Friday, April 3, 2009

DenhamStudios The Lion Has Wings propaganda films with Churchill Denham Studios Alexander Korda

















The Lion Has wings The WWII propaganda film






His filmography demonstrates his prolific productions of film in the 20's-40's






Alexander Korda the Hungarian Jew and director/ producer of films changed the texture of the world and worked with Winston Churchill on WWII propaganda films such as The Lion Has Wings. Here is a section of the wiki bio on him:






  • he founded London films, an act of sheer grit and risk


  • became director of United Artists


  • he worked in many European cities shown below before becoming a producer


  • 1927 first US Film The Stolen Bride


  • relocated to London in 32 and a British National in 36


  • The British cultural and artistic milieu was more favorable to his temperament and he warmly supported the propaganda effort of Churchill in WWII.


  • Hi9s productions and work was financed by Prudential at Denham Studios


  • His films were lavish and striking


  • Britain was his true "home " and stomping ground rather than the US.


  • He was the first film director ever to be knighted and his credits include films European and British in temperament and mood:


  • The Four Feathers Q Planes The Thief of Baghdad The Third Man He was meant for the golden age of the 40's -The Red Shoes was meant to be a Korda Film but became a J Arthur Rank Film










Sir Alexander Korda (September 16, 1893 - January 23, 1956) was a
Hungarian-born film director and producer. He was a leading
figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner
of British Lion, a film distributing company.
The elder brother of future
filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent
Korda
, Korda was born as Sándor László Kellner to a Jewish family[1] in Pusztatúrpásztó
in Hungary (Austria-Hungary), where
he worked as a journalist (supporting the Hungarian Soviet
Republic
) before going into films as a producer. He also worked
in Vienna, Berlin, Paris and Hollywood, becoming director
of United Artists. He worked
closely with many artists on his films, including his Hungarian friend, painter
and set designer Emile Lahner.
The first
film Korda made in the United States, in 1927, was titled The Stolen Bride. By
1932 he made 16 more films in the U.S. The last one, Service for Ladies, was
made in 1931 and released in 1932 after Korda had already relocated to London.
In 1936 he became a British national.
It was in Britain, however, that he made the biggest impression, and in 1932 he founded London Films, soon to build studios at Denham, financed by Prudential, which eventually became a part of the Rank Organisation. His films were lavish and (after the advent of colour) visually striking. They 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, who was also to have appeared in the ill-fated I, Claudius (1937).



In 1942, Korda became the first film director ever to be knighted. Among his greatest successes as producer were The Four Feathers (1939), Q Planes (1939), The Thief of Bagdad (1940) and The Third Man (1949). The Red Shoes was also originally meant to be a Korda film and vehicle for his future wife Merle Oberon. It became a J. Arthur Rank film and was eventually made by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger instead, starring Moira Shearer



External links
Alexander Korda at the Internet Movie Database
Alexander Korda at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
Persondata
NAME
Korda, Alexander
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Kellner, Sándor László
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Film director
DATE OF BIRTH
September 16, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH
Pusztatúrpásztó, Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH
January 23, 1956
PLACE OF DEATH
London, England
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Korda"





No comments:

Post a Comment