Nathan Juran

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Nathan Juran (born September 1, 1907 in Gurahumora , Bukowina , Austria-Hungary , today Romania as Nathan Hertz ; † October 23, 2002 in Palos Verdes , USA ) was an American production designer and film director of Austrian origin. In 1942 he received the Oscar for best production design in a black and white film .

Live and act

Nathan Hertz was born in 1907 to a Jewish family in the Austrian crown land of Bukovina . In 1912 his family emigrated with him to the United States , where he studied at the University of Minnesota and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston and graduated as an architect in Fontainebleau, France . He then worked as an architect in New York for five years and was given the opportunity to go to Hollywood in 1935 . There he began to work as a "draftsman" (draftsman, designer) initially for RKO Pictures and from 1939 for 20th Century Fox . In 1941 he moved to the Art Department, where he started his career as a production designer . He initially worked for two years alongside Richard Day , which was already honored in their third film, Schlagende Wetter , together with Thomas Little, with the Oscar for best production design in a black and white film. His Hollywood career was temporarily interrupted by World War II when Juran was a field photographer for the OSS . Juran returned to film in 1946, where he was again nominated together with Day, Little and Paul S. Fox for the Production Design Oscar for On a Knife's Edge - but this time without success.

In 1948 Juran moved to Universal Pictures , where he worked with Bernard Herzbrun . There he also got the opportunity to direct a film himself. With a medium budget, Juran made his debut as a director of Black Castle (1952), with Boris Karloff in the lead role. His directorial work was convincing and Juran continued his career mainly as a film director.

After a few comedies, dramas and western films, Juran took on the challenges of fantastic and science fiction films . He began a collaboration with Ray Harryhausen , known for outstanding special effects , which resulted in the popular hit The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad . Juran began directing television series in the 1960s.

Filmography

Production design (selection):

Director (selection):

  • 1952: The Black Castle
  • 1953: Muzzle flash ( Gunsmoke)
  • 1953: The Hand on the Colt (Law and Order)
  • 1954: The Las Vegas Car Trap ( Highway Dragnet)
  • 1955: The Crooked Web
  • 1957: Hellcats of the Navy
  • 1957: The Beast from Space (20 Million Miles to Earth)
  • 1957: The Eyes of Satan ( The Brain from Planet Arous ) under the pseudonym Nathan Hertz
  • 1958: Attack of the 20 Foot Woman (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman)
  • 1958: Sinbad seventh trip (The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad)
  • 1959: The hangman is waiting ( Good Day for Hanging)
  • 1961: Flight of the Lost Balloon (also screenplay)
  • 1962: The Ruler of Cornwall (Jack the Giant Killer)
  • 1963: The King's Sword ( Siege of the Saxons)
  • 1964: East of Sudan
  • 1964: First Men in the Moon (First Men on the Moon)
  • 1969: Go to Hell, Gringo (Land Raiders)
  • 1973: The Boy Who Cried Werewolf

TV series (direction, individual episodes)

  • 1955–1956: My Friend Flicka (Flicka)
  • 1956: I Tre Moschettieri (Italy)
  • 1956: Crossroads
  • 1959: Frances Langford Presents
  • 1959: World of Giants
  • 1959-1960: Men Into Space
  • 1965–1966: A Man Called Shenandoah (The Man Without a Name)
  • 1965–1966: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (The Seaview - On a secret mission)
  • 1965–1968: Lost in Space (lost between strange worlds)
  • 1965-1970: Daniel Boone
  • 1967: The Time Tunnel (Time Tunnel)
  • 1968–1970: Land of the Giants (Planet of the Giants)

Awards

literature

  • Rudolf Ulrich: Austrians in Hollywood. Filmarchiv Austria publishing house, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-901932-29-1 , pp. 207-209

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Juran, Nathan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hertz, Nathan (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American production designer and film director of Austrian origin
DATE OF BIRTH September 1, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Gurahumora , Bukowina , Austria-Hungary (now Romania)
DATE OF DEATH October 23, 2002
Place of death Palos Verdes