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Anthony Mann

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For the British judge, see Anthony Mann (judge). For other people with similar names, see Tony Mann (disambiguation).

Anthony Mann
Born
Emil Anton Bundsmann

(1906-06-30)June 30, 1906
San Diego, California, U.S.
DiedApril 29, 1967(1967-04-29) (aged 60)
Berlin, Germany
Years active1925–1967
Spouse(s)
Mildred Kenyon
​
​
(m. 1936; div. 1957)​

​
​
(m. 1957; div. 1963)​

Anna Kuzko
​
(m. 1964)​
Children3

Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor,[1] best remembered for his work in the film noir and Westerns genres. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton. He directed films for a variety of production companies, from RKO to MGM, and worked with many major stars of the era. He made several Westerns with James Stewart, such as Winchester '73 (1950), and he was the director of the medieval epic El Cid (1961), working with Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. He also directed the big-budget film Cimarron (1960), which starred Glenn Ford and Maria Schell.

Early life

Mann was born Emil Anton Bundsmann in San Diego, California.[2] His father, Emile Theodore Bundsmann, an academic, was born in the village of Rosice, Chrudim, Bohemia to a Sudeten-German Catholic family.[3] His mother, Bertha Weichselbaum, a drama teacher, was an American of Bavarian Jewish descent.[4] At the time of his birth, Mann's parents were members of the Theosophical Society community of Lomaland in San Diego County.[5]

When Mann was three, his parents moved to his father's native country Austria to seek treatment for his father's ill health, leaving Mann behind in Lomaland. Mann's mother did not return for him until he was fourteen, and only then at the urging of a cousin who had paid him a visit and was worried about his treatment and situation at Lomaland.[6] In 1917, Mann's family relocated to New York where he developed a penchant for acting. This was reinforced with Mann's participation in the Young Men's Hebrew Association.[5] He continued to act in school productions, studying at East Orange Grammar and Newark's Central High School. At the latter school, he portrayed the title role in Alcestis; one of his friends and classmates was future Hollywood studio executive Dore Schary.[7] After his father's death in 1923, Mann dropped out during his senior year to help with the family's finances.[5][4][a]

Career

Theater career

Back in New York, Mann took a job as a night watchman for Westinghouse Electric, which enabled him to look for stage work during the day. Within a few months, Mann was working full-time at the Triangle Theater in Greenwich Village.[5] Using the name "Anton Bundsmann", he appeared as an actor in The Dybbuk (1925) with an English translation by Henry Alsberg, The Little Clay Cart (1926), and The Squall (1926) by Jean Bart.[9][10] Towards the end of the decade, Mann appeared in the Broadway productions of The Blue Peter[11] and Uncle Vanya (1929).[10]

In 1930, Mann joined the Theatre Guild, as a production manager and eventually as a director. Nevertheless, he continued to act, appearing in The Streets of New York, or Poverty is No Crime (1931),[12] and The Bride the Sun Shines On (1933) portraying the "Duke of Calcavalle".[10] In 1933, Mann directed a stage adaptation of Christopher Morley's Thunder on the Left, which was performed at the Maxine Elliott's Theatre.[13] In a theatre review for The New York Times, Brooks Atkinson dismissed the play, writing "its medley of realism and fantasy grows less intelligible scene by scene, and some of the acting is disenchantingly profane."[14] He later directed Cherokee Night (1936), So Proudly We Hail (1936),[15] and The Big Blow (1938).[9][16] He worked for various stock companies, and in 1934, he established his own, which later became Long Island's Red Barn Playhouse.[17]

Early Hollywood and television career

In 1937, Mann began working for Selznick International Pictures as a talent scout and casting director. He also directed screen tests for a number of films, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), Intermezzo (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939), and Rebecca (1940). One of the unknown actresses he tested was Jennifer Jones.[18][19] After a few months at Selznick, Mann moved to Paramount Pictures to serve as an assistant director for several film directors, most particularly for Preston Sturges on Sullivan's Travels (1941).[20] Mann recalled, "[Preston] let me go through the entire production, watching him direct – and I directed a little. I'd stage a scene and he'd tell me how lousy it was. Then I watched the editing and I was able gradually to build up knowledge. Preston insisted I make a film as soon as possible."[21] He served three years in the position.[22]

Meanwhile, Mann did notable, but mostly lost, work as a director for NBC's experimental television station W2XBS from 1939 to 1940. This included condensations of the hit Western play The Missouri Legend and the melodrama The Streets of New York. A five-minute silent clip of the latter show survives in the Museum of Television and Radio, including noted actors Norman Lloyd and George Coulouris.[23]

Directing career

1942–1949

Through the efforts of his friend MacDonald Carey, Mann made his directorial debut with Dr. Broadway (1942) at Paramount, which starred Carey.[22] Decades later, Mann remembered he was told to complete shooting the film in eighteen days.[21] Upon its release, Herman Schoenfeld of Variety was dismissive of the film writing, "The dialog could have just as well have been written in baby talk, and Anton Mann's direction just wasn't. The photography is spotty and the production looks inexpensive. Acting is weak, only Edward Ciannelli as the killer who gets killed, turning in an adequate job."[24] Harrison's Reports was more complimentary, stating the film was a "fairly good program entertainment" with "colorful characters, human interest, fast action, and situations that hold one in suspense."[25]

His follow-up film was Moonlight in Havana (1943) at Universal. The film featured Allan Jones and Jane Frazee.[26] In August 1944, it was reported Mann might return to Broadway to direct Mirror for Children.[27] After nine months without directing a feature film, Mann went to Republic Pictures where he directed Nobody's Darling (1944) and My Best Gal (1944).[28]

He next directed Strangers in the Night (1944). The film tells of Hilda Blake (Helene Thimig) who creates an imaginary "daughter" for Sgt. Johnny Meadows (William Terry) who is injured in the South Pacific. After being discharged and returning to the U.S., Meadows searches for the imaginary woman. He is informed of the truth by Dr. Leslie Ross (Virginia Grey), who is later murdered by Blake; in turn, Blake plans to murder Meadows.[29] The film was notable for its noirish mise-en-scène and psychological depth that appeared in Mann's latter films.[30] Mann then directed The Great Flamarion (1945), starring Erich von Stroheim and Mary Beth Hughes.[31] During principal photography, Mann clashed with von Stroheim, describing him at length as "difficult. He was a personality, not really an actor ...He drove me mad. He was a genius. I'm not a genius: I'm a worker."[32]

Mann moved to RKO to direct Two O'Clock Courage (1945), itself was a remake of the 1936 film Two in the Dark,[33] with Tom Conway and Ann Rutherford in the leading roles.[34] That same year, he also directed Sing Your Way Home. Mann returned to Republic Pictures for Strange Impersonation (1946). He did The Bamboo Blonde (1946) at RKO.

By 1946, Mann had signed with Eagle-Lion Films, a fledgling studio founded by Arthur B. Krim and Robert Benjamin. For T-Men (1947), Mann specifically requested cinematographer John Alton, who was loaned out to Republic for the job.[35] The film marked the first collaboration of Mann and Alton.[36] It was a critical and commercial success. He followed it with Railroaded! (1947).

He went back to RKO for Desperate (1947), which he also co-wrote with Dorothy Atlas.[31] then had another big success at Eagle-Lion with Raw Deal (1948). He also assisted in the making of He Walked by Night (1948), although his contribution to the latter was uncredited.

Dore Schary, then head of production at MGM, hired Mann to make Border Incident (1949).

He directed Reign of Terror (1949) for Eagle-Lion, and did some uncredited work on Follow Me Quietly (1949) at RKO.

1950–1960

Anthony Mann and Janet Leigh

Mann's first "A" film was the Western The Furies (1950) at Paramount starring Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston. In the fall of 1950, Mann was sent to Cinecittà to do second-unit work on Quo Vadis (1951).[37] There, Mann worked 24 nights, filming the burning of Rome sequence with assistant cinematographer William V. Skall.[38]

He followed this with a Western at Universal, starring James Stewart, Winchester '73 (1950). The picture was a huge success and completely reinvigorated Stewart's faltering postwar career.

MGM hired Mann to direct Side Street (1950). He stayed at that studio to do a popular Western with Robert Taylor, Devil's Doorway (1950) and a thriller with Dick Powell, The Tall Target (1952).

Mann was reunited with Stewart for another Western at Universal, Bend of the River (1952). The actor and director made a contemporary adventure film, Thunder Bay (1953) at Universal and a Western, The Naked Spur (1953) at MGM.

Mann and Stewart had their biggest success to-date with The Glenn Miller Story (1954). Also well received was their "Northern", The Far Country (1954) with Walter Brennan.

Mann went to Columbia to make a Western without Stewart, The Last Frontier (1955), with Victor Mature. Star and director were reunited on The Man from Laramie (1955) at Columbia. In 1956, Stewart and Mann were meant to reunite on Night Passage (1957).[39] Before filming was set to begin on September 4, Mann withdrew from the project. Contemporary accounts reported that Mann withdrew because he had not yet finished editing Men in War (1957).[40] However, latter accounts state Mann had developed creative differences with Borden Chase over the script, which Mann considered weak. Mann asked to be replaced, and James Neilson was brought in to direct.[41] Stewart and Mann never collaborated on another project again.[42]

Mann directed a musical starring Mario Lanza, Serenade (1956).[43] On set, he met and worked with actress Sara Montiel, who became his second wife. In August 1957, Mann announced he had acquired the film rights to Lion Feuchtwanger's novel This is the Hour, which told a fictionalized account of painter Francisco Goya. Montiel was set to portray the Maria Teresa de Cayetana, Duchess of Alba.[44] By February 1958, Mann had abandoned the project as a rival film The Naked Maja (1958) was in production. He then purchased the film rights to John McPartland's then-recently published novel Ripe Fruit, with Montiel set to star.[45] However, the project failed to materialize.

He made a western with Henry Fonda, The Tin Star (1957) then teamed with Philip Yordan to make two movies starring Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray, Men in War (1957), about the Korean War, and God's Little Acre (1958). In between, he directed Gary Cooper in a Western, Man of the West (1958). Filming began on February 10, 1958,[46] and ended later that same year. When it was released, Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote the film was "good, lean, tough little Western" that was "[w]ell-acted and beautifully photographed in color and Cinema-Scope".[47] Elsewhere, Jean-Luc Godard, then a critic for Cahiers du Cinéma, gave the film a raving review when it was released in France.[48]

Mann was hired by Universal Pictures to direct Spartacus (1960), much to the disagreement of Kirk Douglas who felt Mann "seemed scared of the scope of the picture".[49] Filming started on January 27, 1959 in Death Valley, California for the mine sequence. As filming continued, Douglas felt Mann had lost control of the film, writing in particular: "He let Peter Ustinov direct his own scenes by taking every suggestion Peter made. The suggestions were good—for Peter, but not necessarily for the film."[50] With the studio's approval, Douglas was permitted to fire Mann. According to Douglas's account, Mann graciously exited the production on February 17, to which Douglas promised he "owe[d]" a film to him.[51] A day later, Stanley Kubrick was hired to direct.[52] Shortly after, Mann went to MGM to direct Glenn Ford in a remake of Cimarron (1960). During production, Mann had filmed on location for twelve days, but the shoot had experienced troublesome storms. In response, studio executives at MGM decided to relocate the production indoors. Mann disagreed, remarking the production had become "an economic disaster and a fiasco and the whole project was destroyed."[53] Mann left the production, and was replaced by Charles Walters.[54]

1961–1967

In July 1960, Mann was hired to direct El Cid (1961) for Samuel Bronston.[55] The film starred Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. In November 1960, before filming was to begin, Loren was displeased with her dialogue in the script, and requested for blacklisted screenwriter Ben Barzman to rewrite it. On an airplane trip to Rome, Mann retrieved Barzman and handed him the latest shooting script, to which Barzman agreed to rewrite from scratch.[56] Filming began on November 14, 1960 and lasted until April 1961. Released in December 1961, El Cid was released to considerable acclaim from film critics, and earned $12 million in box office rentals from the United States and Canada.[57]

Mann next directed The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). The project's genesis began when Mann, who had recently finished filming El Cid (1961), had spotted an Oxford concise edition of Edward Gibbon's six-volume series The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire near the front window at the Hatchards bookshop. Mann then read the book, and after a flight trip to Madrid, he pitched a film adaptation of the book to Bronston, to which the producer agreed.[58] The film was intended to reunite Heston and Loren, but Heston departed the project to star in 55 Days at Peking (1963), another Bronston production. His role was subsequently assumed by Stephen Boyd.[59] Filming began on January 14, 1963 and wrapped in July 1963. Released in March 1964, the film earned $1.9 million in box office rentals in the United States and Canada,[60] against an estimated production budget of $16 million.[61] That same year, in July, Mann served as the head of the jury at the 14th Berlin International Film Festival.[62]

In March 1963, Mann and producer S. Benjamin Fisz had reportedly begun development on The Unknown Battle, a historic re-telling of Norwegian resistance soldier Knut Haukelid's sabotage mission to prevent Nazi Germany from developing an atomic bomb during World War II. Barzman had been hired to write the script, with Allied Artists as a distributor.[63] By February 1964, Boyd and Elke Sommer had been hired to portray the leading roles.[64] However, in July, Kirk Douglas was hired to portray the lead role.[65] In his memoir, Douglas accepted the role after receiving an unexpected phone call from Mann, fulfilling his earlier promise that he "owed" him a film.[66] The film was then re-titled The Heroes of Telemark (1965).

In October 1966, Mann was announced to direct and produce the spy thriller A Dandy in Aspic (1968) for Columbia Pictures.[67] By December, filming was set to begin in February 1967 where it would film on location in Austria, Germany, and London.[68]

Personal life and death

In 1936, Mann married Mildred Kenyon, who worked as a clerk at a Macy's department store in New York City.[69] The marriage produced two children, Anthony (b. 1938) and Nina (b. 1944). The couple divorced in 1956.[70] A year later, Mann married actress Sara Montiel, who had starred in Serenade (1956).[22] In 1963, the marriage was annulled in Madrid.[71] His third marriage was to Anna Kuzko, a ballerina formerly with Sadler's Wells, who had one son named Nicholas.[17][72]

On April 29, 1967, Mann died from a heart attack in his hotel room in Berlin. At the time of his death, he had spent the last two weeks filming A Dandy in Aspic. The film was completed by the film's star Laurence Harvey.[8][17] For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Anthony Mann has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6229 Hollywood Boulevard.[73]

Filmography

References

Notes
  1. ^ Alvarez writes, "In New Jersey, Emile Anton attended elementary school in East Orange and high school in Newark but dropped out to go to work." However, Mann's obituary in The New York Times reports him leaving high school at age sixteen, but the Central High School transcripts indicate a January 1925 dropout date, when Emile Anton was eighteen.[8]
Citations
  1. ^ Sadoul, p.167
  2. ^ Walsh, David (December 18, 2013). "The Crime Films of Anthony Mann: A comment and a conversation with the author—Part 1". World Socialist Web Site.
  3. ^ farní úřad: Chrast, sign. 3745. Zámrsk Regional Archive. 1869. p. 53.
  4. ^ a b Alvarez 2013, p. 15.
  5. ^ a b c d Darby 2009, p. 5.
  6. ^ Alvarez 2013, p. 13.
  7. ^ Wakeman 1987, p. 723.
  8. ^ a b "Anthony Mann, 60, A Movie Director; Filmmaker Who Favored Westerns Dies in Berlin". The New York Times. April 30, 1967. Retrieved December 19, 2017. Anthony Mann, the American film director, died here of a heart attack this morning. His age was 60.
  9. ^ a b Bassinger 2007, p. 2.
  10. ^ a b c Darby 2009, p. 6.
  11. ^ "The Blue Peter Broadway Original Cast". Broadway World. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  12. ^ Atkinson, J. Brooks (October 7, 1931). "The Play". The New York Times. p. 33. ProQuest 99118255.
  13. ^ "The Theatre". The Wall Street Journal. November 2, 1933. ProQuest 131085423.
  14. ^ Atkinson, Brooks (November 1, 1933). "The Play: 'Thunder on the Left,' Adapted From Christopher Morley's Novel By Jean Ferguson Black". The New York Times. p. 25. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  15. ^ "The THEATRE". Wall Street Journal. September 26, 1936. ProQuest 128847757.
  16. ^ "News of the Stage". The New York Times. May 2, 1938. ProQuest 102633334.
  17. ^ a b c "Film Producer Anthony Mann Dies in Berlin". Los Angeles Times. April 30, 1967. Section A, p. 4. ProQuest 155699607. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  18. ^ Wicking & Pattison 1969, p. 32; Wakeman 1987, p. 723
  19. ^ L. L. (May 2, 1937). "Leonard Lyons prowls about gathering priceless nuggets". The Washington Post. ProQuest 150907121.
  20. ^ Spoto 1990, p. 171.
  21. ^ a b Wicking & Pattison 1969, p. 32.
  22. ^ a b c Bassinger 2007, p. 3.
  23. ^ Alvarez 2013, pp. 24–30.
  24. ^ Schoenfeld, Herman (May 6, 1942). "Film Reviews: Dr. Broadway". Variety. p. 6. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  25. ^ "'Dr. Broadway' with MacDonald Carey and Jean Philips". Harrison's Reports. May 9, 1942. p. 75. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  26. ^ Bassinger 2007, p. 20.
  27. ^ Solozow, Sam (August 15, 1944). "Rogers Play Ready for a New Tryout". The New York Times. p. 20. ProQuest 106803331.
  28. ^ Wakeman 1987, p. 724.
  29. ^ Bassinger 2007, pp. 21–22.
  30. ^ Smith, Robert E. (1977). "Mann in the Dark: The Film Noirs of Anthony Mann". Bright Lights (5). ISSN 0147-4049.
  31. ^ a b Darby 2009, p. 8.
  32. ^ Wicking & Pattison 1969, pp. 34–35.
  33. ^ Bassinger 2007, p. 23.
  34. ^ Schallert, Edwin (August 2, 1944). "McCrea Will Resume Career in Farm Story". Los Angeles Times. Part I, p. 10. ProQuest 165522052 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ Alton 2013, p. xxix.
  36. ^ Wicking & Pattison 1969, p. 35.
  37. ^ Wakeman 1987, p. 726; Alvarez 2013, p. 214
  38. ^ Bassinger 2007, p. 11.
  39. ^ Schallert, Edwin (July 31, 1956). "'Moll Flanders' for Lollobrigida; Mann Again Stewart's Guide". Los Angeles Times. Part I, p. 17. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ^ "Mann Changes Assignment". The New York Times. August 29, 1956. p. 25. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  41. ^ Bassinger 2007, p. 12.
  42. ^ Pickard 1992, p. 116.
  43. ^ Pryor, Thomas M. (March 30, 1956). "Lanza Is Signed for Warner Film". The New York Times. p. 11. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  44. ^ "Goya's Life Story Planned as Film". The New York Times. August 15, 1957. p. 18. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  45. ^ Pryor, Thomas M. (February 25, 1958). "Couple May Make More MGM Films". The New York Times. p. 23. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  46. ^ "Hollywood Production Pulse". Variety. March 5, 1958. p. 21. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  47. ^ Thompson, Howard (October 2, 1958). "A New Double Bill". The New York Times. p. 44. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  48. ^ Godard, Jean-Luc (February 1959). "Super Mann: L'Homme de l'Ouest". Cahiers du Cinéma (in French). Vol. 16, no. 92. pp. 48–50. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  49. ^ Douglas 1989, p. 288.
  50. ^ Douglas 1989, pp. 288–289.
  51. ^ Douglas 1989, p. 289.
  52. ^ "Kubrick Replaces Mann". Variety. February 18, 1959. p. 17. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  53. ^ Wicking & Pattison 1969, pp. 42–43.
  54. ^ Tatara, Paul. "Cimarron (1960)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  55. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (July 6, 1960). "Bronston Discovers El Cid's Spain". Los Angeles Times. Part II, p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  56. ^ Barzman 2003, pp. 306–313.
  57. ^ "All-Time Top Film Grossers". Variety. January 8, 1964. p. 37.
  58. ^ Mann, Anthony (March 1964). "Empire Demolition". Films and Filming. Vol. 10, no. 6. pp. 7–8.
  59. ^ Hopper, Hedda (May 14, 1962). "Boyd Will Co-star in 'Roman Empire' Cast Opposite Lollobrigida; Hope Plans Film in Africa". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 12. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  60. ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1964". Variety. January 6, 1965. p. 39.
  61. ^ Hopper, Hedda (March 20, 1964). "'Roman Empire' Has $16 Million Look: Pageantry and Performances in Bronston Film Praised". Los Angeles Times. Part V, p. 14. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  62. ^ "Berlinale 1964: Juries". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  63. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (March 18, 1963). "Ice Age Reverses Black, White Roles: Nazis' A-Bomb Plot Bared; Palance, Montgomery Travel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  64. ^ Weiler, A. H. (February 9, 1964). "Pictures and People". The New York Times. p. X9. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  65. ^ "'Unknown Battle' to Star Douglas". Los Angeles Times. July 13, 1964. Part IV, p. 18. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  66. ^ Douglas 1989, p. 352.
  67. ^ Champlin, Charles (October 31, 1966). "Who Follows the Trickiest Spy?". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 22. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  68. ^ Martin, Betty (December 3, 1966). "Four Added to 'Perils' Cast". Los Angeles Times. Part I, p. 18. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  69. ^ Alvarez 2013, pp. 16–17.
  70. ^ Darby 2009, p. 7.
  71. ^ "Actress Obtains Annulment". Buffalo Evening News. September 27, 1963. Section III, p. 40. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  72. ^ Alvarez 2013, p. 244.
  73. ^ "Hollywood Star Walk: Anthony Mann". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 19, 2017. North side of the 6200 block of Hollywood Boulevard

Bibliography

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