Michael Curtiz Biography

Michael Curtiz was a Hungarian American film director best known for the classics ‘Casablanca,’ ‘Mildred Pierce,’ and ‘White Christmas’ among others. A highly prolific director, he directed more than 50 films in Europe and more than 100 in the United States, an output unmatched by anyone else of his era. He enjoyed the peak of success in the 1930s and 1940s, during the Golden Age of Hollywood during which he worked for the Warner Bros. studio. Born into a Jewish family in Hungary, he became interested in the show business as a youngster and studied acting at Budapest’s Royal Academy of Theatre and Art. He made his stage debut in Budapest in 1910 and proceeded to act in, and direct many stage plays. He soon ventured into the newly emerging medium of cinema and starred in ‘Today and Tomorrow’ which was the first film released by the nascent Hungarian film industry. Before long he directed several films and became one of the top most directors of silent films in Hungary. After leaving his home country in 1919 he eventually made his way into Hollywood to join the Warner Bros. studio. He began his Hollywood career with silent films and effortlessly made the transition to talkies with the advent of sound. He worked with Warner Bros. for almost three decades over the course of which he produced notable films like ‘Captain Blood,’ ‘Dodge City,’ and ‘Casablanca’.