Curtis Bernhardt
Encyclopedia
Curtis Bernhardt was a German
film director
born in Worms, Germany
, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Some of his American films were called "woman's films" including the Joan Crawford
film Possessed
(1947). Bernhardt trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1926. Other films include A Stolen Life (1946) starring Bette Davis
and Sirocco
(1951) starring Humphrey Bogart
.
Bernhardt made films in Germany from 1925 until 1933, when he was forced to flee the Nazi regime--who briefly had him arrested--because he was Jewish. Bernhardt directed films in France
and England
before moving on to Hollywood to work for Warner Brothers in 1940. Bernhardt produced and directed his last Hollywood picture, Kisses for My President
(1964), about the nation's first female Chief Executive starring Polly Bergen
and Fred MacMurray
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
born in Worms, Germany
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Some of his American films were called "woman's films" including the Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
film Possessed
Possessed (1947 film)
Possessed is a 1947 Warner Bros. film starring Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, and Raymond Massey in a tale about an unstable woman's obsession with her ex-lover. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall and Silvia Richards was based upon a story by Rita Weiman. The film was directed by Curtis Bernhardt and...
(1947). Bernhardt trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1926. Other films include A Stolen Life (1946) starring Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
and Sirocco
Sirocco (film)
Sirocco is an American film noir directed by Curtis Bernhardt and written by A.I. Bezzerides and Hans Jacoby. It is based on the novel Coup de Grace written by Joseph Kessel. The drama features Humphrey Bogart, Märta Torén, Lee J. Cobb, among others.-Plot:In 1925 Damascus, the natives are engaged...
(1951) starring Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
.
Bernhardt made films in Germany from 1925 until 1933, when he was forced to flee the Nazi regime--who briefly had him arrested--because he was Jewish. Bernhardt directed films in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
before moving on to Hollywood to work for Warner Brothers in 1940. Bernhardt produced and directed his last Hollywood picture, Kisses for My President
Kisses for My President
Kisses for My President is a 1964 comedy directed by Curtis Bernhardt, starring Fred MacMurray and Polly Bergen. Leslie McCloud makes history when she is elected the first female President of the United States. However, her husband Thad McCloud is less enthusiastic.-Plot summary:The United States...
(1964), about the nation's first female Chief Executive starring Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
and Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
.
Filmography
- Namenlose Helden (short) (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1925)
- Torments of the Night (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1926)
- Orphan of Lowood (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1926)
- Kinderseelen klagen euch an (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1927)
- Das Mädchen mit den fünf Nullen (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1927)
- The Prince of Rogues (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1928)
- The Last Fort (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1929)
- The Woman One Longs For aka The Woman Men Yearn For (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1929)
- L'homme qui assassina (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1930)
- Thirteen Men and a Girl (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1930)
- Der Mann, der den Mord beging (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1931)
- Der Rebell (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1932)
- The Tunnel (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1933)
- Le tunnel (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1933)
- L'Or dans la rueL'Or dans la rueL'Or dans la rue is a 1934 French comedy film directed by Curtis Bernhardt, written by Henry Koster and Henri Decoin, and starring Danielle Darrieux.-Plot:...
(19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - The Beloved Vagabond (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1936)
- Le vagabond bien-aimé (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1937)
- Carrefour (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1938)
- Night in December (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1941)
- Million Dollar BabyMillion Dollar BabyMillion Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
(1941) - My Love Came Back (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1940)
- Lady with Red HairLady with Red HairLady with Red Hair is a 1940 film released by Warner Bros. and starring Miriam Hopkins as Mrs. Leslie Carter.-Plot:A messy divorce leaves Mrs. Leslie Carter shunned by Chicago society for being an adulteress and forbidden from having custody of her son. She's determined to return to her hometown in...
(as Kurt Bernhardt) (1940) - ConflictConflict (film)Conflict is a black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt, produced by William Jacobs with Jack L. Warner as executive producer from a screenplay by Arthur T. Horman and Dwight Taylor, based on the story The Pentacle by Alfred Neumann and Robert...
(19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) - Devotion (19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
) - A Stolen Life (1946)
- High WallHigh WallHigh Wall is a film noir, starring Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter and Herbert Marshall. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt from a screenplay by Sydney Boehm and Lester Cole, based on a play by Alan R...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - PossessedPossessed (1947 film)Possessed is a 1947 Warner Bros. film starring Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, and Raymond Massey in a tale about an unstable woman's obsession with her ex-lover. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall and Silvia Richards was based upon a story by Rita Weiman. The film was directed by Curtis Bernhardt and...
(1947) - SiroccoSirocco (film)Sirocco is an American film noir directed by Curtis Bernhardt and written by A.I. Bezzerides and Hans Jacoby. It is based on the novel Coup de Grace written by Joseph Kessel. The drama features Humphrey Bogart, Märta Torén, Lee J. Cobb, among others.-Plot:In 1925 Damascus, the natives are engaged...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Payment on DemandPayment on DemandPayment on Demand is a 1951 drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. The screenplay by Bernhardt and Bruce Manning chronicles a marriage from its idealistic early days to its dissolution.-Plot synopsis:...
(1951) - The Blue VeilThe Blue VeilThe Blue Veil is a 1951 American drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. The screenplay by Norman Corwin is based on a story by François Campaux, which was adapted for the French language film Le Voile bleu in 1942.-Plot:...
(1951) - SiroccoSirocco (film)Sirocco is an American film noir directed by Curtis Bernhardt and written by A.I. Bezzerides and Hans Jacoby. It is based on the novel Coup de Grace written by Joseph Kessel. The drama features Humphrey Bogart, Märta Torén, Lee J. Cobb, among others.-Plot:In 1925 Damascus, the natives are engaged...
(1951) - The Merry WidowThe Merry Widow (1952 film)The Merry Widow is a 1952 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It starred Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas.The film received two Academy Award nominations: for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color and Best Costume Design, Color...
(19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - Miss Sadie ThompsonMiss Sadie ThompsonMiss Sadie Thompson is 1953 American musical 3D film starring Rita Hayworth, Aldo Ray, José Ferrer, and released by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on the W. Somerset Maugham short story Miss Thompson...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - Beau BrummellBeau Brummell (film)Beau Brummell is a historical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt and produced by Sam Zimbalist from a screenplay by Karl Tunberg, based on the play Beau Brummell by Clyde Fitch. The music score was by Richard Addinsell with Miklós Rózsa...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - Interrupted MelodyInterrupted MelodyInterrupted Melody is a 1955 biographical film which tells the story of Australian opera singer Marjorie Lawrence's struggle with polio. The film was made by MGM, directed by Curtis Bernhardt and produced by Jack Cummings from a screenplay by Marjorie Lawrence, Sonya Levien, and William Ludwig.The...
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - GabyGaby (film)Gaby is a 1956 drama film made by MGM. It is the third version of the play Waterloo Bridge, previously made into films in 1931 and 1940. It is the only version of the play made in color, and the least faithful to it. Not only the story but the names of the characters were also changed.This version...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
)