Talk:Michael Curtiz

Major sourcing effort needed
Here's just one section:


 * Curtiz is often [for example, where?][see American Cinema by Andrew Sarris] used as an example of a director who was not an auteur - that is, an artist with a recognizable style; he worked in many different genres, and did not use unusual cinematography or editing. However, admirers of his work [such as?] argue [where?] that by the 1940s, Curtiz had developed an extremely sophisticated [a bit weaselly] visual style, marked by fluid camera movement, strong compositions and textured [come again?] lighting, that is recognizable to the perceptive viewer.

-- Hoary 14:47, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

This article claims, without any sourcing, that Lili Damita was Curtiz' "second wife." I have heard his claim a number of times but never have found any evidence of it, and am convinced that it as an urban myth. The authoritative book on the life and works of Curtiz, James Robertson's The Casablanca Man, makes no mention of Damita at all, and refers to Bess Meredyth as Curtiz's second wife. The same is true of Aljean Harmetz's The Usual Suspects, which on p. 122 refers to Bess Meredyth also as Curtiz's second wife. No mention of Damita. I would suggest striking the reference to Damita in this article until some proof can be found of the marriage, which frankly I don't believe exists.

---User: quandolaluna 22:15, 03 April 2019 (Pacific Time) No evidence of a Damita marriage. Recent and what will probably be the definitive biography of Michael Curtiz, "Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film" by Alan K. Rode states on page 68, "Despite a number of modern sources averring they were married for a year or so before [Curtiz] left for Hollywood, there is no evidence that such a union occurred."

-- Arnoflynn 5:50 PST 15 September 2008 --

Also- the bit about Mission to Moscow being commissioned by FDR is completely unfounded and goes against the academic consensus. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.9.64.15 (talk) 19:59, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

Also, Bess Meredyth is listed in the info box as his third wife until his death in 1962. But the text states that she was his third wife until 1961, shortly before his death. So which is correct? American In Brazil (talk) 01:05, 22 August 2013 (UTC)
 * According to Curtiz's Associated Press obituary, the two "had been separated for a year" when he died, but were still married. I will adjust the text. SixFourThree (talk) 14:39, 23 September 2020 (UTC)SixFourThree

Regarding FDR's involvement with 'Mission To Moscow' see: Bennett, Todd, "Culture, Power, and Mission to Moscow: Film and Soviet-American Relations during World War II", The Journal of American History, Vol. 88, No. 2. (Sept. 2001), pp. 498-499. — Preceding unsigned comment added by American In Brazil (talk • contribs) 01:49, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

GA nod
This is article is way too short to be a GA - needs more detail on just about ever aspect. Mad Jack 08:39, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

I wonder if Curtiz was spoofed in Lady Killer, in the scene where a mercurial Eastern-European-sounding director (played by Luis Alberni ) insists to Margaret Lindsay that "in my pictures, everything must be real!. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eye.earth (talk • contribs) 21:42, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

"murderous bastard"
Why does this page not mention the deaths his refusal of basic safety precautions led to? About which Mohr said, ""The goddamned murderous bastard never should have permitted a thing like that to happen." ?12.53.10.226 (talk) 14:41, 29 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Go ahead, insert it. -- 92.231.46.131 (talk) 23:17, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

Leaving a sentence here, that I cut from the page
"Among (exile-) Hungarians he is, with four nominations and one win, until now the most successful in this category among people of Hungarian origin he is second to only George Cukor (five nominations and one win) just before third King Vidor (five nominations)."

This sentence is a mess, and it just doesn't seem notable enough to fix and keep. I don't see that we regularly note competing Oscar totals of foreign-born vs. native-born American directors, of a given ethnicity, on their individual pages. Thanks. Ale And Quail (talk) 13:39, 18 March 2012 (UTC)

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"Marriage" to Lili Damita

 * I agree with those above; the marriage to Lili Damita appears to be urban legend. Obituaries of Damita in papers such as Variety and The Los Angeles Times make no mention of such a marriage.  Similarly,   It is widely reported only in blogs and amateur sites, possibly drawing from this article.  David Thomson, in his review of of Alan K. Rode's biography Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film, has this to say:
 * "He married one actress, Lucy Doraine, and had a lengthy affair with another, Lili Damita, before he married Bess Meredyth..."
 * I'm going to remove mention of the marriage from both the Curtiz and Damita articles. SixFourThree (talk) 15:07, 23 September 2020 (UTC)SixFourThree