Anatole Litvak
Encyclopedia
Anatole Litvak (May 10, 1902 – December 15, 1974) was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages. He was best known as the Academy Award nominated director of the 1948 film The Snake Pit
.
, Ukraine
, Litvak grew up in a Jewish family and lived in what was then known as the Russian Empire. As a teenager, he worked at a theater in St. Petersburg
and took acting lessons at the state drama school. Litvak worked with Leningrad
's Nordkino Studios where he was assistant director for nine silent films. For political and ideological reasons, he fled Russia for Berlin, Germany in 1925.
prior to the Nazi invasions of World War II
.
According to film historian Ronald Bowers, Litvak became skilled in using location shooting and realistic documentary effects as early as the 1930s. He also became known in the industry for emphasizing sound effects over dialogue in sound films as well as using camera tracking shots and pans
. As a result of having made Paris his home after fleeing Germany, the city would later become his favored locale for shooting films; thirteen of his thirty-seven films were set in Paris, including 1936's Mayerling
. Of all the assistants who worked under Litvak in France, Max Ophuls
would later become a recognized director.
Mayerling is credited with establishing Litvak's international reputation as a director, and the film was widely praised by critics Some reviewers called it "one of the most compelling love stories the cinema has produced," and "a romantic tragedy of the highest order." American writer Lincoln Kirstein
claimed the film had become "a kind of standard for the romantic film in an historical setting." In describing Litvak's cinematography style in the film, critic Jack Edmund Nolan writes that it is "replete with the camera trackings, pans and swoops which later became the trademark of Max Ophuls."
, a 1939 film starring Edward G. Robinson
as an FBI agent who breaks up a Nazi spy ring. Among the techniques he used in the film to achieve realism was the inclusion of actual newsreel footage from U.S. Nazi rallies. In 1940, he directed City for Conquest
starring James Cagney
and supporting actor Elia Kazan
, in one of his few film roles before becoming a leading director. That same year, his film All This and Heaven Too
was nominated for an Academy Award
as Best Picture.
Litvak, having by then become an American citizen, enlisted in the United States Army
at the beginning World War II
, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He joined with fellow director Frank Capra
to make the Why We Fight
war training film series, most of which also included actual newsreel footage. Films they co-directed for the series included Prelude to War (1942), The Nazis Strike (1943), and Battle of China (1944). Capra was in charge of production and direction for all the films.
Litvak co-produced and solo directed The Battle of Russia
, Operation Titanic
(both 1943), and War Comes to America
(1945). The films were scripted by Anthony Veiller
and narrated by Walter Huston
, with music by Dimitri Tiomkin
, another Russian-born émigré to Hollywood. Prelude to War
won the Oscar for Best Documentary of 1942. Because of Litvak's ability to speak Russian
, German
, and French
, he subsequently supervised the filming of the D-Day
Normandy landings. Litvak also filmed aerial warfare with the U.S. Eighth Air Force
. For Litvak's joining the army to help him produce the film series, Capra called him one of the "Hollywood knights" who came to America's "rescue," and without whose help "no one could have made the Why We Fight films." Ending the war as a full colonel, he received special awards from the governments of Britain, the United States, and France (including the Légion d'Honneur
and the Croix de Guerre
).
(1948), starring Olivia de Havilland
. The film was also nominated for Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Musical Score. To prepare for her role as a mental hospital patient, she and Litvak spent months observing actual patients at mental hospitals. Litvak had purchased the pre-publication rights to the story which is based on a fictionalized autobiography.
In 1951, his film, Decision Before Dawn
was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture
. After the mid-1950s, Litvak began filming in Europe. Among his productions there were the Paris-filmed Anastasia
in 1956
starring Ingrid Bergman
, Yul Brynner
and Helen Hayes
. The film was Bergman's first U.S. film after a seven-year absence from Hollywood, and was based on a fictitious mystery surrounding the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Bergman won an Oscar for Best Actress for her part, and film critic Michael Barson calls it Litvak's best film of the 1950s. At the 1961 Cannes Film Festival
, Litvak's Goodbye Again
was nominated for the Palme d'Or
.
actress Miriam Hopkins
; their short-lived marriage ended in divorce in 1939. His second marriage was to costume designer Sophie Steur, who worked on some of his films. They remained married until his death.
Anatole Litvak died in 1974 in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine
.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Litvak has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
located at 6633 Hollywood Blvd.
The Snake Pit
The Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.The film was...
.
Early years
Born Mikhail Anatol Litvak in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Litvak grew up in a Jewish family and lived in what was then known as the Russian Empire. As a teenager, he worked at a theater in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and took acting lessons at the state drama school. Litvak worked with Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
's Nordkino Studios where he was assistant director for nine silent films. For political and ideological reasons, he fled Russia for Berlin, Germany in 1925.
Director in Europe
In Germany, Litvak made his first few films at the beginning of the 1930s before the rise of the Nazis. He later fled to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
prior to the Nazi invasions of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
According to film historian Ronald Bowers, Litvak became skilled in using location shooting and realistic documentary effects as early as the 1930s. He also became known in the industry for emphasizing sound effects over dialogue in sound films as well as using camera tracking shots and pans
Panning (camera)
In photography, panning refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a still or video camera, or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device...
. As a result of having made Paris his home after fleeing Germany, the city would later become his favored locale for shooting films; thirteen of his thirty-seven films were set in Paris, including 1936's Mayerling
Mayerling (1936 film)
Mayerling is a 1936 French historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Seymour Nebenzal from a screenplay by Marcel Achard, Joseph Kessel and Irma von Cube, based on the novel Idol's End by Claude Anet. The film stars Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux with Jean-Louis...
. Of all the assistants who worked under Litvak in France, Max Ophuls
Max Ophüls
Maximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...
would later become a recognized director.
Mayerling is credited with establishing Litvak's international reputation as a director, and the film was widely praised by critics Some reviewers called it "one of the most compelling love stories the cinema has produced," and "a romantic tragedy of the highest order." American writer Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Edward Kirstein was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, and cultural figure in New York City...
claimed the film had become "a kind of standard for the romantic film in an historical setting." In describing Litvak's cinematography style in the film, critic Jack Edmund Nolan writes that it is "replete with the camera trackings, pans and swoops which later became the trademark of Max Ophuls."
Hollywood and World War II
The worldwide success of Mayerling brought Litvak invitations from Hollywood, including being offered a four-year contract by Warner Brothers. Accepting the contract, Litvak became one of Hollywood's leading directors by the late 1930s. He directed such films as Tovarich, a comedy celebrating "outmoded values of the ruined Russian aristocracy." Also with Warner studios, he directed Confessions of a Nazi SpyConfessions of a Nazi Spy
Confessions of a Nazi Spy is a 1939 American spy thriller film and the first blatantly anti-Nazi film produced by a major Hollywood studio prior to World War II. The film stars Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, and a large cast of German actors, including some who had emigrated...
, a 1939 film starring Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
as an FBI agent who breaks up a Nazi spy ring. Among the techniques he used in the film to achieve realism was the inclusion of actual newsreel footage from U.S. Nazi rallies. In 1940, he directed City for Conquest
City for Conquest
City for Conquest is a 1940 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, and Arthur Kennedy. It is based on the novel of the same name by Aben Kandel.-Plot:...
starring James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
and supporting actor Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
, in one of his few film roles before becoming a leading director. That same year, his film All This and Heaven Too
All This and Heaven Too
All This, and Heaven Too is a 1940 American drama film made by Warner Bros.-First National Pictures, produced and directed by Anatole Litvak with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer. The screenplay was adapted by Casey Robinson from the novel by Rachel Field...
was nominated for an Academy Award
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...
as Best Picture.
Litvak, having by then become an American citizen, enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
at the beginning World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He joined with fellow director Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
to make the Why We Fight
Why We Fight
Why We Fight is a series of seven war information training films commissioned by the United States government during World War II whose purpose was to show American soldiers the reason for U.S. involvement in the war. Later on they were also shown to the general U.S...
war training film series, most of which also included actual newsreel footage. Films they co-directed for the series included Prelude to War (1942), The Nazis Strike (1943), and Battle of China (1944). Capra was in charge of production and direction for all the films.
Litvak co-produced and solo directed The Battle of Russia
The Battle of Russia
The Battle of Russia is the fifth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, and the longest film of the series.The film begins with an overview of previous failed attempts to conquer Russia: by the Teutonic Knights in 1242 , by Charles XII of Sweden in 1704 The Battle of Russia is...
, Operation Titanic
Operation Titanic
Operation Titanic was the codename for an operation carried out on 5-6 June 1944 by the Royal Air Force and the Special Air Service in support of the Normandy landings during the Second World War...
(both 1943), and War Comes to America
War Comes to America
War Comes to America was the seventh and final film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight World War II propaganda film series.The early part of the film is an idealized version of American history which includes mention of the first settlements, the American Revolutionary War , and the ethnic diversity of...
(1945). The films were scripted by Anthony Veiller
Anthony Veiller
Anthony Veiller was an American screenwriter and film producer. The son of the screenwriter Bayard Veiller and the English actress Margaret Wycherly, Anthony Veiller wrote for 41 films between 1934 and 1964.-Career and Awards:Veiller was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay...
and narrated by Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
, with music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Dimitri Tiomkin
Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin was a Russian-born Hollywood film score composer and conductor. He is considered "one of the giants of Hollywood movie music." Musically trained in Russia, he is best known for his westerns, "where his expansive, muscular style had its greatest impact." Tiomkin...
, another Russian-born émigré to Hollywood. Prelude to War
Prelude to War
Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra’s Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Office of War Information and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II...
won the Oscar for Best Documentary of 1942. Because of Litvak's ability to speak Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, he subsequently supervised the filming of the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
Normandy landings. Litvak also filmed aerial warfare with the U.S. Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
. For Litvak's joining the army to help him produce the film series, Capra called him one of the "Hollywood knights" who came to America's "rescue," and without whose help "no one could have made the Why We Fight films." Ending the war as a full colonel, he received special awards from the governments of Britain, the United States, and France (including the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
).
Post-war films
At the end of the war, Litvak returned to filmmaking and was nominated in 1948 for a Best Director Oscar for The Snake PitThe Snake Pit
The Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.The film was...
(1948), starring Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
. The film was also nominated for Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Musical Score. To prepare for her role as a mental hospital patient, she and Litvak spent months observing actual patients at mental hospitals. Litvak had purchased the pre-publication rights to the story which is based on a fictionalized autobiography.
In 1951, his film, Decision Before Dawn
Decision Before Dawn
Decision Before Dawn is a 1951 American war film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and Hans Christian Blech. It tells the story of the American Army using potentially unreliable German prisoners of war to gather intelligence in the closing days of World War II...
was nominated for an 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...
. After the mid-1950s, Litvak began filming in Europe. Among his productions there were the Paris-filmed Anastasia
Anastasia (1956 film)
Anastasia is a 1956 American historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak for 20th Century Fox. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, and Helen Hayes. Supporting players include Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt, and, in a small role, Natalie Schafer...
in 1956
1956 in film
The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
starring Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
and Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
. The film was Bergman's first U.S. film after a seven-year absence from Hollywood, and was based on a fictitious mystery surrounding the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Bergman won an Oscar for Best Actress for her part, and film critic Michael Barson calls it Litvak's best film of the 1950s. At the 1961 Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, Litvak's Goodbye Again
Goodbye Again (1961 film)
Goodbye Again, also known as Aimez-vous Brahms?, is a 1961 Franco-American romantic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak It was produced and from a screenplay by Samuel A. Taylor, based on the novel Aimez-Vous Brahms? by Françoise Sagan. The music score was by Georges Auric with additional music...
was nominated for the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
.
Personal life
In 1937, Litvak became the third husband of AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress Miriam Hopkins
Miriam Hopkins
Ellen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
; their short-lived marriage ended in divorce in 1939. His second marriage was to costume designer Sophie Steur, who worked on some of his films. They remained married until his death.
Anatole Litvak died in 1974 in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Litvak has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
located at 6633 Hollywood Blvd.
Filmography
- Dolly macht Karriere (1930)
- Nie wieder Liebe (1931)
- Coeur de lilas (1932)
- Sleeping CarSleeping Car (film)Sleeping Car is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Madeleine Carroll, Ivor Novello Stanley Holloway and Laddie Cliff.-Cast:* Madeleine Carroll - Anne* Ivor Novello - Gaston* Laddie Cliff - Pierre* Kay Hammond - Simone...
(1933) - L'Équipage (1935)
- MayerlingMayerling (1936 film)Mayerling is a 1936 French historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Seymour Nebenzal from a screenplay by Marcel Achard, Joseph Kessel and Irma von Cube, based on the novel Idol's End by Claude Anet. The film stars Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux with Jean-Louis...
(1936) - The Woman I LoveThe Woman I LoveThe Woman I Love is a 1937 American film about a romantic triangle involving two World War I fighter pilots and the wife of one of them. It stars Paul Muni, Miriam Hopkins, and Louis Hayward...
(1937) - TovarichTovarich (film)Tovarich is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Anatole Litvak, based on the 1935 play by Robert E. Sherwood, which in turn was based on the 1933 French play Tovaritsch by Jacques Deval. It was produced by Litvak through Warner Bros., with Robert Lord as associate producer and Hal B. Wallis...
(1937) - Confessions of a Nazi SpyConfessions of a Nazi SpyConfessions of a Nazi Spy is a 1939 American spy thriller film and the first blatantly anti-Nazi film produced by a major Hollywood studio prior to World War II. The film stars Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, and a large cast of German actors, including some who had emigrated...
(1939) - The SistersThe Sisters (1938 film)The Sisters is a 1938 American drama film produced and directed by Anatole Litvak. The screenplay by Milton Krims is based on the 1937 novel of the same title by Myron Brinig.-Plot:...
(1938) - The Amazing Dr. ClitterhouseThe Amazing Dr. ClitterhouseThe Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse is a 1938 American crime film starring Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor and Humphrey Bogart. It was directed by Anatole Litvak for Warner Bros. and written by John Wexley and John Huston, based on the first play written by short-story writer Barré Lyndon, which ran for...
(1938) - Castle on the HudsonCastle on the HudsonCastle on the Hudson is a 1940 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring John Garfield, Ann Sheridan, and Pat O'Brien. A thief gets sent to Sing Sing Prison, where he is befriended by the reform-minded warden. The film was based on the book Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing,...
(1940) - City for ConquestCity for ConquestCity for Conquest is a 1940 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, and Arthur Kennedy. It is based on the novel of the same name by Aben Kandel.-Plot:...
(1940) - All This and Heaven TooAll This and Heaven TooAll This, and Heaven Too is a 1940 American drama film made by Warner Bros.-First National Pictures, produced and directed by Anatole Litvak with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer. The screenplay was adapted by Casey Robinson from the novel by Rachel Field...
(1940) - Out of the FogOut of the Fog (film)Out of the Fog is a 1941 film noir directed by Anatole Litvak, starring John Garfield, Ida Lupino and Thomas Mitchell. A gangster falls in love with the daughter of one of the fisherman from whom he extorts "protection" money...
(1941)
- Blues in the NightBlues in the Night (1941 film)Blues in the Night is a 1941 American musical drama film released by Warner Brothers, directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Priscilla Lane, Richard Whorf, Betty Field, Lloyd Nolan, Elia Kazan, and Jack Carson...
(1941) - This Above AllThis Above AllThis Above All is a 1942 American romance film set in World War II adapted from the Eric Knight novel of the same name and directed by Anatole Litvak...
(1942) - The Long NightThe Long Night (1947 film)The Long Night is a 1947 film noir directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by RKO. It is a remake of Le Jour se lève by Marcel Carné. The drama features Henry Fonda, Barbara Bel Geddes, Vincent Price, Ann Dvorak, and others.-Plot:...
(1947) - Sorry, Wrong NumberSorry, Wrong NumberSorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 American suspense film noir directed by Anatole Litvak. It tells the story of a woman who overhears a plot for murder. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, Leif Erickson and William Conrad.The film was adapted by Lucille...
(1948) - The Snake PitThe Snake PitThe Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.The film was...
(1948) - Decision Before DawnDecision Before DawnDecision Before Dawn is a 1951 American war film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and Hans Christian Blech. It tells the story of the American Army using potentially unreliable German prisoners of war to gather intelligence in the closing days of World War II...
(1951) - Act of LoveAct of Love (1953 film)Act of Love is a 1953 romantic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Kirk Douglas and Dany Robin. It is based on the novel The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes. A Parisian falls in love with an American soldier near the end of World War II.-Plot:Robert Teller visits a seaport in...
, aka Un acte d'amour (1953) - The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
- AnastasiaAnastasia (1956 film)Anastasia is a 1956 American historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak for 20th Century Fox. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, and Helen Hayes. Supporting players include Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt, and, in a small role, Natalie Schafer...
(1956) - Mayerling (1957)
- The JourneyThe Journey (1959 film)The Journey is a 1959 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. A group of Westerners tries to flee Hungary after the Soviet Union moves to crush the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. It stars Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Jason Robards. Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner were paired again since they...
(1959) - Goodbye AgainGoodbye Again (1961 film)Goodbye Again, also known as Aimez-vous Brahms?, is a 1961 Franco-American romantic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak It was produced and from a screenplay by Samuel A. Taylor, based on the novel Aimez-Vous Brahms? by Françoise Sagan. The music score was by Georges Auric with additional music...
(1961) - Five Miles to MidnightFive Miles to MidnightFive Miles to Midnight is a 1962 French-Italian-American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak...
(1962) - The Night of the GeneralsThe Night of the GeneralsThe Night of the Generals is a 1967 suspense thriller film directed by Anatole Litvak. Set during World War II, the story was adapted from the novel of the same name by Hans Hellmut Kirst. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret.The...
(1967) - The Lady in the Car With Glasses and a Gun (1970)