Editing Michael Curtiz (section)

=== 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.