Key
Collaborators: George Amy
(Editor), Max
Steiner (Composer), Anton Grot (Production
Designer), Hal Wallis (Producer), Sol Polito (Cinematographer), Errol
Flynn (Leading Player), Jerry
Wald (Producer), Henry Blanke (Producer), Alan Hale (Leading Character
Player), Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Composer)
Highly
Recommended: Angels
with Dirty Faces (1938), Casablanca (1942), Mildred Pierce
(1945), Young
Man with a Horn (1950)
Recommended: The
Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) [co-directed by William
Keighley], Dodge City (1939), The Sea Wolf (1941), The Unsuspected
(1947), My Dream is Yours
(1949), The Breaking Point (1950), King Creole (1958)
Worth
a Look:
Female (1933), Mystery
of the Wax Museum (1933), 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1933), Captain
Blood (1935), The Walking Dead (1936), The Sea Hawk (1940), Dive Bomber
(1941), Flamingo Road (1949), The Best Things in Life are Free (1956)
"Curtiz
worked in every film genre imaginable - social drama, musical
comedy, Westerns, sea sagas, swashbuckling romances, gangster
and prison melodramas, horror films, mystery thrillers, etc. His
forceful personality frequently broke through the most routine
material, and it was often difficult to tell who was subservient
to whom, Curtiz to the studio system or the studio system to
Curtiz. More often than not, they seemed to be one and the
same." - The
MacMillan International Film Encyclopedia, 1994
"Neither
a common theme nor a consistent style exists to confirm him as
an auteur, yet his solid craftsmanship and an ability to
elicit, if not the best, then the 'starriest' performances from
his actors made him a superior purveyor of polished hokum." -
Geoff
Andrew (The Director's Vision, 1999)
"Curtiz's
record during the transition to sound elevated him to the top
echelon of contract directors at Warners. Unlike others, Curtiz
seemed not to utilize this success to push for greater freedom
and independence, but rather seemed content to take what was
assigned, and execute it in a classic style. He produced crisp
flowing narratives, seeking efficiency of method. He was a
conservative director, adapting, borrowing and ultimately
utilizing all the dominant codes of the Hollywood system.
Stylistic innovations were left to others." - Douglas
Gomery (International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers,
1991)
"The marks of a Curtiz film are fast pace, fluid camera
movement, expressive lighting, and simple story. Was the master
of the sound swashbuckler (The Adventures of Robin Hood,
38; The Sea Hawk, 40), and distinguished himself in
almost every other area of Hollywood film." -
William R. Meyer (The Film Buff's Catalog, 1978)
Last
updated:
11/01/2008 01:31 AM.
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![The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) [co-directed by William Keighley]](films/adventuresofrobinhood.jpg)
