Richard Oswald
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Richard Oswald (November 5, 1880 - September 11, 1963) was an Austrian director, producer, and screenwriter.
Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, began his career as an actor on the Viennese stage. He made his film directorial debut at age 24 with Das Eisene Kreuz (1914). In 1916, Oswald set up his own production company in Germany, writing and directing most of the films himself. His pre-1920 efforts include such literary adaptations as The Picture of Dorian Gray (1917), Peer Gynt (1918), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1919). Oswald directed nearly 100 films. Some critics have suggested that Oswald was more prolific than talented, but such films as his 1932 horror film Unheimliche Geschichten (a.k.a. Weird Tales or Unholy Tales), produced by no less than Gabriel Pascal, would seem to refute this claim as it is viewed by some to be a forgotten classic.
Being Jewish Oswald was forced to flee Nazi Germany, first for occupied France and later immigrating to the United States. His last production was The Lovable Cheat (1949), an inexpensive but worthwhile adaptation of a Balzac story which boasted an impressive cast including Charles Ruggles, Alan Mowbray, and Buster Keaton. Oswald died in Düsseldorf in 1963.
