André De Toth

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André De Toth , born as Hungarian Endre Antal Mihály Tóth (born May 15, 1913 in Makó , Csongrád , Hungary ; † October 27, 2002 in Burbank , California ) was an American director of Hungarian descent.

Life

The Hungarian-born André De Toth studied law at the Péter Pázmány Royal University of Budapest . During his student days, he wrote several plays that caught the attention of the playwright Ferenc Molnár . This helped De Toth to work as an actor in the theater. This created tension in his family, which had a long military tradition - his father was a cavalry officer in the Hungarian army. After a few years, de Toth switched to film. There he was not only active as an actor, but also as a screenwriter, editor and assistant director. In the end he was able to work as a director.

The outbreak of World War II forced De Toth to flee to Great Britain . There he met Alexander Korda , who gave him work. De Toth emigrated to the USA in 1942 . Again he was supported by Korda, who let him work as an assistant director on The Jungle Book (1942).

De Toth made his directorial debut in America in 1944. He became known for his tough films, primarily westerns and crime films . Like director Budd Boetticher later , he shot a series of westerns (6) with Randolph Scott .

He provided the script for the Gregory Peck film The Sniper (nomination for an Oscar for best story ). In 1953 he made the film The Cabinet of Professor Bondi with Vincent Price , which he shot in 3D as a one-eyed man . The strange fact that the director could not recognize the end product or the special effect due to his handicap did not detract from the audience's goodwill. The critics hailed the film as arguably the best 3D film ever made.

In 1987 André De Toth received the Golden Boot Award , and in 1995 his life's work was honored with the Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association .

De Toth was married seven times, including actress Veronica Lake , and was the father of 19 children. One of them is as a film editor working Nicolas De Toth . In 2002 André De Toth succumbed to an arterial disease.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1944: None Shall Escape
  • 1947: The Farm of the Haunted (Ramrod)
  • 1947: The Other Love
  • 1948: Pitfall
  • 1949: Slattery's Hurricane
  • 1950: The Sniper (The Gunfighter) - only script
  • 1951: Man in the Saddle
  • 1952: Sabotage (Carson City)
  • 1952: Counter Espionage (Springfield Rifle)
  • 1953: Thirsty Lips (Last of the Comanches)
  • 1953: Professor Bondi's cabinet (House of Wax)
  • 1953: The Stranger Wore a Gun
  • 1953: Thunder Over the Plains
  • 1954: Hunted by the police (Crime Wave)
  • 1954: This Man Knows Too Much (Riding Shotgun)
  • 1954: Tanganyika (Tanganyika)
  • 1954: Knight of the Prairie (The Bounty Hunter)
  • 1955: Between Two Fires (The Indian Fighter)
  • 1957: Teufel in Nacken (Monkey on My Back)
  • 1957: In the Last Minute (Hidden Fear)
  • 1959: Day of the wicked (Day of the Outlaw)
  • 1960: Secret files M (Man on a String)
  • 1961: King of the Buccaneers (Morgan il Pirata)
  • 1961: Mongol raids (Mongoli, I)
  • 1963: The Gold of the Caesars (Oro per i Cesari)
  • 1969: Play Dirty (Play Dirty)

production

literature

  • André De Toth: Fragments. Portraits from the inside. Foreword by Martin Scorsese . Faber and Faber, London et al. 1994, ISBN 0-571-17222-9 (autobiography).
  • André De Toth with Anthony Slide : De Toth on De Toth. Putting the drama in front of the camera. A conversation. Faber and Faber, London et al. 1996, ISBN 0-571-17730-1 .
  • John Wakeman (Ed.): World Film Directors. Volume 1: 1890-1945. The HW Wilson Company, New York NY 1987, ISBN 0-8242-0757-2 , pp. 237-241.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. 5th Annual Golden Boot Awards 1987