Béla Balogh was a Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 film director, one of the most prominent of the early 20th century. He was prominent in both silent and voiced productions, and is most known for movies like Havi 200 fix, Ópiumkeringő or Úrilány szobát keres.

Biography

Béla Balogh was born on 1 January 1885, in Székesfehérvár, as a child of a theatrical family. His grandfather, István Balogh was a playwright, his aunt and uncle were successful actors, and his father, Gusztáv Balogh was a conductor, touring the country with different companies. Out of his eleven siblings - him being the youngest - only two, a sister and a brother survived. He trained to be an actor from a young age, starting in the Barcsai Street high school's drama society.

He became the member of the Népligeti acting group in 1904, the penny theatre of the People's Park

People's Park (Budapest)

Népliget is located in Budapest, Hungary. It is a central bus station for coaches. In front of the bus station, there is a large, open field which is practically called the Népliget, but Hungarians tend to use Népliget in relation with the bus centre.Beside the coach station and the park itself,...

 in Budapest. He later worked in the countryside in musical productions and as director, returning to the capital in 1908, working in Újpest

Újpest

Újpest may refer to:*Újpest, a district of Budapest, Hungary.*Újpest FC, a football team based in Újpest....

, and from 1911 in Budapest, in the Royal Orfeum, as a stage inspector in the Budapest Opera, and he also managed a small movie theatre.

In 1915 he married actress Margit Kornai (Mária Kronémer), mother of writer Mária Szepes. After serving one year in World War I he successfully simulated neurosis, and after being declared disabled by army medicals, he was discharged. Developing their previous company Balogh & Mogán, Balogh then worked with his wife on the founding of the Astra Film Factory, becoming its first artistic director. In 1919 the German Star Film Company invited Balogh to work as a director in their newly built studio in Pasarét

Pasarét

Pasarét is a neighbourhood on the Buda side of Budapest.On the maps edited around the beginning of the nineteenth century it was called Sauwiesen and also as Schmalzbergel . In cities people spoke German as well, it was the countryside that preserved the Hungarian language). On earlier army maps...

. Like other industry talents Michael Curtiz

Michael Curtiz

Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...

 and Alexander Korda

Alexander Korda

Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...

, he also got foreign offers, including the Sascha Company

Sascha-Film

Sascha-Film, in full Sascha-Filmindustrie AG and from 1933 Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG, was the largest Austrian film production company of the silent film and early sound film period.-History:...

 from Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. But unlike his contemporaries, he turned them down, citing his fears working outside Hungary, and no knowledge of language.

During the Hungarian Soviet Republic

Hungarian Soviet Republic

The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....

 in 1919 his films got banned. The following Horthy government

Miklós Horthy

Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...

 also investigated on him a year later for "conspirating with communists" (on 1 May 1919 Balogh shoot a short film of the festival on Margaret Island

Margaret Island

Margaret Island is a long island, 500 metres wide, in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, Hungary. It belongs administratively to the 13th district. The island is mostly covered by landscape parks, and is a popular recreational area. Its medieval ruins are reminders of its importance...

). The charges were dropped a few months later. Although he became the chief director of the Star Studio between 1920–24, he fall into the background during the twenties, which made him fall into deep depression. He shoot educational films for the People's Park Pedagogical Film Company, for small fees. Following the urging of his wife, he travelled to Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 for better opportunities in 1926. Although he managed to raise funds for a film, he fell ill, and travelled back home. To make a living, and against his will, he taught private students with filming ambitions. For monetary reasons, he moved back to Berlin with his family, living there between 1931-1933. From 1935 he started directing again, producing his most memorable movies, including Édes mostoha, A megfagyott gyermek (the voiced version of his 1921 film) or Havi 200 fix, working together with the biggest stars of his era, like Pál Jávor

Pál Jávor

Pál Jávor was one of the most known Hungarian actors, and the country's first male movie star.-Early years:...

, Gyula Kabos

Gyula Kabos

Gyula Kabos was a Hungarian actor and comedian, widely known for his comedic movie roles in the late 1930s.- Early Years :Kabos was born on March 19, 1887, in Budapest as Gyula Kann...

 or Antal Páger

Antal Páger

Antal Páger was a Hungarian film actor. He appeared in 155 films between 1932 and 1986. He won the award for Best Actor at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival for his role in Drama of the Lark.-External links:...

. In 1941 he started a new company, Balogh Film LLC, producing two films during WWII

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the last one being Ópiumkeringő with actress Katalin Karády

Katalin Karády

Katalin Karády was a Hungarian actress and singer. A leading actress in Hungarian movies made between 1939–1945, she is best known outside Hungary as an awardee of the Righteous among the Nations honorific for rescuing a number of Hungarian Jews.- Early Years :Katalin Karády was born as Katalin...

, after which the war forced Balogh to liquidate the firm. Balogh being seriously ill, the family survived the siege of Budapest in their summer cottage in Leányfalu

Leányfalu

Leányfalu is a riverside village in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is just north of Szentendre located at . Located between the branch of the Small Danube and the spurs of the Visegrád Hills, Leányfalu stretches some 5 kilometres in length...

. As the conditions of war prevented a proper diagnosis, Béla Balogh died in 1945 in the hospital of Szentendre

Szentendre

Szentendre is a riverside town in Pest county, Hungary, near the capital city Budapest. It is known for its museums , galleries, and artists. Due to its picturesque appearance and easy rail and river access, it has become a popular destination for tourists staying in Budapest...

.

Legacy

Throughout his life, Béla Balogh directed 50 silent and 17 voiced movies, with numerous experiments in the language of motion picture, he was a pioneer of the Hungarian film. Bearing his name, the Balogh Béla Studio, founded in 1960, was the main workshop of Hungarian films until the change of regime.

Selected filmography

• Az obsitos (1917)
• Tilos a csók (1919)
• A lélek órása (1923)
• Fehér galambok fekete városban (1923)
• Aranymadár (1924)
• Havi 200 fix (1936)
• A megfagyott gyermek (Tomi) (1936)
• Úrilány szobát keres (1937)
• Pénz áll a házhoz (1939)
• Rózsafabot (1940)
• Ópiumkeringő (1943)

External links