Michael Curtiz
Birthday:
24 December 1886, Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]
Birth Name:
Manó Kertész Kaminer
Height:
175 cm
Curtiz began acting in and then directing films in his native Hungary in 1912. After WWI, he continued his filmmaking career in Austria and Germany and into the early 1920s when he directed films in other countries in Europe. Moving to the US in 1926, he started making films in Hollywood for Warner Bros. and became thoroughly entrenched in the stud...
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Curtiz began acting in and then directing films in his native Hungary in 1912. After WWI, he continued his filmmaking career in Austria and Germany and into the early 1920s when he directed films in other countries in Europe. Moving to the US in 1926, he started making films in Hollywood for Warner Bros. and became thoroughly entrenched in the studio system. His films during the 1930s and '40s encompassed nearly every genre imaginable and some, including Casablanca (1942) and Mildred Pierce (1945), are considered to be film classics. His brilliance waned in the 1950s when he made a number of mediocre films for studios other than Warner. He directed his last film in 1961, a year before his death at 74. Show less «
[on the set of The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), attempting to explain that he wanted a lot of riderless horses in the background of t...Show more »
[on the set of The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), attempting to explain that he wanted a lot of riderless horses in the background of the climactic charge] Bring on the empty horses. NOTE: David Niven, who was in the cast of the film and heard about the remark, later used it as the title for his autobiography. Show less «
[chewing out an assistant for not doing an assigned task] The next time I want an idiot to do this, I'll do it myself! NOTE: This is often w...Show more »
[chewing out an assistant for not doing an assigned task] The next time I want an idiot to do this, I'll do it myself! NOTE: This is often wrongly attributed to Samuel Goldwyn). Show less «
[berating David Niven during an on-set argument] You think you know fuck everything and I know fuck nothing. Well, let me tell you, I know f...Show more »
[berating David Niven during an on-set argument] You think you know fuck everything and I know fuck nothing. Well, let me tell you, I know fuck all!! Show less «
[on Randolph Scott] Randy Scott is a complete anachronism. He's a gentleman. And so far he's the only one I've met in this business full of ...Show more »
[on Randolph Scott] Randy Scott is a complete anachronism. He's a gentleman. And so far he's the only one I've met in this business full of self-promoting sons-of-bitches. Show less «
[on learning that Joan Crawford had been offered the title role in Mildred Pierce (1945)] She comes over here with her high-hat airs and her...Show more »
[on learning that Joan Crawford had been offered the title role in Mildred Pierce (1945)] She comes over here with her high-hat airs and her goddamn shoulder pads. Why should I waste time directing a has-been? Show less «
[on Cary Grant] Some actors squeeze a line to death. Cary tickles it into life.
[on Cary Grant] Some actors squeeze a line to death. Cary tickles it into life.
Michael Curtiz's Photos
