Alexander Korda
Encyclopedia
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British
producer
and film director
. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films
and the owner of British Lion Films
, a film distributing company.
and Vincent Korda
, Korda was born as Sándor László Kellner to a Jewish family in Pusztatúrpásztó
in what is now Hungary
(it was then a city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire), 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 had made 16 further films in the U.S. The last of these, Service for Ladies, was made in 1931 and released in 1932 after Korda had settled to London. In 1936 he took out British citizenship.
In 1932 Korda founded London Films
with Big Ben as the company logo. The company's releases 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
and were directed by Korda. Other successes included The Four Feathers
(1939), Q Planes
(1939), The Thief of Bagdad
(1940). Korda's brothers Vincent, an art director, and Zoltan, a film director, were involved with his projects.
Korda bought property in Denham, Buckinghamshire
, including Hills House
, and planned to build film studios on the property. London Film's Denham Film Studios
was financed by the Prudential
and opened in 1936. Korda though soon had financial difficulties and management of the Denham complex was merged with Pinewood
in 1939 becoming part of the Rank Organisation
.
Wartime in Europe meant The Thief of Bagdad had to be completed in Hollywood where Korda was again based for a few years. While in the United States, Korda produced and directed That Hamilton Woman
(1941) and supervised Jungle Book
(1942), a live action version of the Kipling
story directed by Zoltan Korda.
Returning to the UK, Korda, via London Films, bought a controlling interest in British Lion Films
which was involved in such productions as The Third Man
(1949). The last film with Korda's involvement was Laurence Olivier
's adaptation of Richard III
(1955). A draft screenplay of what became The Red Shoes was written by Emeric Pressburger
in the 1930s for Korda and intended as a vehicle for his future wife Merle Oberon
. The screenplay was bought by Michael Powell
and Pressburger who made it for J. Arthur Rank
.
In 1942, Alexander Korda was knighted
for his contribution to the war effort, the first film director to receive the honour. He died at the age of 62 in London
of a heart attack and was cremated. His ashes are at Golders Green Crematorium
in London.
in 1919. They had one son, Peter Vincent Korda, and divorced in 1930. In 1939, he married film star Merle Oberon
, but the marriage ended in divorce six years later. He married, lastly, on 8 June 1953, Alexandra Boycun, who survived him.
Michael Korda
, the author of a roman à clef
about Merle Oberon
published after her death entitled Queenie
, is Alexander Korda's nephew via his younger brother Vincent.
. The 1939 novel Nobody Ordered Wolves
features a mogal named Napoleon Bott who is closely modelled on Korda.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films
London Films
London Films is a British film production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda originally based at London Film Studios in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. The company's productions included The Private Life of Henry VIII , Things to Come , Rembrandt , The Four Feathers , The Thief of Bagdad ...
and the owner of British Lion Films
British Lion Films
British Lion Films Corporation is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Until 1976 they were also film distributors as British Lion Films Ltd, with a distributor filmography of 232 films. As a production company they are still active and have produced...
, a film distributing company.
Life and career
The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán KordaZoltán Korda
Zoltan Korda was a Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, director and producer.Born Zoltán Kellner, Kellner Zoltán in Hungarian name order, of Jewish heritage in Pusztatúrpásztó, Túrkeve in Hungary , he was the middle brother of filmmakers Alexander and Vincent Korda.Zoltan Korda went to...
and Vincent Korda
Vincent Korda
Vincent Korda was a Hungarian-born art director, later settling in Britain. Born in Túrkeve in the then Austro-Hungarian Empire, he was the younger brother of Alexander and Zoltán Korda. He was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning once.He died in London, England...
, Korda was born as Sándor László Kellner to a Jewish family in Pusztatúrpásztó
Túrkeve
Túrkeve is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 10,181 people ....
in what is now Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
(it was then a city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire), where he worked as a journalist (supporting the Hungarian Soviet Republic
Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
) before going into films as a producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He also worked in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Hollywood, becoming director of United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. He worked closely with many artists on his films, including his Hungarian friend, painter and set designer Emile Lahner
Emile Lahner
Emile Lahner was an Hungarian born painter who moved to Paris in 1924 and became part of the School of Paris, a group of international artists working in Paris between 1900 and 1940....
.
The first film Korda made in the United States, in 1927, was titled The Stolen Bride. By 1932 he had made 16 further films in the U.S. The last of these, Service for Ladies, was made in 1931 and released in 1932 after Korda had settled to London. In 1936 he took out British citizenship.
In 1932 Korda founded London Films
London Films
London Films is a British film production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda originally based at London Film Studios in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. The company's productions included The Private Life of Henry VIII , Things to Come , Rembrandt , The Four Feathers , The Thief of Bagdad ...
with Big Ben as the company logo. The company's releases included The Private Life of Henry VIII
The Private Life of Henry VIII
The Private Life of Henry VIII is a 1933 film about Henry VIII, King of England. It was written by Lajos Biró and Arthur Wimperis, and directed by Sir Alexander Korda.Charles Laughton won the 1933 Academy Award as Best Actor for his performance as Henry...
(1933), nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, and Rembrandt (1936), both of which starred Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
and were directed by Korda. Other successes included The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers (1939 film)
The Four Feathers is a 1939 adventure film directed by Zoltan Korda, starring John Clements, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez, C. Aubrey Smith. Set in the 1890s during the reign of Queen Victoria, it tells the story of a man accused of cowardice. It is one of a number of adaptations of the 1902 novel...
(1939), Q Planes
Q Planes
Q Planes, released in the United States by Columbia Pictures as Clouds Over Europe, is a 1939 British spy film directed by Tim Whelan and Arthur B. Woods, starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. It was produced by Irving Asher with Alexander Korda as executive producer...
(1939), The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British fantasy film produced by Alexander Korda, and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, and Tim Whelan, with contributions by Korda's brothers Vincent and Zoltán, and William Cameron Menzies...
(1940). Korda's brothers Vincent, an art director, and Zoltan, a film director, were involved with his projects.
Korda bought property in Denham, Buckinghamshire
Denham, Buckinghamshire
Denham is a village and civil parish in the South Buckinghamshire district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is north west of Uxbridge and north of junction 1 of the M40 motorway. Denham contains the Buckinghamshire Golf Club.-Origin:...
, including Hills House
Hills House, Denham
Hills House is a 17th Century Tudor residence located on the Village Road in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, it was the home of Merle Oberon and her husband Sir Alexander Korda. In 1975 the house was purchased by Sir John and Lady Mills.-Description:The house is...
, and planned to build film studios on the property. London Film's Denham Film Studios
Denham Film Studios
Denham Film Studios were a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952.The studios were founded by Alexander Korda, on a 165 acre site near the village of Denham, Buckinghamshire. At the time it was the largest facility of its kind in the UK, but it was merged with Rank's Pinewood...
was financed by the Prudential
Prudential plc
Prudential plc is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.Prudential's largest division is Prudential Corporation Asia, which has over 15 million customers across 13 Asian markets and is a top-three provider of life insurance in mainland China, Hong...
and opened in 1936. Korda though soon had financial difficulties and management of the Denham complex was merged with Pinewood
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
in 1939 becoming part of the Rank Organisation
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
.
Wartime in Europe meant The Thief of Bagdad had to be completed in Hollywood where Korda was again based for a few years. While in the United States, Korda produced and directed That Hamilton Woman
That Hamilton Woman
That Hamilton Woman, originally titled Lady Hamilton, is a 1941 black-and-white British historical film drama which takes place during the Napoleonic wars, produced and directed by Alexander Korda for Alexander Korda Films.-Production:...
(1941) and supervised Jungle Book
Jungle Book (1942 film)
Jungle Book is a 1942 American color action-adventure film based on the Rudyard Kipling book, The Jungle Book. The film was directed by Zoltán Korda based on a screenplay adaptation by Laurence Stallings. The cinematography was by Lee Garmes and W. Howard Greene and music by Miklós Rózsa...
(1942), a live action version of the Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
story directed by Zoltan Korda.
Returning to the UK, Korda, via London Films, bought a controlling interest in British Lion Films
British Lion Films
British Lion Films Corporation is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Until 1976 they were also film distributors as British Lion Films Ltd, with a distributor filmography of 232 films. As a production company they are still active and have produced...
which was involved in such productions as The Third Man
The Third Man
The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Many critics rank it as a masterpiece, particularly remembered for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and unique musical score...
(1949). The last film with Korda's involvement was Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's adaptation of Richard III
Richard III (1955 film)
Richard III is a 1955 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's historical play of the same name, also incorporating elements from his Henry VI, Part 3. It was directed and produced by Sir Laurence Olivier, who also played the lead role. The cast includes many noted Shakespearean actors,...
(1955). A draft screenplay of what became The Red Shoes was written by Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a multiple-award-winning partnership known as The Archers and produced a series of classic British films, notably 49th Parallel , The...
in the 1930s for Korda and intended as a vehicle for his future wife Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon was an Indian-born British actress best known for her screen performances in The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Cowboy and the Lady . She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII . She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel...
. The screenplay was bought by Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
and Pressburger who made it for J. Arthur Rank
J. Arthur Rank
Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank was a British industrialist and film producer, and founder of the Rank Organisation, now known as The Rank Group Plc.- Family business :...
.
In 1942, Alexander Korda was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for his contribution to the war effort, the first film director to receive the honour. He died at the age of 62 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
of a heart attack and was cremated. His ashes are at Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
in London.
Family
Korda was married three times, first to Hungarian actress María CordaMaría Corda
María Corda was a Hungarian actress and a star of the silent film era in Germany and Austria....
in 1919. They had one son, Peter Vincent Korda, and divorced in 1930. In 1939, he married film star Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon was an Indian-born British actress best known for her screen performances in The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Cowboy and the Lady . She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII . She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel...
, but the marriage ended in divorce six years later. He married, lastly, on 8 June 1953, Alexandra Boycun, who survived him.
Michael Korda
Michael Korda
Michael Korda is a writer and novelist who was editor-in-Chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City.-Early Years:...
, the author of a roman à clef
Roman à clef
Roman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
about Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon was an Indian-born British actress best known for her screen performances in The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Cowboy and the Lady . She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII . She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel...
published after her death entitled Queenie
Queenie (miniseries)
-Background:In April 1985 Korda published Queenie, a roman à clef about his aunt, actress Merle Oberon, who had married his uncle Alexander Korda. Queenie Kelley is an extremely beautiful girl of Indian and Irish descent, fair enough to pass for white...
, is Alexander Korda's nephew via his younger brother Vincent.
1936 Film Commission
Korda was also an important contributor to the 1936 Moyne Commission formed to protect British film production from competition, mainly from the United States. Korda said: "If American interests obtained control of British production companies they may make British pictures here but the pictures made would be just as American as those made in Hollywood. We are now on the verge of forming a British school of film making in this country."Legacy
The Alexander Korda Award for "Outstanding British Film of the Year" is given in his honor by the British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
. The 1939 novel Nobody Ordered Wolves
Nobody Ordered Wolves
Nobody Ordered Wolves is a 1939 comic novel by the British-born writer and film director Jeffrey Dell. The book is a satire on the British film industry. It focuses on the fictional company Paradox Film Productions headed by the mogul Napoleon Bott who is modelled on the real-life Alexander Korda...
features a mogal named Napoleon Bott who is closely modelled on Korda.