Editing Michael Curtiz (section)

== Career in the US ==
=== 1920s ===
Curtiz arrived in the United States in the summer of 1926,<ref name=Harmetz />{{rp|63}} and began directing at Warner Bros. under the [[anglicised]] name Michael Curtiz. During what became a 28-year period at Warner Bros., he directed 86 films, including his best work.

Although he was an experienced filmmaker, now aged 38, Warners assigned him to direct a number of average-quality films to break him in, the first being ''[[The Third Degree (1926 film)|The Third Degree]]'' (1926).<ref name=TCM /> Curtiz's unique camerawork technique was used throughout, visible in dramatic camera angles, in a style which one critic assumed other directors would likely envy.<ref>''Oakland Tribune'', December 19, 1926, p. 58</ref>

{{quote box|align=left|width=25em|bgcolor = LightCyan|quote=When I first came here I was called on to direct six or seven pictures a year. I never turned down a single story. That was my schooling. I worked hard on every one of them. That is how you learn.|source=– Michael Curtiz<ref name=Journal />}}
Learning English quickly was an immediate hurdle, however, since he had no free time. When Jack Warner gave him the film to direct, Curtiz recalls, "I could not speak one word of English."<ref name=Journal />  It was a romantic story about jail life and gangsters in Chicago, a place he had never been,  about American underworld figures he had never met.<ref name=Tennessee>''The Tennessean'' (Nashville), April 12, 1962, p. 57</ref>

To gain some direct experience about the subject, Curtiz persuaded the Los Angeles sheriff to let him spend a week in jail. "When I came out, I knew what I needed for the picture."<ref name=Journal>Gunson, Victor. "Hard-to-do Films Best Training School for Directors, Declares Michael Curtiz", ''The Journal News'', New York, September 27, 1946</ref>

Curtiz firmly believed that investigating the background of every story should be done first and done thoroughly before starting a film.<ref name=Journal /> He said that whenever someone asked him how he, a foreigner, could make American films, he told them, "human beings are the same all over the world. Human emotions are international." He treated his first films in the U.S. as learning experiences:
{{blockquote|The only things that are different in different parts of the world are customs ... But those customs are easy to find out if you can read and investigate. Downtown there is a fine public library. There you can open a book and find out anything you want to know.<ref name=Journal />}}

{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|bgcolor = MistyRose|quote=Curtiz never gave second-hand treatment to an assignment once it was accepted. He went ahead and graced plot and character with fluid camera movement, exquisite lighting, and a lightning-fast pace. Even if a script was truly poor and the leading players were real amateurs, Curtiz glossed over inadequacies so well that an audience often failed to recognize a shallow substance until it was hungry for another film a half-hour later.|source=– Author William Meyer<ref name=Wakeman>Wakeman, John. ed. ''World Film Directors: 1890–1945'', H. W. Wilson Company (1987)</ref>{{rp|174}}}}

Although the language barrier made communicating with the casts and crews a hardship, he continued to invest time in preparation. Before he directed his first Western, for example, he spent three weeks reading about the histories of Texas and the lives of its important men.<ref name=Gutterman>Gutterman, Leon. "Our Film Folk", ''The Wisconsin Chronicle'', April 30, 1954, p. 6</ref> He found it necessary to continue such intensive studying of American culture and habits in preparation for most other film genres.<ref name=Gutterman /> But he was quite satisfied being in Hollywood:

{{blockquote|It is splendid to work here in this country. One has everything at hand to work with. The director does not have to worry about anything except his ideas. He can concentrate on those with no worry about his production otherwise.<ref>Kingsley, Grace. "Will Make 'Noah's Ark'", ''Los Angeles Times'', Oct. 2, 1926, p. 6</ref>}}

''[[The Third Degree (1926 film)|The Third Degree]]'' (1926), available at the [[Library of Congress]], made good use of Curtiz's experience in using moving cameras to create expressionistic scenes, such as a sequence shot from the perspective of a bullet in motion.<ref name=TCM />  The film was the first of eight Curtiz films to have [[Dolores Costello]] as its star.<ref name=TCM />

[[File:Poster - Noah's Ark (1928) 01.jpg|thumb|1928 Curtiz film]]
Warner Bros. had Curtiz direct three other mediocre stories to be sure he could take on larger projects, during which time he was able to familiarize himself with their methods and work with the technicians, including cameramen, whom he would use in subsequent productions.<ref name=Pontuso />{{rp|137}}  As biographer James C. Robertson explains, "In each case, Curtiz strove valiantly, but unsuccessfully to revitalize unconvincing scripts through spectacular camera work and strong central performances, the most noteworthy features of all those films."<ref name=Pontuso />{{rp|137}}

[[File:Michael Curtiz and Ilya Tolstoy.jpg|thumb|left|Curtiz (r) with [[Ilya Tolstoy]] in 1927]]
On a visit to Hollywood in 1927, [[Ilya Tolstoy]], [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s son, who had been a friend of Curtiz in Europe, wanted him to direct several films based on his father's novels. He chose Curtiz because he already knew the locale and its people.<ref>''Los Angeles Times'', August 4, 1927, p. 11</ref> During this period, Warner Bros. began experimenting with talking films. They assigned two part-talking pictures for Curtiz to direct: ''[[Tenderloin (film)|Tenderloin]]'' (1928) and  ''[[Noah's Ark (1928 film)|Noah's Ark]]'' (1928), both of which also starred Costello.<ref name=arkvid />

''Noah's Ark'' included two parallel stories, one recounting the biblical flood, and the other a World War I-era romance. It was the first epic film attempted by Warner Bros., and in handing production over to Curtiz, they were hoping to assure its success. The climactic flood sequence was considered "spectacular" at the time, observed historian [[Richard Schickel]],<ref name=Schickel>Schickel, Richard, and Perry, George. ''You Must Remember This: The Warner Brothers Story'', Running Press (2008)</ref>{{rp|31}} while biographer James C. Robertson said it was "one of the most spectacular incidents in film history."<ref name=Robertson />{{rp|16}} Its cast was made up of over 10,000 extras. However, the reissue of the film in 1957 cut an hour off the original time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. The story was an adaptation written by [[Bess Meredyth]], who married Curtiz a few years later.<ref>Parsons, Louella O. In Movie Studios", ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', February 9, 1927, p. 4</ref>

The critical success of these films by Curtiz contributed to Warner Bros' becoming the fastest-growing studio in Hollywood.<ref name=TCM />

=== 1930s ===
In 1930, Curtiz directed ''[[Mammy (1930 film)|Mammy]]'' (1930), [[Al Jolson]]'s fourth film after being in Hollywood's first true [[talking picture]], ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'' (1927). During the 1930s, Curtiz directed at least four films each year.

{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|bgcolor = LightCyan|quote=The most obvious aspect of Curtiz's directorial signature is his [[expressionistic]] visual style, and its most obvious feature is its unusual camera angles and carefully detailed, crowded, complex compositions, full of mirrors and reflections, smoke and fog, and physical objects, furniture, foliage, bars, and windows, that stand between the camera and the human characters and seem to surround and entrap them.|source=– Biographer Sidney Rosenzweig<ref name=Rosenzweig />{{rp|157}}}}

Although unusual projects for Warner Bros., Curtiz directed two horror films for the studio, ''[[Doctor X (film)|Doctor X]]'' (1932) and ''[[Mystery of the Wax Museum]]'' (1933), both in early [[Technicolor#Process 3|Technicolor]], with numerous atmospheric scenes filmed on the studio's back lot.<ref name=TCM />

Another breakthrough film was ''[[20,000 Years in Sing Sing]]'' (1932), starring then little-known actors [[Spencer Tracy]] and [[Bette Davis]] in one of their earliest films.<ref>{{Citation |title=20,000 Years In Sing Sing (1932)Trailer | date=November 30, 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2f9JNfq1V4 |access-date=2023-11-08 |language=en}}</ref> [[MGM]] head [[Louis B. Mayer]] saw the film and was impressed enough by Tracy's acting that he hired him on to MGM's roster of stars.<ref name=Higham>Higham, Charles. ''Merchant of Dreams'', Donald I. Fine, Inc., N.Y. (1993)</ref>{{rp|221}}

Curtiz's American career did not really take off until 1935.<ref name=Gerstner>Gerstner, David A., and Staiger, Janet. ''Authorship and Film'', Psychology Press (2003)</ref>{{rp|63}} In the early 1930s,  Warner Bros. was struggling to compete with the larger MGM, which was releasing costume dramas such as ''[[Queen Christina (film)|Queen Christina]]'' (1933) with [[Greta Garbo]], [[Treasure Island (1934 film)|''Treasure Island'']] (1934) with [[Wallace Beery]], and [[The Count of Monte Cristo (1934 film)|''The Count of Monte Cristo'']] (1934). Warner Bros. decided to take a chance and produce their own costume drama.

Until then, it was a genre in which Warners' had assumed they could never succeed, owing to its higher production budgets during the years of the [[Great Depression]]. However, in March 1935, Warners announced it would produce ''[[Captain Blood (1935 film)|Captain Blood]]'' (1935), a [[swashbuckler]] action drama based on the novel by [[Rafael Sabatini]], and directed by Curtiz.<ref name=Gerstner />{{rp|63}} It would star a then unknown extra, [[Errol Flynn]],<ref name=Tennessee /> alongside the little-known [[Olivia de Havilland]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXb1QqmrRNc ''Captain Blood'' (1935), original trailer]</ref>

[[File:Errol Flynn in The Charge of the Light Brigade trailer.JPG|thumb|Errol Flynn in ''The Charge of the Light Brigade'' (1936)]]
The film was a major success with positive critical reviews. It was nominated for the [[Academy Award]] [[Academy Award for Best Picture|for Best Picture]], and though not nominated, Curtiz received the second-highest number of votes for [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]], solely from [[write-in]] votes. It also made stars of both Flynn and de Havilland, and it elevated Curtiz to being the studio's leading director.<ref name=Gerstner />{{rp|63}}

Curtiz continued the successful genre of [[adventure film]]s starring Flynn (often with de Havilland) that included ''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]'' (1936), a depiction of the British Light Brigade during the [[Crimean War]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2sNWQfdfq0 ''Charge of the Light Brigade'' Trailer]</ref> The film, another Oscar winner, was a greater success at the box-office than ''Captain Blood''.<ref name=Gerstner />{{rp|64}} It was followed by ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' (1938, co-directed with [[William Keighley]] whom Curtiz replaced), the most profitable film that year,<ref name=Gerstner />{{rp|64}} also winning three Academy Awards and being nominated for Best Picture.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpqR6Ca-LL8 ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938) Trailer]</ref> It is in [[Rotten Tomatoes]]' list of Top 100 Movies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/ |title=Top 100 Movies Of All Time |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref>

That being their third Curtiz film together, Flynn and de Havilland continued to star in other hugely successful films under his direction, including ''[[The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex]]'' (1939), also co-starring Bette Davis.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGQJndhKsUY ''The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'' (1939) Official Trailer]</ref> Davis starred in a Curtiz film in most years during the 1930s.<ref name=Gerstner />{{rp|73}}

[[File:Edward G. Robinson and Curtiz.jpg|thumb|[[Edward G. Robinson]] (l) with Curtiz, during filming of ''Kid Galahad'' (1937)]]
Curtiz elicited some of the finest work from [[Edward G. Robinson]] in ''[[Kid Galahad (1937 film)|Kid Galahad]]'' (1937), where Robinson played a tough and sardonic, but ultimately soft-hearted, boxing manager.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCapHEQOv6s ''Kid Galahad'' (1937) – Trailer]</ref> The picture co-starred Bette Davis and [[Humphrey Bogart]].<ref name=TCM /><ref>[http://67.media.tumblr.com/0df6a0ae24f38aff4d5b6ef26cb0d357/tumblr_myydfhaq7l1rovfcgo4_1280.jpg Photo of Michael Curtiz directing fight scene in '' Kid Galahad'']</ref>

Because of Curtiz's high film productivity, Warner Bros. created a special unit for his pictures, which then allowed him to manage two film crews. One worked with him during actual filming, while the other prepared everything for the next picture.<ref>"Rush Work on Three Pictures: Special Unit is Formed For Famed Director Michael Curtiz," ''Harrisburg Telegraph'' (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), August 12, 1939, p. 9</ref>

[[John Garfield]] was among Curtiz's discoveries.
Curtiz discovered Garfield, a stage actor, by accident, when he came across a discarded screen test he gave, and thought he was very good. Garfield had assumed he failed the screen test and was already heading back to New York in disgust. Curtiz then went to Kansas City to intercept the train, where he pulled Garfield off and brought him back to Hollywood.<ref name=Tennessee /> Garfield made his debut in ''[[Four Daughters (1938 film)|Four Daughters]]'' (1938), followed by a co-starring role in its sequel, ''[[Four Wives]]'' (1939). Garfield also later co-starred in Curtiz's ''[[The Sea Wolf (1941 film)|The Sea Wolf]]'' (1941).

In ''Four Daughters'', Garfield co-starred with [[Claude Rains]], who would star in 10 Curtiz movies over his career, with six of those during the 1930s.<ref name=TCM /> Garfield and Rains "were brilliant together in this unjustly neglected Curtiz classic," says biographer Patrick J. McGrath.<ref name=McGrath>McGrath, Patrick J. ''John Garfield: The Illustrated Career in Films and on Stage'', McFarland (1993) pp. 28–29</ref> Garfield considered it his "obscure masterpiece."<ref name=McGrath /> Reviews praised his role: "Perhaps the greatest single occurrence having to do with ''Four Daughters'' on reading the critics appears to be the debut of John Garfield, a brilliant young actor recruited from the Broadway stage."<ref name=Culver>"Critics Acclaim 'Four Daughters'", ''The Culver Citizen'', October 19, 1938, p. 9</ref> Similar approval came from ''[[The New York Times]]'', which called Garfield's acting "bitterly brilliant ... one of the best pictures of anybody's career."<ref name=Culver /> Garfield and Rains co-starred the following year in Curtiz' ''[[Daughters Courageous]]'' (1939).

When [[James Cagney]] starred in Curtiz's ''[[Angels with Dirty Faces]]'' (1938), he was nominated for an Oscar for the first time.<ref name=TCM /> The [[New York Film Critics Circle]] voted him as best actor for his portrayal in the film, where he played the part of a hoodlum who redeems himself.<ref name=Gerstner />{{rp|64}}<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uja8oWFm5M ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' – Trailer]</ref> Curtiz was also again nominated, solidifying further his status as the studio's most important director.<ref name=Gerstner />{{rp|64}} Curtiz was nominated for the  1938 Oscar for Best Director for both ''[[Angels with Dirty Faces]]'' and ''[[Four Daughters (1938 film)|Four Daughters]]'' losing to [[Frank Capra]] for ''[[You Can't Take It with You (film)|You Can't Take It with You]]''. Curtiz, however, had split his votes between two films and had actually the greater number of aggregate Academy votes.<ref>https://rode, "Curtiz: A Life in Film" page 237</ref>

The following year, Curtiz directed a short subject, ''[[Sons of Liberty (film)|Sons of Liberty]]'' (1939), starring Claude Rains, in a biopic which dramatizes the Jewish contribution to America's independence.<ref name=Gerstner />{{rp|44}} Curtiz won an [[Academy Award]] in the category of [[Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film|Best Short Subject (Two-reel)]], for this film.<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/142277/Sons-of-Liberty/details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520021708/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/142277/Sons-of-Liberty/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 20, 2011 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2011 |title=New York Times: Sons of Liberty |access-date=May 16, 2008}}</ref>

Three Westerns directed by Curtiz also starring Flynn were ''[[Dodge City (film)|Dodge City]]'' (1939),<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqB3Md5H72Y ''Dodge City'' – Trailer]</ref> ''[[Santa Fe Trail (film)|Santa Fe Trail]]'' (1940) co-starring future [[US president]] [[Ronald Reagan]],<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SposGx8dZts ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940)- Official Trailer]</ref> and ''[[Virginia City (film)|Virginia City]]'' (1940).<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIcBxsHlcO0 ''Virginia City'' (1940) Official Trailer]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/search.aspx?s=|title=AFI CATALOG|work=afi.com|access-date=April 19, 2016}}</ref>

=== 1940s ===
During the 1940s Curtiz continued to release more critically acclaimed films, including ''[[The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk]]'' (1940), ''[[Dive Bomber (film)|Dive Bomber]]'' (1941), ''[[The Sea Wolf (1941 film)|The Sea Wolf]]'' (1941), ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' (1942), ''[[Yankee Doodle Dandy]]'' (1942), ''[[This Is the Army]]'' (1943), ''[[Mildred Pierce (film)|Mildred Pierce]]'' (1945), and ''[[Life with Father (film)|Life with Father]]'' (1947).

One of the biggest hits of 1940 was ''The Sea Hawk'', starring Errol Flynn in the role of an adventurer in the mold of [[Sir Francis Drake]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4gJUnSUSJE ''The Sea Hawk'', original theatrical trailer (1940)]</ref> [[Flora Robson]] played [[Queen Elizabeth I]], and Claude Rains acted as the Spanish ambassador, whose job it was to mislead the Queen, who rightly suspected the [[Spanish Armada]] was about to attempt to invade England. Some critics felt the story was equivalent to actual events then taking place in Europe, describing it as a "thinly veiled diatribe against American [[isolationism]] on [[World War II]]'s brink."<ref>''Los Angeles Times'', May 6, 1990, p. 653</ref> Film columnist Boyd Martin noticed the similarities:
{{blockquote|The parallel of the dreams of empire indulged in by King Philip of Spain and those apparently momentarily enjoyed by Hitler is so obvious that it will not escape detection even by the youngest film follower who reads his newspaper and goes to see the film ... In having been supplied with a parallel, Mr. Curtiz rides his ''Sea Hawk'' neck and neck with contemporary history.<ref>Martin, Boyd. "Modern Parallel Found in 'The Sea Hawk'", ''The Courier-Journal'' (Louisville, Kentucky), August 11, 1940, p. 24</ref>}}

[[File:SB2Us in movie Dive Bomber 1941.jpg|thumb|left|Scene from ''Dive Bomber'' (1941)]]

''Dive Bomber'' (1941)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPrW5Lq5K80 ''Dive Bomber'' (1941) Official Trailer]</ref> was released a few months before the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].

Curtiz shot every foot of ''Dive Bomber'' with Navy assistance and under strict Navy scrutiny.<ref>''Ames Daily Tribune'', (Ames, Iowa), September 20, 1941, p. 12</ref> Filming at the active naval base in San Diego required great care, especially for aerial sequences. To create realistic shots, he mounted cameras on the Navy's planes to achieve "amazing point-of-view shots," taking viewers inside the cockpit during flight. He also mounted cameras underneath the wings of planes to dramatize take-offs from the ''[[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|Enterprise]]'', an aircraft carrier launched a few years earlier.<ref name=Welky />

[[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' gave it a good review:<ref>Crowther, Bosley. [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E06E1DE1038E333A25753C3A96E9C946093D6CF "Dive Bomber (1941) Review."]  ''The New York Times'', August 30, 1941. Retrieved: September 4, 2009.</ref>
{{blockquote|The Warners have photographed this picture in some of the most magnificent technicolor yet seen ... masses of brilliantly colored planes, ranked in impressive rows about an air base or upon the huge flight decks of carriers, and roaring in silver majesty, wing to wing, through the limitless West Coast skies. Never before has an aviation film been so vivid in its images, conveyed such a sense of tangible solidity when it is showing us solid things or been so full of sunlight and clean air when the cameras are aloft. Except for a few badly matched shots, the job is well nigh perfect.}}

The film was well received by the public, becoming the sixth-most popular film that year.<ref>"Film money-makers selected by Variety: 'Sergeant York' Top Picture, Gary Cooper, Leading Star." ''The New York Times'', December 31, 1941, p. 21.</ref> No other pre-Pearl Harbor picture matched the quality of its flying scenes.<ref name=Welky /> Film columnist [[Louella Parsons]] wrote, "''Dive Bomber'' again makes us glad we are Americans protected by a Navy as competent as ours."<ref name=Welky>Welky, David. ''The Moguls and the Dictators'', Johns Hopkins Univ. Press (2008) pp. 314–316</ref>

Edward G. Robinson starred in ''The Sea Wolf'' (1941), his second film directed by Curtiz.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2o104xGRU ''The Sea Wolf'' (1941) – Official Trailer]</ref> He portrayed the rampaging, dictatorial captain of a ship in an adaptation of one of [[Jack London]]'s best known novels. Robinson said the character he portrayed "was a Nazi in everything but name," which, Robinson observed, was relevant to the state of the world at that time.<ref name=TCM /><ref name=Robinson /> John Garfield and [[Ida Lupino]] were cast as the young lovers who attempt to escape his tyranny.  Some reviews described the film as one of Curtiz's "hidden gems ... one of Curtiz's most complex works."<ref>Lyttelton, Oliver. [http://www.indiewire.com/2012/04/the-essentials-5-of-michael-curtizs-greatest-films-252657/ "The Essentials: 5 Of Michael Curtiz's Greatest Films"], ''Indiewire'', April 10, 2012</ref> Robinson was impressed by Garfield's intense personality, which he felt may have contributed to Garfield's death at age 39:
{{blockquote|John Garfield was one of the best young actors I ever encountered, but his passions about the world were so intense that I feared any day he would have a heart attack. It was not long before he did.<ref name=Robinson />}}

{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|bgcolor = LightCyan|quote=With Michael Curtiz' magnificent 1941 version of ''The Sea Wolf'' ... full justice was for once done to London's text ... with the aid of models, newly introduced fog machines, and a studio tank, the film hauntingly captured an eerie malevolent atmosphere, brooding and full of terror ... From its economic opening scenes ... to its powerful climax ... it gripped consistently. Throughout, Curtiz provided object lessons in the use of sound{{mdash}}the groaning timbers of the ship, creaking footsteps, the wind{{mdash}}and closeups.|source=– Charles Higham and Joel Greenburg,<br /> ''Hollywood in the Forties''<ref name=Beck>Beck, Robert. ''The Edward G. Robinson Encyclopedia'', McFarland (2002)</ref>{{rp|281}}}}

Curtiz directed another Air Force film, <!-- Shot mid Jul--mid Oct 1941, see AFI catalog -->''[[Captains of the Clouds]]'' (1942), about the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]. It starred James Cagney and Brenda Marshall. According to [[Hal B. Wallis]], its producer, it became Warner Bros.' most extensive and difficult production, and everything had to be relocated to Canada.<ref name=Wallis />{{rp|76}} Like ''Dive Bomber'', the vivid aerial scenes filmed in Technicolor were another feature that garnered critical attention, and the film was nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Color Cinematography.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEvtvrSf22A ''Captains of the Clouds'' (1942) – Trailer]</ref>

Shortly after ''Captains of the Clouds'' was completed, but released after his next picture, ''Casablanca'', Curtiz directed the musical biopic, <!-- shot 3 Dec 1941--10 Feb 1942, premiere 29 May 1942 (NYC), but release delayed until January 1943 (AFI catalog) -->''[[Yankee Doodle Dandy]]'' (1942), a film about singer, dancer, and composer [[George M. Cohan]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9hW0Evk2jA ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942) Official Trailer]</ref> It starred James Cagney in a role totally opposite from the one he had played four years earlier in Curtiz's ''Angels with Dirty Faces''. Where the earlier film became a career high point for Cagney's portrayals of a gangster, a role he played in many earlier films, in this film, an overtly patriotic musical, Cagney demonstrates his considerable dancing and singing talents. It was Cagney's favorite career role.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flint |first=Peter B. |date=1986-03-31 |title=James Cagney Is Dead at 86; Master of Pugnacious Grace |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/31/obituaries/james-cagney-is-dead-at-86-master-of-pugnacious-grace.html |access-date=2023-08-28 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Cagney's bravura performance earned him his only Academy Award as Best Actor. For Warner Bros., it became their biggest box-office success in the company's history up to that time, nominated for nine Academy Awards and winning four. The success of the film also became a high point in Curtiz's career, with his nomination as Best Director. The film has been added to annals of Hollywood as a cinematic classic, preserved in the United States National Film Registry at the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name=Britannica />

Curtiz directed ''Casablanca'' <!-- Shot 25 May--3 Aug 1942, premiere late Nov 1942 in NYC. -->(1942), a World War II-era romantic drama described by [[Roger Ebert]] in 1996 as one of the most popular films ever made.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-casablanca-1942|title=Casablanca|website=Roger Ebert.com|date=September 15, 1996|access-date=10 April 2022}}</ref> Its stars were Humphrey Bogart, playing an expatriate living in Morocco, and [[Ingrid Bergman]] as a woman who was trying to escape the Nazis. The supporting cast features [[Paul Henreid]], Claude Rains, [[Conrad Veidt]], [[Sydney Greenstreet]], and [[Peter Lorre]]. The picture received eight Academy Award nominations and won three, including one for Curtiz as Best Director.<ref name=TCM /> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in 2012 described ''Casablanca'' as <!-- source distinguishes between a "film" and a "movie", so the direct quote needs to be used if detail & citation retained. -->"the best movie ever made".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Cosgrove|first=Ben|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/23/the-best-movie-of-all-time-turns-70-heres-looking-at-you-casablanca/|title=The Best Movie of All Time Turns 70: Here's Looking at You, Casablanca|magazine=Time|date=November 23, 2012|access-date=April 10, 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Casablanca, Trailer Screenshot.JPG|thumb|upright 1.2|Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in ''Casablanca'' (1942)]]

Another patriotic Curtiz film was ''[[This Is the Army]]'' (1943), a musical adapted from the stage play with a score by [[Irving Berlin]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulll1BnOEYI ''This Is The Army'' (1943) – Original Trailer]</ref> As America was engaged in World War II, the film boosted the morale of soldiers and the public. Kate Smith's rendition of "[[God Bless America]]" was one of the highlights of the film's nineteen songs.
<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEJo7x9y3D4 "Kate Smith sings "God Bless America" in ''This Is the Army'' (1943)]</ref> As a result of the film's numerous popular and generic elements, such as ground and aerial combat, recruitment, training, and marching as well as comedy, romance, song, and dance, it was the most financially successful war-themed film of any kind made during [[World War II]].<ref name=Eberwein>Eberwein, Robert. ''The Hollywood War Film'', John Wiley & Sons (2010) p. 48</ref>

{{quote box|align=left|width=25em|bgcolor = MistyRose|quote=''This Is the Army'' is still the freshest, the most endearing, the most rousing musical tribute to the American fighting man that has come out of World War II ... buoyant, captivating, as American as hot dogs or the Bill of Rights ... a warmly reassuring document on the state of the nation. It is, from beginning to end, a great show.|source=– [[Bosley Crowther]], ''New York Times''<ref name=Eberwein />}}

During this period, Curtiz also directed the World War II [[propaganda film]] ''[[Mission to Moscow]]'' (1943), a film which was commissioned at the request of [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in support of the U.S. and [[British Empire|British]] [[Alliance|ally]], [[the Soviet Union]], at that time holding down 80% of all German forces as they repelled the [[Nazi invasion of Russia]]. The film was mostly well received by critics and was a success at the box office, but the film soon proved to be controversial after it stirred up strong [[anti-Communist]] attacks. Curtiz took the criticism personally and vowed never again to direct an overtly political film, a promise which he kept.<ref name=Pontuso>Pontuso, James F. ''Political Philosophy Comes to Rick's: Casablanca and American Civic Culture'', Lexington Books (2005)</ref>{{rp|148}}

[[File:Joan Crawford - 1936 - Hurrell.JPG|thumb|[[Joan Crawford]] starred in ''Mildred Pierce''.]]
''[[Mildred Pierce (film)|Mildred Pierce]]'' (1945) was based on the novel by [[James M. Cain]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoOr_OoHbv4 ''Mildred Pierce'' (1945) – Trailer]</ref> Its star, [[Joan Crawford]], gave one of the strongest performances in her career, playing a mother and successful businesswoman who sacrifices everything for her spoiled daughter, played by [[Ann Blyth]].

At the time Crawford accepted the part from Warner Bros., her 18-year career at MGM had been in decline.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2GjmtvxU3c;t=1m5s "Mick Garris on Mildred Pierce"]</ref> She had been one of Hollywood's most prominent and highest-paid stars but her films began losing money, and by the end of the 1930s, she was labeled "box office poison". Rather than remain at MGM and see newer, younger talent draw  most of the studio's attention with better roles, she left MGM and signed a contract with Warner Bros. at a reduced salary.<ref name=Hay>Hay, Peter. ''MGM: When the Lion Roars'', ''Turner Publishing'', (1991) pp. 194–198</ref>

Curtiz originally wanted [[Barbara Stanwyck]] for the role. However, Crawford, who by then had not been in a film for two years, did her best to get the part. Rare for a major star, she was even willing to audition for Curtiz. She was already aware that "Mr. Mike Curtiz hated me ... I don't want those big broad shoulders," he said. During her reading of an emotional scene as he watched, she saw him become so overwhelmed by her delivery that he cried, and he then said, "I love you, baby."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cjveAUN2pM;t=23m20s Joan Crawford "Always the Star"], 1996 documentary</ref>

To help Crawford prepare for certain court scenes, Curtiz took her downtown, where they spent time visiting jails and watching criminal trials.<ref name=Evening>"Hard-to-do Films Best Training School for Directors, Says Curtiz", ''The Evening Independent'' (Massillon, Ohio), October 1, 1946, p. 11</ref> In photographing her, he used careful [[film noir]] camera techniques, a style he learned in Europe, to bring out the features of Crawford's face, using rich black-and-white highlights.<ref>Solomons, Gabriel. ''World Film Locations: Los Angeles'', Intellect Books (2011) p. 16</ref> He was aware that Crawford guarded her screen image very carefully, and that she truly cared about quality. Crawford learned to appreciate Curtiz's genius with the camera.<ref name=Davis /> [[Eve Arden]], who was nominated as [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for the film, said "Curtiz was one of the few directors who knew what he wanted and was able to express himself exactly, even in his amusing Hungarian accent."<ref name=Davis>Davis, Ronald L. ''Zachary Scott: Hollywood's Sophisticated Cad'', Univ. Press of Mississippi (2006) p. 97</ref>

''Mildred Pierce'' was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Only Crawford won, for Best Actress, her first and only Oscar.<ref name=Hay /> The novel's author, James M. Cain, gave her a leather-bound copy of ''Mildred Pierce'', which he inscribed: "To Joan Crawford, who brought Mildred to life as I had always hoped she would be, and who has my lifelong gratitude."<ref>Hare, William. ''Early Film Noir: Greed, Lust and Murder Hollywood Style'', McFarland (2003) p. 133</ref> The film returned Crawford to the ranks of leading stars.

After the success of the film, Jack Warner gave Curtiz two new and exceptional contracts in appreciation, boosting his salary and reducing the number of films he had to direct each year to two.<ref>Schatz, Thomas. ''The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era'', Henry Holt and Company (1988) p. 422</ref>

[[File:William Powell in After the Thin Man trailer.jpg|thumb|left|William Powell starred in ''Life With Father'' (1947).]]

Curtiz directed [[William Powell]] and [[Irene Dunne]] in ''[[Life with Father (film)|Life with Father]]'' (1947), a family comedy.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrbQ0YjSFSI ''Life With Father'' (1947) – trailer]</ref> It was a big hit in the United States, and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for Powell. During Powell's career, he acted in 97 films; his third and last nomination was for this film. One review stated, "He is magnificent in the role, imbuing it with every attribute of pomp, dignity, unconscious conceit, and complete loveableness! His is one of the really great screen performances of the year ... that crowns a long screen life."<ref>Parry, Florence Fisher. "William Powell's Superb Father Day Makes Him Candidate for an Oscar", ''The Pittsburgh Press'', August 31, 1947, p. 33</ref>

In the late 1940s, Curtiz made a new agreement with Warner Bros. under which the studio and his own [[production company]] were to share the costs and profits of his subsequent films with his films to be released through Warner Bros. "I'm going to try to build my own stock company and make stars of unknowns. It is getting impossible to sign up the big stars, because they are tied up for the next two years," he said.<ref name=Courier-46>Graham, Sheilah. "Movie Stars Clamor to Work Under Director Mike Curtiz", ''The Courier-Journal'', September 29, 1946, p. 31</ref> He also said that he was less concerned with looks than personality when using an actor. "If they are good-looking, that's something extra. But I look for personality."<ref name=Courier-46 />

He soon learned that good stories were even harder to come by: "Studios will pay anything for good stories ... they will buy it up before anyone else can get it," he complained. The story for ''Life With Father'' was said to have cost the studio $300,000, and the full budget for making the film was about $3 million.<ref name=Courier-46 />
The subsequent films did poorly, however, whether as part of the changes in the film industry in this period or because Curtiz "had no skills in shaping the entirety of a picture".<ref name=Harmetz />{{rp|191}} Either way, as Curtiz himself said, "You are only appreciated so far as you carry the dough into the [[box office]]. They throw you into gutter next day".<ref name=Harmetz />{{rp|332}}

=== 1950s ===
[[File:Douglas - Bacall - Horn 1950.jpg|thumb|Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall in ''Young Man with a Horn'' (1950)]]
Curtiz's films continued to cover a wide range of genres, including biopics, comedies, and musicals. Some of the box office successes and well-received films during the 1950s included ''[[Young Man with a Horn (film)|Young Man with a Horn]]'' (1950), ''[[Jim Thorpe – All-American]]'' (1951), ''[[The Story of Will Rogers]]'' (1952), ''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'' (1954), ''[[We're No Angels (1955 film)|We're No Angels]]'' (1955), and ''[[King Creole]]'' (1958).

''Young Man with a Horn'' (<!-- Shot mid July--early Sept 1949 -->1950) starred [[Kirk Douglas]], Lauren Bacall, and [[Doris Day]], with Douglas portraying the rise and fall of a driven jazz musician, based on real-life cornet player [[Bix Beiderbecke]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXBO4nTNm8Y ''Young Man with a Horn'' 1950) – Trailer]</ref><ref name="thomas">Thomas, Tony. ''The Films of Kirk Douglas''. Citadel Press, New York, 1991, p. 64; {{ISBN|0-8065-1217-2}}.</ref> Curtiz directed an actual biopic, ''Jim Thorpe – All-American'' (<!-- late Aug--late Nov 1950 -->1951), this time starring [[Burt Lancaster]], based on the true story of a Native American athlete who won more gold medals than any other athlete at the [[1912 Summer Olympics]] in Stockholm.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEB8xllfrLs ''Jim Thorpe: All American'' (1951) – trailer]</ref> The film received plaudits as one of the most compelling of all sports movies.<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/88442 Review of Jim Thorpe – All-American], Turner Classic Movies</ref>

Curtiz followed with ''[[I'll See You in My Dreams (1951 film)|I'll See You in My Dreams]]'' (<!-- Shot late Jul--mid Sep 1951, but not released until January 1952 -->1952), with Doris Day and [[Danny Thomas]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9-blGrPsd4 ''I'll See You in My Dreams'' (1951) Official Trailer]</ref> The film is a musical biography of lyricist [[Gus Kahn]]. It was Day's fourth film directed by Curtiz, who first auditioned her and gave her a starring role in her debut film, ''[[Romance on the High Seas]]'' (1948). She was shocked at being offered a lead in her first film, and admitted to Curtiz that she was a singer without acting experience. What Curtiz liked about her after the audition was that "she was honest," he said, not afraid to tell him she was not an actress. That, and the observation "her freckles made her look like the All-American Girl," he said. Day would be the discovery he boasted about most later in his career.<ref name=Tennessee />

''[[The Story of Will Rogers]]'' (1952), also a biography, told the story of the humorist and movie star [[Will Rogers]], played by [[Will Rogers Jr.]], his son.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv86ThzhV0g ''The Story of Will Rogers'' (1952) title sequence]</ref>

The long partnership between Curtiz and Warner Bros., eventually descended into a bitter court battle in the early 1950s. After his relationship with Warner Bros. broke down, Curtiz continued to direct on a [[freelance]] basis from 1954 onwards. ''[[The Egyptian (film)|The Egyptian]]'' (1954, based on [[Mika Waltari]]'s [[The Egyptian|novel]]) for [[20th Century Fox|Fox]] starred [[Jean Simmons]], [[Victor Mature]], and [[Gene Tierney]]. He directed many films for [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]], including ''White Christmas'', ''We're No Angels'', and ''King Creole''. ''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'' (1954), Curtiz's second adaptation of an [[Irving Berlin]] musical, was a major box-office success, the highest-grossing film of 1954. It starred [[Bing Crosby]], [[Danny Kaye]], [[Rosemary Clooney]], and [[Vera-Ellen]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_lAMC10KT8 ''White Christmas'' (1954) – trailer]</ref>

Curtiz directed ''[[The Scarlet Hour]]'' (1956), which starred newcomers [[Carol Ohmart]] and [[Tom Tryon]]. It was reported that Curtiz was temperamental and disliked the script. The film was a commercial failure.<ref>Clemens, Samuel. "Carol Ohmart: The Story of Hollywood's Greatest Actress", ''Lulu Press''. December 2022</ref>

[[File:King Creole 1958 (Elvis Presley and Dolores Hart).JPG|thumb|left|Elvis in ''King Creole'']]
Another musical, ''[[King Creole]]'' (1958), starred [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Carolyn Jones]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy3juYtrhGU ''King Creole'' (1958) – Trailer]</ref> When asked to direct Presley, who was then the "king of rock and roll", Curtiz could only laugh, assuming Presley would be unable to act. After a few conversations with him, however, his opinion changed: "I began to sit up and take notice," Curtiz said, adding, "I guarantee that he'll amaze everyone. He shows formidable talent. What's more, he'll get the respect he so dearly desires."<ref name=Johnson>Johnson, Hazel. UPI, ''The Daily Notes'' (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania), April 9, 1958, p. 3</ref> During filming, Presley was always the first one on the set. When he was told what to do, regardless of how unusual or difficult, he said simply, "You're the boss, Mr. Curtiz."<ref name=Johnson />
{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|bgcolor = LightCyan|quote=No, this is a lovely boy, and he's going to be a wonderful actor.|source=– Michael Curtiz, after first meeting Elvis<ref name=Guralnick>Guralnick, Peter. ''Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley'', Back Bay Books (1995) p. 450</ref>}}

The script, the music, and the acting all came together to produce a remarkable picture, the likes of which Presley never again matched in his career.<ref>[http://movies.elvispresley.com.au/king-creole.shtml ''King Creole'': Paramount 1958], Elvispresley.com</ref> It received good reviews: ''Variety magazine'' declared that the film "Shows the young star [Presley] as a better than fair actor".<ref>{{citation | last = Victor | first = Adam |title = The Elvis Encyclopedia | page = 287}}.</ref> ''The New York Times'' also gave it a favorable review: "As for Mr. Presley, in his third screen attempt, it's a pleasure to find him up to a little more than Bourbon Street shoutin' and wigglin'. Acting is his assignment in this shrewdly upholstered showcase, and he does it, so help us, over a picket fence."<ref>{{cite news| title= Actor With Guitar|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D05E0D91E31E73BBC4C53DFB1668383649EDE|author=Howard Thompson | date=July 4, 1958|work=The New York Times| access-date= June 20, 2011}}</ref> Presley later thanked Curtiz for giving him the opportunity to show his potential as an actor; of his 33 films, Elvis considered it his favorite.

The final film that Curtiz directed was [[The Comancheros (film)|''The Comancheros'']], released six months before his death from [[cancer]] on April 10, 1962. Curtiz was ill during the shoot, but star [[John Wayne]] took over directing on the days Curtiz was too ill to work. Wayne did not want to take a co-director credit.