Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Regissør, Manusforfatter, Produsent, Skuespiller

11. februar 1909 — 5. februar 1993 (83 år)
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (/ˈmæŋkəwɪts/ MANG-kə-wits; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American filmmaker. A four-time Academy Award winner, he is best known for his witty and literate dialogue and his preference for voice-over narration and narrative flashbacks. Also known as an actor's director, Mankiewicz directed several prominent actors, including Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor, to several of their memorable onscreen performances.

Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mankiewicz studied at Columbia University and graduated in 1928. He moved overseas to Europe, where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and translated German intertitles into English for UFA. On the advice of his screenwriter brother Herman, Mankiewicz moved back to the United States, and was hired by Paramount Pictures as a dialogue writer. He then became a screenwriter, writing for numerous films starring Jack Oakie. He next moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where he served as a producer for several films, including The Philadelphia Story (1940) and Woman of the Year (1942). Mankiewicz left MGM after a dispute with Louis B. Mayer.

In 1944, Mankiewicz began working for Twentieth Century-Fox, where he produced The Keys of the Kingdom (1944). He made his directorial debut with Dragonwyck (1946) after Ernst Lubitsch had dropped out due to illness. Mankiewicz remained at Fox, directing a broad range of genre films. Consecutively, in 1950 and 1951, he won two Academy Awards each for writing and directing A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950). In 1953, Mankiewicz formed his own production company Figaro, where he independently produced, as well as wrote and directed, The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and The Quiet American (1958).

In 1961, Mankiewicz took over direction from Rouben Mamoulian for Cleopatra (1963). Production was beset with numerous difficulties, including a heavily publicized extramarital affair between stars Taylor and Richard Burton. Relatively late into production, Darryl F. Zanuck reassumed control of Fox as studio president and briefly fired Mankiewicz for excessive overruns. Released in 1963, Cleopatra became the year's highest-grossing film and earned mixed reviews from critics. Mankiewicz's reputation suffered, and he did not return to direct another film until The Honey Pot (1967).

Mankiewicz then directed There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) and the documentary King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1972), sharing credit with Sidney Lumet on the latter. His final film Sleuth (1972), starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier, earned Mankiewicz his fourth and final Oscar nomination as Best Director. In 1993, Mankiewicz died in Bedford, New York, at the age of 83.

Filmer & Serier på Plex

  • Guys and Dolls
    Guys and Dolls1955
  • People Will Talk
    People Will Talk1951
  • There Was a Crooked Man...
    There Was a Crooked Man...1970
  • Carol for Another Christmas
    Carol for Another Christmas1964
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn1939

Kjent for

  • All About Eve
    All About Eve1950
  • The Philadelphia Story
    The Philadelphia Story1940
  • Sleuth
    Sleuth1972
  • The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
    The Ghost and Mrs. Muir1947
  • A Letter to Three Wives
    A Letter to Three Wives1949
  • Guys and Dolls
    Guys and Dolls1955
  • The Barefoot Contessa
    The Barefoot Contessa1954
  • Cleopatra
    Cleopatra1963
  • Woman of the Year
    Woman of the Year1942
  • A Christmas Carol
    A Christmas Carol1938
  • No Way Out
    No Way Out1950
  • People Will Talk
    People Will Talk1951
  • Fury
    Fury1936
  • Julius Caesar
    Julius Caesar1953
  • 5 Fingers
    5 Fingers1952
  • Dragonwyck
    Dragonwyck1946
  • There Was a Crooked Man...
    There Was a Crooked Man...1970
  • House of Strangers
    House of Strangers1949
  • Somewhere in the Night
    Somewhere in the Night1946
  • The Keys of the Kingdom
    The Keys of the Kingdom1944

Filmografi