
Michael Curtiz
Highest Rated: 100% The Comancheros (1961)
Lowest Rated: 57% Noah's Ark (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
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
100% | 75% | The Comancheros | Director | - | 1961 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Francis of Assisi | Director | - | 1961 |
No Score Yet | 30% | A Breath of Scandal | Director | - | 1960 |
No Score Yet | 39% | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Director | - | 1960 |
No Score Yet | 29% | The Hangman | Director | - | 1959 |
No Score Yet | 25% | The Man in the Net | Director | - | 1959 |
No Score Yet | 61% | The Proud Rebel | Director | - | 1958 |
100% | 83% | King Creole | Director | - | 1958 |
No Score Yet | 31% | The Helen Morgan Story | Director | - | 1957 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Vagabond King | Director | - | 1956 |
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 | 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 | 60% | The Egyptian | Director | - | 1954 |
No Score Yet | 63% | Trouble Along the Way | Director | - | 1953 |
No Score Yet | 0% | The Jazz Singer | Director | - | 1953 |
No Score Yet | 33% | The Story of Will Rogers | Director | - | 1952 |
No Score Yet | 55% | Jim Thorpe, All American | Director | - | 1951 |
67% | 33% | I'll See You in My Dreams | Director | - | 1951 |
No Score Yet | 44% | Force of Arms | Director | - | 1951 |
80% | 71% | Young Man With a Horn | Director | - | 1950 |
No Score Yet | 55% | Bright Leaf | Director | - | 1950 |
100% | 86% | The Breaking Point | Director | - | 1950 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Lady Takes a Sailor | Director | - | 1949 |
No Score Yet | 25% | It's a Great Feeling | Himself (Character) | - | 1949 |
No Score Yet | 39% | My Dream Is Yours |
Director, Producer |
- | 1949 |
No Score Yet | 73% | Flamingo Road | Director | - | 1949 |
88% | 59% | Romance on the High Seas | Director | - | 1948 |
92% | 78% | Life With Father | Director | - | 1947 |
No Score Yet | 82% | The Unsuspected | Director | - | 1947 |
60% | 42% | Night and Day | Director | - | 1946 |
86% | 90% | Mildred Pierce | Director | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet | 71% | Roughly Speaking | Director | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet | 57% | Passage to Marseille | Director | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet | 40% | Janie | Director | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet | 21% | Mission to Moscow | Director | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet | 49% | This Is the Army | Director | - | 1943 |
99% | 95% | Casablanca | Director | - | 1942 |
90% | 83% | Yankee Doodle Dandy | Director | - | 1942 |
100% | 47% | Captains of the Clouds | Director | - | 1942 |
No Score Yet | 52% | Dive Bomber | Director | - | 1941 |
100% | 77% | The Sea Wolf | Director | - | 1941 |
93% | 87% | The Sea Hawk | Director | - | 1940 |
No Score Yet | 51% | Virginia City | Director | - | 1940 |
83% | 51% | Santa Fe Trail | Director | - | 1940 |
71% | 64% | Elizabeth the Queen | Director | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Sons of Liberty | Director | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | 67% | Four Wives | Director | - | 1939 |
100% | 74% | Dodge City | Director | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Daughters Courageous | Director | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | 56% | Four's a Crowd | Director | - | 1938 |
100% | 92% | Angels With Dirty Faces | Director | - | 1938 |
100% | 89% | The Adventures of Robin Hood | Director | - | 1938 |
100% | 78% | Four Daughters | Director | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet | 22% | Gold Is Where You Find It | Director | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Mountain Justice | Director | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Stolen Holiday | Director | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Perfect Specimen | Director | - | 1937 |
100% | 68% | Kid Galahad | Director | - | 1937 |
71% | 59% | The Charge of the Light Brigade | Director | - | 1936 |
No Score Yet | 56% | The Walking Dead | Director | - | 1936 |
100% | 89% | Captain Blood | Director | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Little Big Shot | Director | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Case of the Curious Bride | Director | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | 50% | Black Fury | Director | - | 1935 |
80% | 33% | Front Page Woman | Director | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | 40% | Mandalay | Director | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet | 68% | Jimmy the Gent | Director | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet | 40% | British Agent | Director | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | High Peril | Director | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet | 67% | The Key | Director | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Man Killer | Director | - | 1933 |
No Score Yet | 62% | 20,000 Years in Sing Sing | Director | - | 1933 |
83% | 66% | The Kennel Murder Case | Director | - | 1933 |
92% | 64% | Mystery of the Wax Museum | Director | - | 1933 |
83% | 53% | Female | Director | - | 1933 |
No Score Yet | 80% | The Keyhole | Director | - | 1933 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Goodbye Again | Director | - | 1933 |
No Score Yet | 67% | Cabin in the Cotton | Director | - | 1932 |
75% | 48% | Doctor X | Director | - | 1932 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Woman From Monte Carlo | Director | - | 1932 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Alias the Doctor | Director | - | 1932 |
No Score Yet | 40% | Strange Love of Molly Louvain | Director | - | 1932 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | God's Gift to Women | Director | - | 1931 |
No Score Yet | 80% | The Mad Genius | 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 | Bright Lights | Director | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Under a Texas Moon | Director | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Matrimonial Bed | Director | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Adventures in Africa | Director | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Mammy | Director | - | 1930 |
44% | No Score Yet | The Madonna of Avenue A | Director | - | 1929 |
57% | 50% | Noah's Ark | Director | - | 1928 |
29% | 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 |
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