Sir Alexander Korda

marriage https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DYN3-98R?mode=g

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Korda

Sir Alexander Korda (16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956) was a Hungarian-born British film producer and director.[1] He worked in Hollywood the first time during the transition to "talkies", from 1926 to 1930. The change led to divorce from his first wife, a popular Hungarian actress who could not make the transition because of her strong accent in English.

From 1930, Korda became a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.

The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent Korda, Korda was born as Sándor László Kellner to a Jewish family[2] in Pusztatúrpásztó (Hungary, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok area, N 47.08333 E 20.6333 GeoNameId:716249, 4 miles from Túrkeve) in what is now Hungary (it was then a city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire), where he worked as a journalist.

Career[edit] Hungary[edit] Korda became an important film figure through his film magazines Pesti Mozi and Mozihet. This led to invitations to write film screenplays.

Korda's first film script was for Watchhouse in the Carpathians (1914). When the First World War broke out, Korda was excused from military service in the Austrian Army because of his bad eyesight.[3] Korda went to work at the Pedagogical Studio in Budapest and co-directed three films with Gyula Zilahy.[4]

Korda established a film company named Corvin Film, building it into one of the largest in Hungary. In October 1919, Korda was arrested during the White Terror that followed the overthrow of the short-lived Communist government, the Hungarian Democratic Republic. After his release, he left Hungary for Austria, and never returned to his country of birth.[5]

Vienna and Berlin[edit]

Korda's first wife was the actress Maria Corda, who starred in many of his silent films in Europe and America. During the next eleven years, Korda made films in several countries, working in Vienna, Berlin, London and Paris before moving to Hollywood in 1940. He worked closely with many artists on his films, including his Hungarian friend, painter and set designer Emile Lahner.

After leaving Hungary, Korda accepted an invitation from Count Alexander Kolowrat to work for his company Sascha-Film in the Austrian capital Vienna.[6] Korda worked alongside Kolowrat, who had attracted several leading Hungarian and German directors into his employment, on the 1920 historical epic The Prince and the Pauper. The film was a major international success and inspired Korda with the idea of making "international films" with global box office appeal.[7]

Korda's next two films, Masters of the Sea (1922) and A Vanished World (1922), were both nautical-set adventures based on Hungarian novels. By that stage, Korda had grown irritated with Kolowrat's interference with his work and left Sascha to make an independent film, Samson and Delilah (1922), set in the world of opera. The film was made on a lavish scale, with large crowd scenes. The lengthy shooting schedule lasted 160 working days. The film was not a success.[8]

Unable to find further backing for his film projects, Korda left Vienna and travelled to Germany. Korda raised funding for the melodrama The Unknown Tomorrow (1923). With backing from Germany's biggest film company, UFA, Korda returned to Vienna to make Everybody's Woman (1924). While there, he began work on his next film, the historical Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (1924), which portrayed the Mayerling Incident. It earned back around half of its production cost.[9] He followed this with Dancing Mad (1925), another melodrama.

Korda had frequent problems with money, and often had to receive support from friends and business associates. Korda had cast his wife Maria Corda as the female lead in all his German-language films and to a large degree, his productions depended on her star power. The growing tension in their marriage came to a head after they moved to the United States.

They settled in Hollywood, the film capital. Korda cast her again in A Modern Dubarry (1927), which adapted the life story of Madame Du Barry, based on an original screenplay by Lajos Biro. The film may have intended to highlight Maria Corda's star potential to Hollywood.[10] Korda made his final German film Madame Wants No Children (1926) for the American studio's Fox's Berlin-based subsidiary. Although made later, it was released before A Modern Dubarry.

Hollywood[edit] In December 1926 after receiving a joint contract offer from the American studio First National, Korda and his wife sailed for the United States on board the steamer Olympic.[11] Once they reached Hollywood, both struggled to adapt to the studio system. Korda had to wait some time before gaining his first directorial assignment. His first American film was a drama titled The Stolen Bride (1927). Korda was chosen as it was a Hungarian-themed romance about a peasant's love for a countess.[12] The film starred the American actress Billie Dove, rather than Korda's wife.

After The Stolen Bride's moderate success, Korda was brought in to work on the comedy The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927), replacing the previous director, George Fitzmaurice. The film retells the story of Helen of Troy, parodying the plot-line of historical epics of the era by transforming the classical characters into everyday people with modern problems. The film was a significant success for Korda, with his wife playing the role of Helen. After this film, however, Korda became pigeon-holed as a director of female stars and exotic foreign location. He was generally given similar assignments for the remainder of his time in Hollywood.[13] The film was his most satisfying work in the United States and provided the template for his later success in Britain.

Korda's next few films Yellow Lily (1928), Night Watch (1928), and Love and the Devil (1929) were disappointments as his career lost its momentum. The latter two were both Silent films, but had sound effects and music added to their soundtracks as part of Hollywood's transitional phase of technology following the success of the Sound film The Jazz Singer. Korda's next film The Squall (1929) was his first "talkie" and featured a Hungarian setting. Although, like many other directors, Korda had misgivings about the new technology, he quickly adapted to making sound films.

Korda's marriage was strained in Hollywood. The arrival of sound films wrecked his wife's career as her heavy accent made her unemployable by American studios for most films. Love and the Devil was the last of Korda's films she appeared in, and she made only two more films. She became increasingly resentful of the switch in their relationship as her career was now over while Korda, who had once relied on her for the production of his films, was relatively flourishing. Their marriage collapsed, and they divorced in 1930.[14]

Korda made two more sound films at First National: Her Private Life (1929) and Lilies of the Field (1930), both of which were remakes of earlier silent films. Gradually Korda grew more frustrated in Hollywood as he came to strongly dislike the studio system. He hoped to save up enough money to return to Europe and begin producing on a large scale there, but his lavish personal spending and the large amounts he lost in the Wall Street Crash prevented this. When his producer Ned Marin moved from First National to the Fox Film Corporation, Korda followed him. Korda's new contract gave him $100,000 a year.[15]

His first film for Fox, Women Everywhere (1930), cost slightly more than some of the programmers he had previously directed in the United States. He collaborated with several figures who would contribute to his future success in Britain. Korda was offered a series of scripts, all of which he disliked, before he finally agreed to make The Princess and the Plumber (1930).[16] Korda's reluctance to make the film led to his conflict with studio bosses, which brought to an end his first period in Hollywood.

Britain[edit]

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). In 1932 Korda founded London Films with Big Ben as the company logo. The company's releases included The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Rembrandt (1936), both of which starred Charles Laughton and were directed by Korda. Other successes included The Four Feathers (1939), Q Planes (1939), The Thief of Bagdad (1940). Korda's younger brothers Zoltán, a film director, and Vincent, an art director, were involved with his projects.

Korda bought property in Denham, Buckinghamshire, including Hills House, and planned to build film studios on the property. London Film's Denham Film Studios was financed by the Prudential and opened in 1936. That same year, Korda was an important contributor to the Moyne Commission, formed to protect British film production from competition, mainly from the United States. Korda said: "If American interests obtained control of British production companies they may make British pictures here but the pictures made would be just as American as those made in Hollywood. We are now on the verge of forming a British school of film making in this country."[17]

By 1939, Michael Powell had been hired as a contract director by Korda on the strength of The Edge of the World. Korda set him to work on some projects such as Burmese Silver that were subsequently cancelled.[18] Nonetheless, Powell was brought in to save a film that was being made as a vehicle for two of Korda's star players, Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson. The film was The Spy in Black, where Powell first met Emeric Pressburger.

Korda though soon had financial difficulties and management of the Denham complex was merged with Pinewood in 1939,[19] becoming part of the Rank Organisation.

The outbreak of World War II in Europe meant The Thief of Bagdad had to be completed in Hollywood, where Korda was based again for a few years. While in the United States, Korda produced and directed That Hamilton Woman (1941) and supervised Jungle Book (1942), a live action version of the Kipling story, directed by Zoltán Korda.

In 1942, Alexander Korda was knighted for his contribution to the war effort,[20] the first film director to receive the honour.[21]

He returned to Britain in 1943 as production chief of MGM-London films, with a £35 million, 10-year programme. The scheme ended after one year, one film and a £1million loss to MGM.[22]

Post-War career[edit] Via London Films, Korda bought a controlling interest in British Lion Films. It produced such films as The Third Man (1949).

In 1948 Korda received an advance payment of £375,000, the largest single payment received by a British film company, for three movies, An Ideal Husband (1947), Anna Karenina (1948) and Mine Own Executioner (1948). He released three other films, Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948), The Winslow Boy (1948) and The Fallen Idol (1948).[23] Some of these films did well but others were expensive failures. Korda was badly hurt by the trade war between the British and American film industries in the late 1940s.[24] In 1948 Korda signed a co-production deal with David O. Selznick.[22]

Korda did recover, in part due to a £3 million loan British Lion received from the National Film Finance Corporation. In 1954 he received £5 million from the City Investing Corporation of New York, enabling him to keep producing movies until his death.[22] His last film was Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Richard III (1955).

A draft screenplay of what became The Red Shoes was written by Emeric Pressburger in the 1930s for Korda and intended as a vehicle for Merle Oberon, whom he later married. The screenplay was bought by Michael Powell and Pressburger, who made it for J. Arthur Rank. During the 1950s, Korda reportedly expressed interest in producing a James Bond film based upon Ian Fleming's novel Live and Let Die, but no agreement was ever reached.[25]

Death[edit] Korda died at the age of 62 in London in 1956 of a heart attack and was cremated. His ashes are at Golders Green Crematorium in London.

Family[edit] Korda was married three times, first to the Hungarian actress María Corda in 1919. They had one son, Peter Vincent Korda, and divorced in 1930. In 1939, he married the film star Merle Oberon. They divorced six years later. He married, lastly, on 8 June 1953, Alexandra Boycun (1928–1966), who survived him.

His nephew Michael Korda, the son of his younger brother Vincent, wrote a roman à clef about Merle Oberon, published after her death. It was entitled Queenie. He also wrote a memoir about his large, extended family and filmmaker father and uncles.

Legacy and honours[edit] He was knighted for contributions to the film industry. The Alexander Korda Award for "Outstanding British Film of the Year" is given in his honour by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The 1939 novel Nobody Ordered Wolves features a mogul named Napoleon Bott, who is closely modelled on Korda. Filmography[edit] The following films were directed by Korda.

1948 Bonnie Prince Charlie 1947 An Ideal Husband 1945 Perfect Strangers 1941 That Hamilton Woman 1940 The Thief of Bagdad (uncredited) 1939 The Lion Has Wings (uncredited) 1936 The Man Who Could Work Miracles (director: some scenes – uncredited) 1936 Rembrandt 1934 The Private Life of Don Juan 1934 The Rise of Catherine the Great (uncredited) 1933 The Girl from Maxim's 1933 The Private Life of Henry VIII 1933 La dame de chez Maxim's 1932 Wedding Rehearsal 1932 The Golden Anchor 1932 Service for Ladies 1931 Längtan till havet 1931 Die Männer um Lucie 1931 Marius (as Alexandre Korda) 1931 Rive gauche 1930 Princess and the Plumber 1930 Women Everywhere 1930 Lilies of the Field 1929 Her Private Life 1929 The Squall 1929 Love and the Devil 1928 Night Watch 1928 Yellow Lily 1927 The Private Life of Helen of Troy 1927 The Stolen Bride 1927 A Modern Dubarry 1926 Madame Doesn't Want Children 1925 Dance Fever 1924 Tragödie im Hause Habsburg 1924 Jedermanns Frau 1923 Das unbekannte Morgen 1922 Samson und Delila 1922 Die Tragödie eines verschollenen Fürstensohnes 1922 Herren der Meere 1920 The Prince and the Pauper 1920 A 111-es (as Sándor Korda) 1919 Ave Caesar! (as Korda Sándor) 1919 Neither at Home or Abroad (as Korda Sándor) 1919 White Rose (as Korda Sándor) 1919 Yamata (as Korda Sándor) 1919 Man of Gold (as Korda Sándor) 1918 Mary Ann 1917 Faun (as Korda Sándor) 1917 Gólyakalifa (as Korda Sándor) 1917 Harrison és Barrison 1917 St. Peter's Umbrella 1917 Mágia (as Korda Sándor) 1916 A Dolovai nábob leánya 1916 A Kétszívü férfi (as Korda Sándor) 1916 A Nagymama (as Korda Sándor) 1916 A Nevetö Szaszkia 1916 Az egymillió fontos bankó 1916 Ciklámen 1916 Fehér éjszakák 1916 Mágnás Miska (as Korda Sándor) 1916 Vergödö szívek (uncredited) 1916 Mesék az írógépröl (as Korda Sándor) 1915 A tiszti kardbojt (as Korda Sándor) 1915 Lyon Lea (as Korda Sándor) 1915 Tutyu és Totyó (as Korda Sándor) 1914 A becsapott újságíró 1914 Örház a Kárpátokban (as Korda Sándor) Unmade projects[edit] Korda announced a number of projects which were never made, including:

the life of T. E. Lawrence with Leslie Howard[26] later to be directed by Brian Desmond Hurst. the life of Nijinsky (1930s)[27] Cyrano de Bergerac with Charles Laughton (1930s–1940s)[28] Precious Bane with Robert Donat[29] Burmese Silver with Conrad Veidt (1930s)[30] the story of Pocahontas starring Merle Oberon (1939)[31] adaptation of Manon Lescaut for Merle Oberon[32] an adaptation of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy to star Merle Oberon(1940s)[33] Velvet Coat, the life of Robert Louis Stevenson with Oberon and Robert Donat[34] an adaptation of Greenmantle by John Buchan[34] Lottie Dundass starring Vivien Leigh from the play by Enid Bagnold[35] an adaptation of The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson[35] Habitation Enforced from the story by Rudyard Kipling[35] an adaptation of The King's General by Daphne du Maurier (late 1940s)[36] The Promotion of the Admiral from the novel by C.S. Forester starring Ralph Richardson directed by Powell and Pressburger (1940s)[37] A Tale of Two Cities with Gregory Peck[22] Tess of the D'Urbevilles with Jennifer Jones as Tess Around the World in Eighty Days The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley

אלכסנדר קורדה

' הוא כינויו של שאנדור לאסלו קלנר, (16 בספטמבר 1893 - 23 בינואר 1956) במאי קולנוע ומפיק קולנוע יהודי הונגרי, שהיה בין האישים הבולטים בתעשיית הסרטים באנגליה בין שנות ה-30 לשנות ה-50. קורדה ייסד את חברת לונדון פילמס שהייתה בין המובילות בתעשיית הסרטים באנגליה בתקופת פעילותה, עד לסוף שנות ה-50, והיה מעורב ביצירת קלאסיקות קולנועיות כ"הגנב מבגדד" (1940) ו"האדם השלישי" (1949).

קורות חיים קורדה נולד בהונגריה בשם "שאנדור לאסלו קלנר". הוא הבכור מבין ארבעה אחים, ששניים מהם, זולטן קורדה ווינסנט קורדה עסקו אף הם בקולנוע כבמאים וכמעצבי תפאורה. בשנת 1909 עבר לבודפשט ובתחילת דרכו עבד כעיתונאי, אך מצא את דרכו לתעשיית הקולנוע, והיה לבמאי ומפיק ידוע ומבוקש. התהפוכות בהונגריה שלאחר מלחמת העולם הראשונה, ועליית משטרו של האדמירל מיקלוש הורטי שהיה משטר לאומני ובעל נימות אנטישמיות, הביאו את קורדה לצאת את הונגריה, בתחילה לווינה וברלין, שם עסק בקולנוע בהצלחה רבה, ולאחר מכן, ב-1927 ניסה את מזלו בהוליווד וזכה להצלחה מועטה, על אף שיצר שם 16 סרטים. בשנת 1931 הגיע ללונדון ושם זכה להצלחתו הגדולה.

ב-1932 ייסד את חברת לונדון פילמס שהקימה אולפנים בדנהם. שם התחיל ליצור סרטים מלאי חיות ומרתקים, ולאחר המצאת הסרט הצבעוני, גם מרהיבים מבחינה ויזואלית. סרטו מ-1933 "חייו הפרטיים של הנרי השמיני" בכיכובו של צ'ארלס לוטון, חצה את מחסום האוקיינוס האטלנטי, היה מועמד לפרס אוסקר כסרט הטוב ביותר, וזיכה את לוטון באוסקר כשחקן הטוב ביותר. לוטון כיכב גם בסרט "רמברנדט" (1936) שהיה אף הוא להצלחה, ובניסיון ביש המזל ליצור סרט על פי הספר "אני קלאודיוס" של רוברט גרייבס, ובבימוי יוזף פון שטרנברג, ניסיון שכשל וכמעט והחריב את הקריירה של כל המעורבים בו.

בשנת 1936 היה קורדה חבר בוועדת מוין שהוקמה על מנת להגן על תעשיית הקולנוע הבריטית מפני התחרות מתעשיית הסרטים האמריקאית. זכורה אמירתו כי "אם האמריקאים ישיגו שליטה בחברות הקולנוע הבריטיות, יווצרו סרטים בבריטניה, אך אלו יהיו אמריקנים בדיוק כמו אלו שייווצרו בהוליווד. אנו על סף יצירת אסכולה בריטית של יצירת סרטים בארץ זו". בשנה זו קיבל קורדה את האזרחות הבריטית.

בשנים אלו יצר קורדה קלאסיקות קולנועיות, המזוהות עם תור הזהב של תעשיית הסרטים בבריטניה, ובהן סרט ההרפתקאות "הגנב מבגדד" (1940), סרט מרהיב, צבעוני ומושקע, שהביא את חזונו היצירתי של קורדה לידי מימוש.

עם פתיחת מלחמת העולם השנייה שימש קורדה, שהרבה במסעות בין בריטניה וארצות הברית שליח לא רשמי של וינסטון צ'רצ'יל למשימות חשאיות בארצות הברית. ב-1941 ביים והפיק את הסרט ליידי המילטון שהיה עם מסרים פרו-בריטיים. בשנת 1942 קיבל תואר אבירות מהמלך ג'ורג' השישי והיה לבמאי הקולנוע הראשון שקיבל תואר זה.

ב-1949 היה מעורב ביצירת הקלאסיקה הקולנועית "האדם השלישי". קורדה והחברה שייסד "לונדון פילמס" המשיכו ליצור סרטים מצליחים עד מותו, בשנת 1956.

חייו הפרטיים ומשפחתו קורדה היה נשוי שלוש פעמים. בראשונה לשחקנית ההונגריה מריה קורדה, מנישואים אלו נולד בנו פיטר וינסנט קורדה. השניים התגרשו בשנת 1930. בשנת 1939 נישא לכוכבת ההוליוודית מרל אוברון אך התגרש ממנה כעבור חצי שנה. בפעם השלישית נישא בשנת 1953 לאלכסנדרה בויקון, ונישואין אלו החזיקו מעמד עד מותו.

קורדה מת בלונדון בשנת 1956. האקדמיה הבריטית לאומנות הקולנוע והטלוויזיה מכבדת את זכרו בכך שהיא מעניקה מדי שנה את "פרס אלכסנדר קורדה" ל"סרט הבריטי הבולט של השנה" במסגרת חלוקת פרס באפט"א.

קישורים חיצוניים ויקישיתוף מדיה וקבצים בנושא אלכסנדר קורדה בוויקישיתוף IMDB Logo 2016.svg אלכסנדר קורדה , במסד הנתונים הקולנועיים IMDb (באנגלית) Allmovie Logo.png אלכסנדר קורדה , באתר AllMovie (באנגלית) אלכסנדר קורדה , באתר TV.com (באנגלית) אלכסנדר קורדה

באתר screenonline. אלכסנדר קורדה , באתר "Find a Grave" (באנגלית) https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%A1%D7%A0%D7%93%...

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marriage https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DYN3-98R?mode=g

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Korda

Sir Alexander Korda (16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956) was a Hungarian-born British film producer and director.[1] He worked in Hollywood the first time during the transition to "talkies", from 1926 to 1930. The change led to divorce from his first wife, a popular Hungarian actress who could not make the transition because of her strong accent in English.

From 1930, Korda became a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.

The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent Korda, Korda was born as Sándor László Kellner to a Jewish family[2] in Pusztatúrpásztó (Hungary, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok area, N 47.08333 E 20.6333 GeoNameId:716249, 4 miles from Túrkeve) in what is now Hungary (it was then a city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire), where he worked as a journalist.

Career[edit] Hungary[edit] Korda became an important film figure through his film magazines Pesti Mozi and Mozihet. This led to invitations to write film screenplays.

Korda's first film script was for Watchhouse in the Carpathians (1914). When the First World War broke out, Korda was excused from military service in the Austrian Army because of his bad eyesight.[3] Korda went to work at the Pedagogical Studio in Budapest and co-directed three films with Gyula Zilahy.[4]

Korda established a film company named Corvin Film, building it into one of the largest in Hungary. In October 1919, Korda was arrested during the White Terror that followed the overthrow of the short-lived Communist government, the Hungarian Democratic Republic. After his release, he left Hungary for Austria, and never returned to his country of birth.[5]

Vienna and Berlin[edit]

Korda's first wife was the actress Maria Corda, who starred in many of his silent films in Europe and America. During the next eleven years, Korda made films in several countries, working in Vienna, Berlin, London and Paris before moving to Hollywood in 1940. He worked closely with many artists on his films, including his Hungarian friend, painter and set designer Emile Lahner.

After leaving Hungary, Korda accepted an invitation from Count Alexander Kolowrat to work for his company Sascha-Film in the Austrian capital Vienna.[6] Korda worked alongside Kolowrat, who had attracted several leading Hungarian and German directors into his employment, on the 1920 historical epic The Prince and the Pauper. The film was a major international success and inspired Korda with the idea of making "international films" with global box office appeal.[7]

Korda's next two films, Masters of the Sea (1922) and A Vanished World (1922), were both nautical-set adventures based on Hungarian novels. By that stage, Korda had grown irritated with Kolowrat's interference with his work and left Sascha to make an independent film, Samson and Delilah (1922), set in the world of opera. The film was made on a lavish scale, with large crowd scenes. The lengthy shooting schedule lasted 160 working days. The film was not a success.[8]

Unable to find further backing for his film projects, Korda left Vienna and travelled to Germany. Korda raised funding for the melodrama The Unknown Tomorrow (1923). With backing from Germany's biggest film company, UFA, Korda returned to Vienna to make Everybody's Woman (1924). While there, he began work on his next film, the historical Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (1924), which portrayed the Mayerling Incident. It earned back around half of its production cost.[9] He followed this with Dancing Mad (1925), another melodrama.

Korda had frequent problems with money, and often had to receive support from friends and business associates. Korda had cast his wife Maria Corda as the female lead in all his German-language films and to a large degree, his productions depended on her star power. The growing tension in their marriage came to a head after they moved to the United States.

They settled in Hollywood, the film capital. Korda cast her again in A Modern Dubarry (1927), which adapted the life story of Madame Du Barry, based on an original screenplay by Lajos Biro. The film may have intended to highlight Maria Corda's star potential to Hollywood.[10] Korda made his final German film Madame Wants No Children (1926) for the American studio's Fox's Berlin-based subsidiary. Although made later, it was released before A Modern Dubarry.

Hollywood[edit] In December 1926 after receiving a joint contract offer from the American studio First National, Korda and his wife sailed for the United States on board the steamer Olympic.[11] Once they reached Hollywood, both struggled to adapt to the studio system. Korda had to wait some time before gaining his first directorial assignment. His first American film was a drama titled The Stolen Bride (1927). Korda was chosen as it was a Hungarian-themed romance about a peasant's love for a countess.[12] The film starred the American actress Billie Dove, rather than Korda's wife.

After The Stolen Bride's moderate success, Korda was brought in to work on the comedy The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927), replacing the previous director, George Fitzmaurice. The film retells the story of Helen of Troy, parodying the plot-line of historical epics of the era by transforming the classical characters into everyday people with modern problems. The film was a significant success for Korda, with his wife playing the role of Helen. After this film, however, Korda became pigeon-holed as a director of female stars and exotic foreign location. He was generally given similar assignments for the remainder of his time in Hollywood.[13] The film was his most satisfying work in the United States and provided the template for his later success in Britain.

Korda's next few films Yellow Lily (1928), Night Watch (1928), and Love and the Devil (1929) were disappointments as his career lost its momentum. The latter two were both Silent films, but had sound effects and music added to their soundtracks as part of Hollywood's transitional phase of technology following the success of the Sound film The Jazz Singer. Korda's next film The Squall (1929) was his first "talkie" and featured a Hungarian setting. Although, like many other directors, Korda had misgivings about the new technology, he quickly adapted to making sound films.

Korda's marriage was strained in Hollywood. The arrival of sound films wrecked his wife's career as her heavy accent made her unemployable by American studios for most films. Love and the Devil was the last of Korda's films she appeared in, and she made only two more films. She became increasingly resentful of the switch in their relationship as her career was now over while Korda, who had once relied on her for the production of his films, was relatively flourishing. Their marriage collapsed, and they divorced in 1930.[14]

Korda made two more sound films at First National: Her Private Life (1929) and Lilies of the Field (1930), both of which were remakes of earlier silent films. Gradually Korda grew more frustrated in Hollywood as he came to strongly dislike the studio system. He hoped to save up enough money to return to Europe and begin producing on a large scale there, but his lavish personal spending and the large amounts he lost in the Wall Street Crash prevented this. When his producer Ned Marin moved from First National to the Fox Film Corporation, Korda followed him. Korda's new contract gave him $100,000 a year.[15]

His first film for Fox, Women Everywhere (1930), cost slightly more than some of the programmers he had previously directed in the United States. He collaborated with several figures who would contribute to his future success in Britain. Korda was offered a series of scripts, all of which he disliked, before he finally agreed to make The Princess and the Plumber (1930).[16] Korda's reluctance to make the film led to his conflict with studio bosses, which brought to an end his first period in Hollywood.

Britain[edit]

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). In 1932 Korda founded London Films with Big Ben as the company logo. The company's releases included The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Rembrandt (1936), both of which starred Charles Laughton and were directed by Korda. Other successes included The Four Feathers (1939), Q Planes (1939), The Thief of Bagdad (1940). Korda's younger brothers Zoltán, a film director, and Vincent, an art director, were involved with his projects.

Korda bought property in Denham, Buckinghamshire, including Hills House, and planned to build film studios on the property. London Film's Denham Film Studios was financed by the Prudential and opened in 1936. That same year, Korda was an important contributor to the Moyne Commission, formed to protect British film production from competition, mainly from the United States. Korda said: "If American interests obtained control of British production companies they may make British pictures here but the pictures made would be just as American as those made in Hollywood. We are now on the verge of forming a British school of film making in this country."[17]

By 1939, Michael Powell had been hired as a contract director by Korda on the strength of The Edge of the World. Korda set him to work on some projects such as Burmese Silver that were subsequently cancelled.[18] Nonetheless, Powell was brought in to save a film that was being made as a vehicle for two of Korda's star players, Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson. The film was The Spy in Black, where Powell first met Emeric Pressburger.

Korda though soon had financial difficulties and management of the Denham complex was merged with Pinewood in 1939,[19] becoming part of the Rank Organisation.

The outbreak of World War II in Europe meant The Thief of Bagdad had to be completed in Hollywood, where Korda was based again for a few years. While in the United States, Korda produced and directed That Hamilton Woman (1941) and supervised Jungle Book (1942), a live action version of the Kipling story, directed by Zoltán Korda.

In 1942, Alexander Korda was knighted for his contribution to the war effort,[20] the first film director to receive the honour.[21]

He returned to Britain in 1943 as production chief of MGM-London films, with a £35 million, 10-year programme. The scheme ended after one year, one film and a £1million loss to MGM.[22]

Post-War career[edit] Via London Films, Korda bought a controlling interest in British Lion Films. It produced such films as The Third Man (1949).

In 1948 Korda received an advance payment of £375,000, the largest single payment received by a British film company, for three movies, An Ideal Husband (1947), Anna Karenina (1948) and Mine Own Executioner (1948). He released three other films, Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948), The Winslow Boy (1948) and The Fallen Idol (1948).[23] Some of these films did well but others were expensive failures. Korda was badly hurt by the trade war between the British and American film industries in the late 1940s.[24] In 1948 Korda signed a co-production deal with David O. Selznick.[22]

Korda did recover, in part due to a £3 million loan British Lion received from the National Film Finance Corporation. In 1954 he received £5 million from the City Investing Corporation of New York, enabling him to keep producing movies until his death.[22] His last film was Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Richard III (1955).

A draft screenplay of what became The Red Shoes was written by Emeric Pressburger in the 1930s for Korda and intended as a vehicle for Merle Oberon, whom he later married. The screenplay was bought by Michael Powell and Pressburger, who made it for J. Arthur Rank. During the 1950s, Korda reportedly expressed interest in producing a James Bond film based upon Ian Fleming's novel Live and Let Die, but no agreement was ever reached.[25]

Death[edit] Korda died at the age of 62 in London in 1956 of a heart attack and was cremated. His ashes are at Golders Green Crematorium in London.

Family[edit] Korda was married three times, first to the Hungarian actress María Corda in 1919. They had one son, Peter Vincent Korda, and divorced in 1930. In 1939, he married the film star Merle Oberon. They divorced six years later. He married, lastly, on 8 June 1953, Alexandra Boycun (1928–1966), who survived him.

His nephew Michael Korda, the son of his younger brother Vincent, wrote a roman à clef about Merle Oberon, published after her death. It was entitled Queenie. He also wrote a memoir about his large, extended family and filmmaker father and uncles.

Legacy and honours[edit] He was knighted for contributions to the film industry. The Alexander Korda Award for "Outstanding British Film of the Year" is given in his honour by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The 1939 novel Nobody Ordered Wolves features a mogul named Napoleon Bott, who is closely modelled on Korda. Filmography[edit] The following films were directed by Korda.

1948 Bonnie Prince Charlie 1947 An Ideal Husband 1945 Perfect Strangers 1941 That Hamilton Woman 1940 The Thief of Bagdad (uncredited) 1939 The Lion Has Wings (uncredited) 1936 The Man Who Could Work Miracles (director: some scenes – uncredited) 1936 Rembrandt 1934 The Private Life of Don Juan 1934 The Rise of Catherine the Great (uncredited) 1933 The Girl from Maxim's 1933 The Private Life of Henry VIII 1933 La dame de chez Maxim's 1932 Wedding Rehearsal 1932 The Golden Anchor 1932 Service for Ladies 1931 Längtan till havet 1931 Die Männer um Lucie 1931 Marius (as Alexandre Korda) 1931 Rive gauche 1930 Princess and the Plumber 1930 Women Everywhere 1930 Lilies of the Field 1929 Her Private Life 1929 The Squall 1929 Love and the Devil 1928 Night Watch 1928 Yellow Lily 1927 The Private Life of Helen of Troy 1927 The Stolen Bride 1927 A Modern Dubarry 1926 Madame Doesn't Want Children 1925 Dance Fever 1924 Tragödie im Hause Habsburg 1924 Jedermanns Frau 1923 Das unbekannte Morgen 1922 Samson und Delila 1922 Die Tragödie eines verschollenen Fürstensohnes 1922 Herren der Meere 1920 The Prince and the Pauper 1920 A 111-es (as Sándor Korda) 1919 Ave Caesar! (as Korda Sándor) 1919 Neither at Home or Abroad (as Korda Sándor) 1919 White Rose (as Korda Sándor) 1919 Yamata (as Korda Sándor) 1919 Man of Gold (as Korda Sándor) 1918 Mary Ann 1917 Faun (as Korda Sándor) 1917 Gólyakalifa (as Korda Sándor) 1917 Harrison és Barrison 1917 St. Peter's Umbrella 1917 Mágia (as Korda Sándor) 1916 A Dolovai nábob leánya 1916 A Kétszívü férfi (as Korda Sándor) 1916 A Nagymama (as Korda Sándor) 1916 A Nevetö Szaszkia 1916 Az egymillió fontos bankó 1916 Ciklámen 1916 Fehér éjszakák 1916 Mágnás Miska (as Korda Sándor) 1916 Vergödö szívek (uncredited) 1916 Mesék az írógépröl (as Korda Sándor) 1915 A tiszti kardbojt (as Korda Sándor) 1915 Lyon Lea (as Korda Sándor) 1915 Tutyu és Totyó (as Korda Sándor) 1914 A becsapott újságíró 1914 Örház a Kárpátokban (as Korda Sándor) Unmade projects[edit] Korda announced a number of projects which were never made, including:

the life of T. E. Lawrence with Leslie Howard[26] later to be directed by Brian Desmond Hurst. the life of Nijinsky (1930s)[27] Cyrano de Bergerac with Charles Laughton (1930s–1940s)[28] Precious Bane with Robert Donat[29] Burmese Silver with Conrad Veidt (1930s)[30] the story of Pocahontas starring Merle Oberon (1939)[31] adaptation of Manon Lescaut for Merle Oberon[32] an adaptation of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy to star Merle Oberon(1940s)[33] Velvet Coat, the life of Robert Louis Stevenson with Oberon and Robert Donat[34] an adaptation of Greenmantle by John Buchan[34] Lottie Dundass starring Vivien Leigh from the play by Enid Bagnold[35] an adaptation of The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson[35] Habitation Enforced from the story by Rudyard Kipling[35] an adaptation of The King's General by Daphne du Maurier (late 1940s)[36] The Promotion of the Admiral from the novel by C.S. Forester starring Ralph Richardson directed by Powell and Pressburger (1940s)[37] A Tale of Two Cities with Gregory Peck[22] Tess of the D'Urbevilles with Jennifer Jones as Tess Around the World in Eighty Days The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley