Curt Siodmak
Birthday:
10 August 1902, Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Birth Name:
Kurt Siodmak
Born in Dresden, Germany, in 1902, Curt Siodmak worked as an engineer and a newspaper reporter before entering the literary and movie fields. It was as a reporter that he got his first break (of sorts) in films: in 1926 he and his reporter-wife hired on as extras on Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) in order to get a story on the director and his...
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Born in Dresden, Germany, in 1902, Curt Siodmak worked as an engineer and a newspaper reporter before entering the literary and movie fields. It was as a reporter that he got his first break (of sorts) in films: in 1926 he and his reporter-wife hired on as extras on Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) in order to get a story on the director and his film. One of Siodmak's first film-writing assignments was the screenplay for the German sci-fi picture F.P.1 antwortet nicht (1932) (US title: "Floating Platform 1 Does Not Answer"), based on his own novel. Compelled to leave Germany after Adolf Hitler and the Nazis took power, Siodmak went to work as a screenwriter in England and then moved to Hollywood in 1937. He got a job at Universal through his director-friend Joe May, helping write the script for May's The Invisible Man Returns (1940). Because the film went over well, Siodmak says, he fell into the horror/science-fiction "groove." Show less «
Every night I say "Heil Hitler", because, without the son of a bitch [Adolf Hitler], I wouldn't be in Three Rivers, California, I'd still be...Show more »
Every night I say "Heil Hitler", because, without the son of a bitch [Adolf Hitler], I wouldn't be in Three Rivers, California, I'd still be in Berlin. Show less «
[about The Wolf Man (1941), one of Universal Pictures' biggest hits of 1941, which he wrote] After "The Wolf Man" made its first million, [p...Show more »
[about The Wolf Man (1941), one of Universal Pictures' biggest hits of 1941, which he wrote] After "The Wolf Man" made its first million, [producer-director] George Waggner got a diamond ring for his wife and [executive producer] Jack Gross got a $10,000 bonus. I wanted $25 more a week and [Universal] wouldn't give it to me. Show less «
[about Peter Lorre, with whom he worked on The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)] He was really a sadistic son of a bitch--liked to look at ope...Show more »
[about Peter Lorre, with whom he worked on The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)] He was really a sadistic son of a bitch--liked to look at operations. He really was the type, a very weird character. Show less «
My pictures run on television and I don't get a penny out of it. But the guys are all dead, and I'm still alive, so who's winning?
My pictures run on television and I don't get a penny out of it. But the guys are all dead, and I'm still alive, so who's winning?
[on Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956)] I had no money at the time, so I wrote "Curucu" . . . It was done in Brazil . . . I shot it down the...Show more »
[on Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956)] I had no money at the time, so I wrote "Curucu" . . . It was done in Brazil . . . I shot it down there, in the jungles. I never recovered, physically. Show less «
[on Donovan's Brain (1953), the second film version of his novel, and its producer, Tom Gries] Tom Gries . . . didn't like me. He had these ...Show more »
[on Donovan's Brain (1953), the second film version of his novel, and its producer, Tom Gries] Tom Gries . . . didn't like me. He had these advertisements made for the film saying, "Based on the famous book". Period. [He] wouldn't let me direct it because of a personal dislike. He was the meanest son of a bitch I had ever seen. Show less «
[on The Lady and the Monster (1944), the first film made from his novel, "Donovan's Brain"] It was a piece of shit.
[on The Lady and the Monster (1944), the first film made from his novel, "Donovan's Brain"] It was a piece of shit.
Curt Siodmak's Photos
