Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was a Canadian-born American film director. He was known for his 1940s film noirs and received a nomination for Best Director Oscar for Crossfire (1947).
In 1947 he was named as one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who refused to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in their investigations during the McCarthy-era 'Red scare'. They all served time in prison for contempt of Congress. In 1951, however, Dmytryk did testify to HUAC and rehabilitated his career.
First hired again by independent producer Stanley Kramer in 1952, Dmytryk is likely best known for directing The Caine Mutiny (1954), a critical and commercial success. The second highest-grossing film of the year, it was nominated for Best Picture and several other awards at the 1955 Oscars.[1] Dmytryk was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.
Biography
Early life
Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada, the son of Ukrainian immigrant parents. His family moved to San Francisco, California. After his mother died, his father, Michael Dmytryk, remarried. In San Francisco, the boy attended local schools and became interested in the developing film industry. He eventually reached Hollywood for work.
In 1939 at the age of 31, Dmytryk became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Film career, early years
Dmytryk made his directorial debut with The Hawk in 1935.[2] His best-known films from these early years were film noirs: Murder, My Sweet (1944), adapted from Raymond Chandler's novel, Farewell, My Lovely; and Crossfire (1947), for which he received a Best Director Oscar nomination. He made two World War II films: Hitler's Children (1943), the story of the Hitler Youth; and Back to Bataan (1945), starring John Wayne.
The "Hollywood Ten"
After the war, many Americans were alarmed by Soviet actions in Europe, and by reports of covert Communist activity in the U.S. This period has been dubbed the Second Red Scare. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated Communist Party influence in the film industry, and Dmytryk was among those called to testify about it before HUAC in 1947. Dmytryk had briefly been a Communist Party member in 1945. He was persuaded by his former Party associates to join nine other Hollywood figures in a public refusal to testify. The "Hollywood Ten" were cited for contempt of Congress and sentenced to prison terms.[3]
Dmytryk fled to England and was unofficially ostracized. In England he made Give Us this Day (1949), a neo-realistic movie sympathetic to the working man, based on the novel Christ in Concrete. The movie, which was successful in Europe, was released as Christ in Concrete in the United States and quickly suppressed. When his passport ran out, Dmytryk returned to the United States, where he was arrested and imprisoned.
After several months behind bars, Dmytryk decided that he had been duped by the Communists. They had cost him exile and imprisonment so they could win sympathy for the "Ten" as persecuted innocents, although as Dmytryk knew, all ten were current or former Party members. He agreed to testify and to name people he knew were Communist Party members. On April 25, 1951, Dmytryk appeared before HUAC for the second time, answering all questions. He spoke of his own brief Party membership in 1945, and named 26 other Party members. He said that John Howard Lawson, Adrian Scott, Albert Maltz, and others had pressured him to include Communist elements in his films. His testimony damaged several court cases that others of the "Ten" had filed. He recounted his experiences of the period in his book, Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Hollywood Ten (1996).
Return to Filmmaking
Independent American producer Stanley Kramer was the first to hire him again, choosing him to direct a trio of low-budget films beginning in 1952. Next Kramer selected Dmytryk to direct The Caine Mutiny (1954); the World War II-drama, adapted from a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk, was a critical and great commercial success. It was the second highest-grossing film of the year, and in 1955 received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor and other awards.
Through the 1950s and 1960s, Dmytryk continued to make films for major studios such as Columbia, 20th Century Fox, MGM and Paramount Pictures; his works in the 1950s included The Left Hand of God (1955), Raintree County (1957), The Young Lions (1958), and a 1959 remake of The Blue Angel.
Later in the 1960s and 1970s, he directed The Carpetbaggers (1964), Where Love Has Gone (1964) -both based on novels by Harold Robbins; Anzio (1968) - his last WWII film; Alvarez Kelly (1966), Shalako (1968), and Bluebeard (1972).
Later years
After his film career tapered off in the 1970s, Dmytryk entered academic life. He taught about film and directing at the University of Texas at Austin, and at the University of Southern California film school. He wrote several books on the art of filmmaking (such as On Film Editing). He also appeared on the lecture circuit, speaking at various colleges and theaters, such as the Orson Welles Cinema.
Dmytryk died from heart and kidney failure on July 1, 1999, aged 90, in Encino, California. He was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in the Hollywood Hills.[4]
Personal life From 1948 until his death he was married to actress Jean Porter.
Filmography
This filmography lists all the feature films Dmytryk directed, and is believed complete.
The Hawk (1935)
Million Dollar Legs (uncredited; 1939)
Television Spy (1939)
Emergency Squad (1940)
Golden Gloves (1940)
Mystery Sea Raider (1940)
Her First Romance (1940)
The Devil Commands (1941)
Under Age (1941)
Sweetheart of the Campus (1941)
The Blonde from Singapore (1941)
Secrets of the Lone Wolf (1941)
Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941)
Counter-Espionage (1942)
Seven Miles from Alcatraz (1942)
Hitler's Children (1943)
The Falcon Strikes Back (1943)
Captive Wild Woman (1943)
Behind the Rising Sun (1943)
Tender Comrade (1943)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Back to Bataan (1945)
Cornered (1945)
Till the End of Time (1946)
So Well Remembered (1947)
Crossfire (1947)
Obsession (1949)
Give Us This Day (1949)
The Sniper (1952)
Mutiny (1952)
Eight Iron Men (1952)
The Juggler (1953)
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
Broken Lance (1954)
The End of the Affair (1954)
Soldier of Fortune (1955)
The Left Hand of God (1955)
The Mountain (1956)
Raintree County (1957)
The Young Lions (1958)
The Blue Angel (1959)
Warlock (1959)
Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
The Reluctant Saint (1962)
The Carpetbaggers (1964)
Where Love Has Gone (1964)
Mirage (1965)
Alvarez Kelly (1966)
Anzio (1968) S
halako (1968)
Bluebeard (1972)
The 'Human' Factor (1975)
He Is My Brother (1976)
Legacy and honors
1948, nominated for Best Director for Crossfire at the Oscars
1955, The Caine Mutiny nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars
1955, Dmytryk was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.
References
1. "The 27th Academy Awards (1955) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org.
2. Vallance, Tom (July 3, 1999). "Obituary: Edward Dmytryk". The Independent.
3. "Hollywood Ten". Encyclopædia Britannica.
4. Edward Dmytryk at Find a Grave
No comments:
Post a Comment