Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Born Joseph Leo Mankiewicz
February 11, 1909(1909-02-11)
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died February 5, 1993(1993-02-05) (aged 83)
Bedford, New York, U.S.
Occupation Writer, Director, Producer
Years active 1929 - 1972
Spouse Elizabeth Young (1934–1937)
Rose Stradner (1939–1958)
Rosemary Matthews (1962)

Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (11 February 1909 – 5 February 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of the Oscar-winning All About Eve (1950). He was brother to the equally famous screenwriter and drama critic Herman J. Mankiewicz who also won an Oscar — for co-writing Citizen Kane (1941).

Contents

Biography

Early life

Joseph Mankiewicz was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Franz Mankiewicz (died 1941) and Johanna Blumenau, Jewish immigrants from Germany.[1][2][3] He had a sister, Erna Mankiewicz (1901–1979), and a brother, Herman J. Mankiewicz, who became a screenwriter.[4][5][6]

At age four, Mankiewicz moved with his family to New York City where he graduated in 1924 from Stuyvesant High School.[7] In 1928, he obtained a bachelor's degree from Columbia University. For a time he worked in Berlin, Germany, as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune newspaper before being lured into the motion picture business.

Hollywood career

Comfortable in a variety of genres and able to elicit career performances from actors and actresses alike, Joseph L. Mankiewicz combined ironic, sophisticated scripts with a precise, sometimes stylised mise en scène. Mankiewicz worked for seventeen years as a screenwriter for Paramount and as a producer for MGM before getting a chance to direct at Twentieth Century-Fox. Over six years he made 11 films for Fox, reaching a peak in 1949 and 1950 when he won consecutive Academy Awards for Screenplay and Direction for A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve.

During his long career in Hollywood, Mankiewicz wrote forty-eight screenplays, including All About Eve, for which he won an Academy Award. He also produced more than twenty films including The Philadelphia Story which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1941. However, he is best known for the films he directed, twice winning the Academy Award for Directing. In 1944, he produced The Keys of the Kingdom, which starred Gregory Peck, and featured Mankiewicz's then-wife, Rose Stradner, in a supporting role as a nun.

In 1951, Mankiewicz left Fox and moved to New York, intending to write for the Broadway stage. Although this dream never materialised, he continued to make films (both for his own production company Figaro and as a director-for-hire) that explored his favourite themes — the clash of aristocrat with commoner, life as performance and the clash between people's urge to control their fate and the contingencies of real life.

In 1953, for MGM, he directed Julius Caesar, an adaptation of Shakespeare's play. It received widely favorable reviews, and David Shipman, author of the book The Great Movie Stars: The Hollywood Years, called it "perhaps the finest Shakespeare film ever made". The film serves as the only record of Marlon Brando in a Shakespearean role; he played Mark Antony, and received an Oscar nomination for his performance.

In 1958, Mankiewicz directed The Quiet American an adaptation of Graham Greene's 1955 novel about the seed of American military involvement in what would become the Vietnam War. Mankiewicz, under career pressure from the climate of anti-Communism and the Hollywood blacklist, distorted the message of Greene's book, changing major parts of the story to appeal to a national audience. A cautionary tale about America's blind support for "anti-Communists" was turned into, according to Greene, a "propaganda film for America".

Cleopatra consumed three years of Mankiewicz's life and ended up both derailing his career and causing severe financial losses for the studio, Twentieth Century-Fox. Mankiewicz made more films, however, garnering an Oscar nomination for Best Direction in 1972 for Sleuth starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, his final production.

He was the younger brother of Herman J. Mankiewicz. His sons are writer/director Tom Mankiewicz and producer Christopher Mankiewicz. He also has a daughter, Alexandra Mankiewicz. His great-nephew is radio & television personality Ben Mankiewicz, currently on TCM.

Mankiewicz, who died in 1993, six days before his 84th birthday, was interred in Saint Matthew's Episcopal Churchyard cemetery, Bedford, New York.[7]

Filmography

Director

Year Title Production company Cast Notes
1946 Dragonwyck 20th Century Fox Gene Tierney / Vincent Price
Backfire Richard Conte / John Ireland
Somewhere in the Night Richard Conte / John Hodiak / Nancy Guild
1947 The Late George Apley Ronald Colman
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir Gene Tierney / Rex Harrison / George Sanders
1948 Escape Rex Harrison / Peggy Cummins / William Hartnell
1949 A Letter to Three Wives Jeanne Crain / Linda Darnell / Ann Southern
House of Strangers Edward G. Robinson / Susan Hayward / Richard Conte
1950 No Way Out Richard Widmark / Sidney Poitier / Linda Darnell
All About Eve Bette Davis / Anne Baxter / George Sanders
1951 People Will Talk Cary Grant / Jeanne Crain / Hume Cronyn
1952 5 Fingers James Mason / Danielle Darrieux
1953 Julius Caesar Marlon Brando / James Mason / John Gielgud
1954 The Barefoot Contessa Humphrey Bogart / Ava Gardner Technicolor film
1955 Guys and Dolls Marlon Brando / Jean Simmons / Frank Sinatra Eastmancolor film
1958 The Quiet American Audie Murphy / Graham Greene
1959 Suddenly, Last Summer Elizabeth Taylor / Montgomery Clift / Katharine Hepburn
1963 Cleopatra Elizabeth Taylor Color film
1964 Carol for Another Christmas ABC Sterling Hayden / Peter Sellers Television film
1967 The Honey Pot Famous Artists Productions Rex Harrison / Susan Hayward / Maggie Smith Technicolor film
1970 King: a Filmed Record...Montgomery To Memphis Commonwealth United Entertainment Co-directed with Sidney Lumet / Documentary film
There Was a Crooked Man... Warner Bros. Kirk Douglas / Henry Fonda / Hume Cronyn Technicolor film
1972 Sleuth Palomar Pictures Laurence Olivier / Michael Caine Color film

Writer

  • Fast Company (1929) co-writer
  • Slightly Scarlet (1930) co-writer
  • Paramount on Parade (1930)
  • The Social Lion (1931) Adaptation
  • Only Saps Work (1931) co-writer
  • The Gang Buster (1931)
  • Finn & Hattie (1931)
  • June Moon (1931) co-writer
  • Skippy (1931) co-writer
  • Newly Rich (1931) co-writer
  • Sooky (1931) co-writer
  • This Reckless Age (1932) co-writer
  • Sky Bride (1932) co-writer
  • Million Dollar Legs (1932) Story
  • If I Had A Million (1932) (segments "China Shop", "Three Marines", "Violet") Uncredited
  • Diplomaniacs (1933) co-writer
  • Emergency Call (1933) co-writer
  • Too Much Harmony (1933) Story
  • Alice In Wonderland (1933) co-writer
  • Manhattan Melodrama (1934) co-writer
  • Our Daily Bread (1934) Dialogue
  • Forsaking All Others (1934)
  • I Live My Life (1935)
  • The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) co-writer
  • Dragonwyck (1946)
  • Somewhere in the Night (1946) co-writer
  • A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
  • House of Strangers (1949) Uncredited
  • No Way Out (1950) co-writer
  • All About Eve (1950)
  • People Will Talk (1951)
  • Julius Caesar (1953) Uncredited
  • The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
  • Guys and Dolls (1955)
  • The Quiet American (1958)
  • Cleopatra (1963) co-writer
  • The Honey Pot (1967)

Awards

Year Film Result Category
Academy Awards
1931 Skippy Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay
1941 The Philadelphia Story Nominated Best Picture
1950 A Letter to Three Wives Won Best Director
Won Best Original Screenplay
1951 All About Eve Won Best Director
Won Best Original Screenplay
No Way Out Nominated Best Original Screenplay
1953 5 Fingers Nominated Best Director
1955 The Barefoot Contessa Nominated Best Original Screenplay
1973 Sleuth Nominated Best Director
Directors Guild of America
1949 A Letter to Three Wives Won Outstanding Directorial Achievement
1951 All About Eve Won Outstanding Directorial Achievement
1953 5 Fingers Nominated Outstanding Directorial Achievement
1954 Julius Caesar Nominated Outstanding Directorial Achievement
1981 Won Honorary Life Member Award
1986 Won Lifetime Achievement Award
Writers Guild of America
1950 A Letter to Three Wives Won Best Written American Comedy
1951 All About Eve Won Best Written American Comedy
Nominated Best Written American Drama
No Way Out Nominated The Robert Meltzer Award
1952 People Will Talk Nominated Best Written American Comedy
1955 The Barefoot Contessa Nominated Best Written American Drama
1956 Guys and Dolls Nominated Best Written American Musical
1963 Won Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1998. ISBN 0684806207. http://books.google.com/books?id=FVUYAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Franz+Mankiewicz%22&dq=%22Franz+Mankiewicz%22&pgis=1. "Mankiewicz was the youngest of three children born to the German immigrants Franz Mankiewicz, a secondary schoolteacher, and Johanna Blumenau, a homemaker." 
  2. ↑ Joseph L. Mankiewicz. 1983. ISBN 0805792910. "The father, Franz Mankiewicz, emigrated from Germany in 1892, living first in New York and then moving to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in to take a job ..." 
  3. ↑ "Dr. Frank Mankiewicz". New York Times. 1941-12-05. "Mankiewicz, Mr. Frank, dearly beloved husband of Johanna, devoted father of Herman, Joseph, and Mrs. Erna Stenbuck. Services Park West Memorial Chapel, ..." 
  4. ↑ "Joseph Mankiewicz Weds. MGM Producer Marries Rose Stradner, Viennese Actress". New York Times. 1939-07-29. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C15FA3954107A93CBAB178CD85F4D8385F9. Retrieved 2008-07-02. 
  5. ↑ "Erna Mankiewicz Stenbuck, 78, Retired New York Schoolteacher". New York Times. 1979-08-19. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F2071FF9355C12728DDDA00994D0405B898BF1D3. Retrieved 2008-07-02. "Erna Mankiewicz Stenbuck, a retired, teacher in the New York City schools, died Aug. 1 in Villach, Austria, where she had lived for several years. She was 78 years old. ... She was married in ... to Dr. Joseph Stenbuck, a New York City surgeon who died in 1951. They had no children. She is survived by a brother, Joseph L. ..." 
  6. ↑ "H. J. Mankiewicz, Screenwriter, 56. Winner of Academy Award in 1941 Dies. Playwright Was Former Newspaper Man.". New York Times. 1953-03-06. "His brother, Joseph, is a well known screen author, producer and director. ... A sister, Mrs. Erna Stenbuck of New York, also survives." 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Flint, Peter (1993-02-06). "Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Literate Skeptic of the Cinema, Dies at 83". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5D9113AF935A35751C0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print. Retrieved 2007-11-01. "Joseph L. Mankiewicz, a writer, director and producer who was one of Hollywood's most literate and intelligent film makers, died yesterday at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y. He was 83 and lived in Bedford, N.Y." 

External links

Academy Award for Best Director

John Ford (1941) · William Wyler (1942) · Michael Curtiz (1943) · Leo McCarey (1944) · Billy Wilder (1945) · William Wyler (1946) · Elia Kazan (1947) · John Huston (1948) · Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1949) · Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1950) · George Stevens (1951) · John Ford (1952) · Fred Zinnemann (1953) · Elia Kazan (1954) · Delbert Mann (1955) · George Stevens (1956) · David Lean (1957) · Vincente Minnelli (1958) · William Wyler (1959) · Billy Wilder (1960)

Complete list · (1927–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)
Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller (1941) · George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West and Arthur Wimperis (1942) · Philip G. Epstein, Julius J. Epstein and Howard Koch (1943) · Frank Butler and Frank Cavett (1944) · Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder (1945) · Robert Sherwood (1946) · George Seaton (1947) · John Huston (1948) · Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1949) · Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1950) · Harry Brown and Michael Wilson (1951) · Charles Schnee (1952) · Daniel Taradash (1953) · George Seaton (1954) · Paddy Chayefsky (1955) · John Farrow, S. J. Perelman and James Poe (1956) · Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson (1957) · Alan Jay Lerner (1958) · Neil Paterson (1959) · Richard Brooks (1960)

 · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)
Hosts of the Academy Awards ceremonies

Bob Hope (1941) · None (1942) · Bob Hope (1943) · Jack Benny (1944) · Bob Hope / John Cromwell (1945) · Bob Hope / James Stewart (1946) · Jack Benny (1947) · None (1948) · Robert Montgomery (1949) · Paul Douglas (1950) · Fred Astaire (1951) · Danny Kaye (1952) · Bob Hope / Conrad Nagel (1953) · Donald O'Connor / Fredric March (1954) · Bob Hope / Thelma Ritter (1955) · Jerry Lewis / Claudette Colbert / Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1956) · Jerry Lewis / Celeste Holm (1957) · Bob Hope / David Niven / James Stewart / Jack Lemmon / Rosalind Russell (1958) · Bob Hope / David Niven / Tony Randall / Mort Sahl / Laurence Olivier / Jerry Lewis (1959) · Bob Hope (1960)

Complete List · (1929–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)
Presidents of the Screen Directors Guild and the Directors Guild of America

King Vidor (1936) · Frank Capra (1939) · George Stevens (1941) · Mark Sandrich (1943) · John Cromwell (1944) · George Marshall (1948) · Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1950) · George Sidney (1951) · Frank Capra (1960) · George Sidney (1961) · Delbert Mann (1967) · Robert Wise (1971) · Robert Aldrich (1975) · George Schaefer (1979) · Jud Taylor (1981) · Gilbert Cates (1983) · Franklin J. Schaffner (1987) · Gene Reynolds (1993) · Jack Shea (1997) · Martha Coolidge (2002) · Michael Apted (2003) · Taylor Hackford (2009)
Films directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
1940s
Dragonwyck (1946) • Somewhere in the Night (1946) • The Late George Apley (1947) • The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) • Escape (1948) • A Letter to Three Wives (1949) • House of Strangers (1949)
1950s
No Way Out (1950) • All About Eve (1950) • People Will Talk (1951) • 5 Fingers (1952) • Julius Caesar (1953) • The Barefoot Contessa (1954) • Guys and Dolls (1955) • The Quiet American (1958) • Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
1960s
Cleopatra (1963) • Carol for Another Christmas (1964) • The Honey Pot (1967)
1970s
There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) • Sleuth (1972)