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IMDbPro

Michael Curtiz(1886-1962)

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Michael Curtiz c. 1943
Trailer for the classic Errol Flynn film The Adventures of Robin Hood
Play trailer1:48
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
1 Video
14 Photos
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.
BornDecember 24, 1886
DiedApril 10, 1962(75)
BornDecember 24, 1886
DiedApril 10, 1962(75)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Won 1 Oscar
    • 5 wins & 13 nominations total

Photos14

Bette Davis and Michael Curtiz
Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, and Michael Curtiz in Casablanca (1942)
Michael Curtiz and Lil Dagover in The Woman from Monte Carlo (1932)
Bette Davis and Michael Curtiz in Front Page Woman (1935)
Rosalind Russell and Director Michael Curtiz on the set of "Roughly Speaking"
Michael Curtiz
Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, and Michael Curtiz in Casablanca (1942)
Claude Rains, Michael Curtiz, Irving Rapper, and Jack Sullivan in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Michael Curtiz and Dolores Costello in Madonna of Avenue A (1929)
Michael Curtiz, Ernest Haller, and Lil Dagover in The Woman from Monte Carlo (1932)
Errol Flynn, Michael Curtiz, and Patric Knowles in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Ingrid Bergman, Michael Curtiz, and Hal B. Wallis in Casablanca (1942)

Known for

Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Paul Henreid, and Conrad Veidt in Casablanca (1942)
Casablanca
8.5
  • Director(directed by)
  • 1942
Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
The Adventures of Robin Hood
7.9
  • Director
  • 1938
Eve Arden, Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, and Zachary Scott in Mildred Pierce (1945)
Mildred Pierce
7.9
  • Director(directed by)
  • 1945
Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in Captain Blood (1935)
Captain Blood
7.7
  • Director
  • 1935

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director

  • Off to See the Wizard (1967)
    Off to See the Wizard
    • Director (segment director "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
    • TV Series
    • 1967
  • John Wayne and Lee Marvin in The Comancheros (1961)
    The Comancheros
    • Director
    • 1961
  • Francis of Assisi (1961)
    Francis of Assisi
    • Director
    • 1961
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960)
    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    • Director
    • 1960
  • Sophia Loren, John Gavin, and Maurice Chevalier in A Breath of Scandal (1960)
    A Breath of Scandal
    • Director
    • 1960
  • The Man in the Net (1959)
    The Man in the Net
    • Director
    • 1959
  • The Hangman (1959)
    The Hangman
    • Director
    • 1959
  • Elvis Presley and Carolyn Jones in King Creole (1958)
    King Creole
    • Director
    • 1958
  • Olivia de Havilland, Alan Ladd, and David Ladd in The Proud Rebel (1958)
    The Proud Rebel
    • Director
    • 1958
  • Paul Newman and Ann Blyth in The Helen Morgan Story (1957)
    The Helen Morgan Story
    • Director
    • 1957
  • Ernest Borgnine, Dan Dailey, Gordon MacRae, and Sheree North in The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956)
    The Best Things in Life Are Free
    • Director
    • 1956
  • Kathryn Grayson and Oreste Kirkop in The Vagabond King (1956)
    The Vagabond King
    • Director
    • 1956
  • The Scarlet Hour (1956)
    The Scarlet Hour
    • Director
    • 1956
  • Humphrey Bogart, Joan Bennett, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray in We're No Angels (1955)
    We're No Angels
    • Director
    • 1955
  • Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen in White Christmas (1954)
    White Christmas
    • Director (directed by)
    • 1954

Writer

  • Sodom and Gomorrah (1922)
    Sodom and Gomorrah
    • Writer
    • 1922
  • Dracula's Death (1921)
    Dracula's Death
    • Writer (as Kertész Mihály)
    • 1921
  • Lucy Doraine in Der Stern von Damaskus (1920)
    Der Stern von Damaskus
    • scenario
    • 1920
  • The Merry Widow (1919)
    The Merry Widow
    • screenplay (as Kertész Mihály)
    • 1919
  • Artur Landsberger and Margit Lux in Lu, a kokott (1919)
    Lu, a kokott
    • screenplay (as Kertész Mihály)
    • 1919
  • Varázskeringö (1918)
    Varázskeringö
    • screenplay
    • 1918
  • A magyar föld ereje (1917)
    A magyar föld ereje
    • Writer (as Kertész Mihály)
    • 1917
  • Farkas (1917)
    Farkas
    • Writer (as Kertész Mihály)
    • 1917

Actor

  • It's a Great Feeling (1949)
    It's a Great Feeling
    • Michael Curtiz (uncredited)
    • 1949
  • Az ezüst kecske (1916)
    Az ezüst kecske
    • (as Kertész Mihály)
    • Short
    • 1916
  • Akit ketten szeretnek (1915)
    Akit ketten szeretnek
    • Ferenc gróf (as Kertész Mihály)
    • 1915
  • Az éjszaka rabja (1914)
    Az éjszaka rabja
    • (as Kertész Mihály)
    • 1914
  • Sárga liliom
    • (as Kertész Mihály)
    • 1914
  • Atlantis (1913)
    Atlantis
    • Hans Fuellenberg - Friedrich's college pal (as Mihály Kertész)
    • 1913
  • Ma és holnap (1912)
    Ma és holnap
    • Arisztid (as Kertész Mihály)
    • Short
    • 1912

Videos1

The Adventures of Robin Hood
Trailer 1:48
The Adventures of Robin Hood

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Michael Courtice
  • Height
    • 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
  • Born
    • December 24, 1886
    • Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]
  • Died
    • April 10, 1962
    • Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(cancer)
  • Spouses
      Bess MeredythDecember 7, 1929 - April 10, 1962 (his death)
  • Children
      Kitty Curtiz-Eberson
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 13 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Could be intensely absorbed, to the point of distraction. Once was hurt falling out of a moving car because he wanted to write down an idea. He was driving at the time.
  • Quotes
    [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.
  • Nickname
    • Miska

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