Under a Texas Moon Director - 1930
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Adventures in Africa Director - 1930
      40% No Score Yet The Madonna of Avenue A Director - 1929
      57% 45% Noah's Ark Director - 1928
      25% No Score Yet Tenderloin Director - 1928
      No Score Yet No Score Yet A Million Bid Director - 1927
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Third Degree Director - 1926
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Cab No. 13 Director - 1926
      No Score Yet No Score Yet Moon of Israel Director - 1924
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Last Dawn Director - 1917
      No Score Yet No Score Yet The Undesirable Director - 1915