László Benedek

László Benedek (born March 5, 1905 in Budapest , † March 11, 1992 in New York ) was a Hungarian - American film director .

Life

Benedek initially worked as a screenwriter and editor for Hungarian and Austrian films ( Csibi, der Fratz ). The American film producer Louis B. Mayer helped the Jewish filmmaker escape from Hungary to the United States before the looming Second World War, where he arrived in 1937. Mayer brought him to Hollywood and in 1944 gave him the chance to direct a film for the first time. Benedek had his breakthrough in 1951 with the film adaptation of Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman with Fredric March in the role of Willy Loman . In 1952 he received the Golden Globe Award for this film as best director . In 1953 he caused a scandal with his youth rocker film Der Wilde , in which Marlon Brando played the leading role. The public screening of the film was even banned in Great Britain and remained so until 1968. Nonetheless, the film was its most successful at the box office.

Benedek spoke several languages ​​and also worked as a director in Germany and France . In the 1960s, he mainly shot episodes for television series.

Filmography (selection)

• 1948: The Kissing Bandit
• 1949: Drug Brigade (Port of New York)
• 1951: Death of a Salesman (Death of a Salesman)
• 1953: The Wild (The Wild One)
• 1954: Rifles for Bengali (Bengal Brigade)
• 1955: children, mothers and a general
• 1960: Malaga (Moment of Danger)
• 1966: Namu , the Killer Whale
• 1968: Daring Game
• 1971: The Night Visitor (The Night Visitor)

literature

• Kay Less : 'In life, more is taken from you than given ...'. Lexicon of filmmakers who emigrated from Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1945. A general overview. S. 92, ACABUS-Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86282-049-8

Web links

• László Benedek in the Internet Movie Database (English)