Nathan Juran
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):
- 1941: Charley's Aunt (with Richard Day ; directed by Archie Mayo )
- 1941: Schlagende Wetter (How Green Was My Valley) (with Richard Day; directed by John Ford )
- 1942: A Gentleman at Heart (with Richard Day; directed by Ray McCarey )
- 1942: The Love of Edgar Allan Poe (with Richard Day; directed by Harry Lachman )
- 1946: The Razor's Edge (The Razor's Edge) (with Richard Day, directed by Edmund Goulding )
- 1947: The Other Love ; (Director: André De Toth )
- 1947: Hunt for Millions (Body and Soul) ; (Director: Robert Rossen )
- 1948: Until the Last Hour (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands) (with Bernard Herzbrun ; Director: Norman Foster )
- 1949: Tulsa (Director: Stuart Heisler )
- 1949: Love even without a patent (Free for All) (with Bernard Herzbrun; director: Charles Barton )
- 1950: Deported ( with Bernard Herzbrun; Director: Robert Siodmak )
- 1950: Mein Freund Harvey (Harvey) (with Bernard Herzbrun; director: Henry Koster )
- 1951: Victory over the darkness ( Bright Victory) (with Bernard Herzbrun, directed by Mark Robson )
- 1951: Sister Maria Bonaventura (Thunder on the Hill) (with Bernard Herzbrun; director: Douglas Sirk )
- 1952: Bend of the river (Bend of the River) (directed by Anthony Mann )
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
- 1942: Oscar for best production design (black and white film) in Schlagende Wetter
- 1947: Oscar nomination for the best production design (black and white film) in On a Knife's Edge
- 1999: Life Career Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films
literature
- Rudolf Ulrich: Austrians in Hollywood. Filmarchiv Austria publishing house, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-901932-29-1 , pp. 207-209
Web links
- Nathan Juran in the Internet Movie Database (English)
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 |