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Zoltan Korda

Known For
Directing

Known Credits
1

Gender
Male

Birthday
June 3, 1895 (131 years old)

Place of Birth
Pusztaturpaszto, Túrkeve, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]

Zoltan Korda

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zoltan Korda (3 June 1895 – 13 October 1961) was a Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, director and producer.

Born Zoltán Kellner, Kellner Zoltán in Hungarian name order, of Jewish heritage in Pusztatúrpásztó, Túrkeve in Hungary (Austria-Hungary), he was the middle brother of filmmakers Alexander and Vincent Korda.

Zoltan Korda went to work with his brother Alexander in their native Hungary and in the United Kingdom for his London Films production company. Initially Zoltan Korda functioned as a camera operator then for a time worked in film editing and as a screenwriter. In 1918 and 1920 in Hungary, he directed two silent film shorts and a feature-length silent film in Germany in 1927. In London, he made his English-language directorial debut with the sound drama Men of Tomorrow (1932) then gained wide respect for the adventure film Sanders of the River (1935), starring Paul Robeson and Leslie Banks. The film proved a significant commercial and critical success, giving Korda the first of his four nominations for "Best Film" at the Venice Film Festival. Korda and Robert Flaherty won the Venice festival's "Best Director" award for Elephant Boy (1937).

A former cavalry officer, Korda made a number of military action/adventure films, many of which were filmed in Africa or India. As someone with a social conscience, his film projects often reflected that perspective when dealing with the indigenous peoples of the British Empire. Of his directorial efforts, 1939's The Four Feathers starring Sir Ralph Richardson is considered his greatest cinematic accomplishment. Of lasting significance, the film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1939 Cannes Film Festival and was presented again by the Festival committee in 2002 in retrospective.

In 1940, Zoltan Korda joined brother Alexander in Hollywood. Working through United Artists, he served as executive producer of The Thief of Bagdad. Zoltan Korda spent the rest of his life in southern California, making another seven films including the acclaimed 1943 World War II drama, Sahara (1943), for which he wrote the screenplay and which starred Humphrey Bogart, and A Woman's Vengeance (1947) with Charles Boyer and Jessica Tandy.

Korda was married to Joan Gardner (1930 - 13 October 1961) till his death and had a son, David. The entire family's colorful history is the subject of a book by Zoltan's nephew Michael Korda, Charmed Lives.

Poor health, brought on years earlier from a battle with tuberculosis, forced Zoltan Korda's retirement in 1955. He died in 1961 in Hollywood after a lengthy illness and was interred there in the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Zoltan Korda, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Directing

1955Storm Over the Nile...Director
1951Cry, the Beloved Country...Director
1948A Woman's Vengeance...Director
1947The Macomber Affair...Director
1945Counter-Attack...Director
1943Sahara...Director
1942Jungle Book...Director
1939The Four Feathers...Director
1938The Drum...Director
1937Elephant Boy...Director
1936Forget Me Not...Director
1935Sanders of the River...Director
1933Cash...Director
1931The Conquest of the Air...Director
1927The Eleven Devils...Director
1920A Csodagyerek...Director
1918Károly bakák...Director

Production

1955Storm Over the Nile...Producer
1951Cry, the Beloved Country...Producer
1948A Woman's Vengeance...Producer
1945Counter-Attack...Producer
1940The Thief of Bagdad...Associate Producer
1932Men of Tomorrow...Producer

Writing

1943Sahara...Screenplay
1930Women Everywhere...Story
1920A Csodagyerek...Screenplay

Acting

2028Charmed Lives: A Family Romanceas Self (archive footage)