- Byname of:
- Kurt Bernhardt
- Born:
- April 15, 1899, Worms, Germany
- Died:
- February 22, 1981, Pacific Palisades, California, U.S. (aged 81)
Curtis Bernhardt
-
Who was Curtis Bernhardt?
Curtis Bernhardt (1899–1981) was a German-born American film director known for directing movies geared toward a female audience.
Bernhardt, who was Jewish, had directed a dozen films in Germany before fleeing Nazi persecution in 1934. He worked briefly in France and England before a contract with Warner Brothers brought him to Hollywood in 1940. His early Hollywood films, such as My Love Came Back (1940) and Lady with Red Hair (1940), featured the studio’s leading ladies.
Bernhardt directed Possessed (1947), featuring Joan Crawford, who received an Academy Award nomination for her performance as a mentally unstable woman. He later signed with MGM, where he directed High Wall (1947) and The Doctor and the Girl (1949).
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where was Curtis Bernhardt born and how did he come to America?
Curtis Bernhardt was born in Worms, Germany, on April 15, 1899. A Jewish arrest by the Gestapo in 1934 encouraged Bernhardt to leave Germany for France where he directed one film before heading to England. In England, he directed The Beloved Vagabond (1936) and produced The Dictator (1935; also released as Loves of the Dictator).
Bernhardt returned to Paris for a few years before signing a contract with Warner Brothers, which brought him to Hollywood in 1940. Bernhardt died February 22, 1981, in Pacific Palisades, California.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What types of movies did Curtis Bernhardt direct?
Curtis Bernhardt, a German-born director, was known for films geared toward a female audience. Throughout his career, he directed movies of different genres, including romance, suspense, noir, action, and musical films.
Bernhardt's filmography includes:
* Romance: My Love Came Back (1940), Million Dollar Baby (1941)
* Suspense: Conflict (1945)
* Noir: High Wall (1947)
* Action: Sirocco (1951)
* Musical: Happy Go Lucky (1943), Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)
* Drama: Payment on Demand (1951)
* Biopic: Lady with Red Hair (1940), Interrupted Melody (1955)1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Which are some famous films directed by Curtis Bernhardt?
Curtis Bernhardt (1899–1981) was a German-born film director known for movies geared toward female audiences. After fleeing Germany in 1934, he eventually signed with Warner Brothers in Hollywood in 1940.
Some of his famous films include:
* My Love Came Back (1940), starring Olivia de Havilland
* Lady with Red Hair (1940), a biopic starring Miriam Hopkins
* Million Dollar Baby (1941), a romance starring Ronald Reagan and Priscilla Lane
* Possessed (1947), featuring Joan Crawford
* Miss Sadie Thompson (1953), a musical starring Rita Hayworth
* Kisses for My President (1964), starring Polly Bergen and Fred MacMurray1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Curtis Bernhardt's European background influence his American films?
Curtis Bernhardt, born in Germany, was a director known for films geared toward women. After being arrested by the Gestapo in 1934, Bernhardt, who was Jewish, moved from Germany to France, then England, before finally arriving in Hollywood in 1940 under contract with Warner Brothers.
Bernhardt's early Hollywood films often showcased the studio's leading ladies, such as Olivia de Havilland in My Love Came Back and Miriam Hopkins in Lady with Red Hair. His European background likely influenced his visual style and storytelling, contributing to the moody visuals in Conflict and the elegant presentation of My Reputation.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What lasting impact did Curtis Bernhardt have on the American film industry?
Curtis Bernhardt, a German-born director, made a significant impact on the American film industry, particularly with movies geared toward female audiences. After fleeing Europe due to Nazi persecution, he arrived in Hollywood in 1940 and directed films featuring strong female leads at Warner Brothers, such as Olivia de Havilland and Miriam Hopkins.
Bernhardt's career highlights include My Reputation and Possessed, which earned Joan Crawford an Academy Award nomination. Later, he directed Miss Sadie Thompson with Rita Hayworth and Interrupted Melody, which garnered Eleanor Parker an Oscar nomination. Although he is known for "women's pictures", his last film was Kisses for My President.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Curtis Bernhardt (born April 15, 1899, Worms, Germany—died February 22, 1981, Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.) was a German-born film director who specialized in movies that were geared toward a female audience.
(Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.)
Early years in Hollywood
Bernhardt, who was Jewish, had already directed a dozen films in his native Germany when an arrest by the Gestapo in 1934 persuaded him to move to France. He made one film there before heading to England, where he directed The Beloved Vagabond (1936) and produced The Dictator (1935; also released as Loves of the Dictator). He returned to Paris for a few years before a contract with Warner Brothers took him to Hollywood in 1940. His first films featured the studio’s strongest female leads. My Love Came Back (1940) was a vehicle for Olivia de Havilland, and Lady with Red Hair (1940) was a biopic with Miriam Hopkins as famed actress Mrs. Leslie Carter, though it was Claude Rains as David Belasco who stole the film.
In 1941 Bernhardt directed Million Dollar Baby, a romance starring Ronald Reagan and Priscilla Lane. Reagan also appeared in Juke Girl (1942), playing, with Ann Sheridan, exploited fruit pickers charged unjustly with murder. On loan to Paramount, Bernhardt made Happy Go Lucky (1943), a pleasant though not very memorable musical featuring Dick Powell, Mary Martin, and Betty Hutton. Of more interest was the suspenseful Conflict (1945), which starred Humphrey Bogart in an overly contrived plot that nonetheless allowed Bernhardt to create moody visuals. My Reputation (1946) was arguably the best film of his career to that time, an elegant soap opera with Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent.
Devotion (1946), a fanciful account of the lives of the Brontë sisters—with de Havilland and Ida Lupino as Charlotte and Emily, respectively—had been filmed earlier than Conflict but was held back for nearly three years before being released. A Stolen Life (1946) is more convincing, with Bette Davis portraying twin sisters who both love Glenn Ford. In 1947 Bernhardt directed Possessed, featuring Joan Crawford in an Academy Award-nominated turn as a mentally unstable woman.
Bernhardt subsequently left Warner Brothers and signed with MGM, where his first film was the offbeat noir High Wall (1947), in which Audrey Totter is cast against type as a psychiatrist who tries to help amnesia victim Robert Taylor clear himself of a murder charge. He then directed The Doctor and the Girl (1949), with Ford and Gloria DeHaven.
1950s and ’60s
Payment on Demand (1951) was a well-mounted drama about the marital problems of a couple (played by Davis and Barry Sullivan), with elaborate flashbacks building suspense. Sirocco (1951), a solid period action film, featured Bogart as a gunrunner, while The Blue Veil (1951) was a soap opera of a high order, centring on a nurse (Jane Wyman) who sets aside her own desires to serve a variety of patients over a lifetime; this nearly forgotten role earned Wyman an Academy Award nomination. The Merry Widow (1952), with Lana Turner, was notable for its lavish production values.
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Bernhardt got his chance to work with another strong female star with Miss Sadie Thompson (1953), a musical that featured Rita Hayworth as the prostitute from W. Somerset Maugham’s short story Rain. Although Hayworth was at less than her best, she held her own in this oft-filmed role. Beau Brummell (1954) offered Stewart Granger in the title role, with Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Morley, and Peter Ustinov on hand to lend colour to this lavish MGM costume drama. Interrupted Melody (1955) was a solid biopic about Australian Marjorie Lawrence, with Eleanor Parker in an Oscar-nominated performance as the polio-stricken opera star.
Gaby (1956) was a middling remake of Waterloo Bridge, starring Leslie Caron and John Kerr. It proved to be Bernhardt’s last Hollywood picture for many years. He resurfaced in 1960 with the West German production Stephanie in Rio, which was followed two years later by the American-Italian movie Damon and Pythias. Kisses for My President (1964) was his last film, an overlong but occasionally funny yarn about a woman (Polly Bergen) who is the first to become a U.S. president and her struggles with the office and her family, especially her husband (Fred MacMurray). Although not the sort of movie Bernhardt built his reputation on, it was a customarily professional job by a onetime master of “women’s pictures.” Suffering from illness, Bernhardt retired after Kisses for My President, though he lived for another 17 years.