Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1359892
46 C I N E M O N T A G E B O O K R E V I E W performance) in "Mildred Pierce." The next year, he turned out the financially successful but now justifiably forgotten musical biography "Night and Day" star- ring Cary Grant as Cole Porter. The book is primarily focused on the making of Curtiz's films — the people, processes, and problems involved. It co n ta i n s a s u p e r f l u i t y o f i n c i d e n ts, remembered and misremembered by those who knew or worked with Curtiz. As an accurate account of the Hollywood studio system at its height, it ranks with the must-read "Memo from David O. Selznick." Rode seems to have ferreted out every anecdote and detail associated with Curtiz and is unafraid to call out what may be exaggerations or misrep- resentations. The book is organized in a chronology that also places Curtiz' work and Warner Brothers within political and economic contexts beyond cinema. Curtiz was known for his devotion and loyalty to America, yet it took years for him to become a citizen. One of Curtiz' most admirable efforts was to get his extended family out of Hungary during the 1930s and then later help others there escape Communist rule. During the Blacklist years, Curtiz seems to have avoided either personal problems or pressures to "name names." Rode specu- lates that "Perhaps it simply didn't occur to anyone to question the reliability of the man who directed 'Yankee Doodle Dandy,' 'Casablanca,' and 'This is the Army,'" even though Curtiz had directed the pro-Russia film "Mission to Moscow" in 1941 as part of Roosevelt's pressure on Hollywood to support American entry into World War II. For Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havil- l a n d , s ta rd o m a r r i v e d w h e n C u r t i z directed them in "Captain Blood" (1935). The success of that picture led to a long but rather ugly working relationship between Flynn and Curtiz. According to Rode, and apparently well known to everyone at the time, Flynn hated Curtiz, and de Havilland said about appearing in "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1936), "Curtiz was a Hungarian Otto Preminger, and that's that. He was a tyrant, he was abusive, he was cruel." The films Curtiz and Flynn made together created and crystalized the star's image as a hero of swashbucklers and westerns. Since both were under contract to Warner Brothers, like everyone else at the studio they were obligated to work on assigned projects, which were supervised by pro- ducers such as Darryl Zanuck, Hal Wallis, and most impor tantly Jack Warner. Producers and studio heads exercised extraordinary levels of control during this era. Among the many memos collect- ed by Rode is one from Wallis to Curtiz re ga rd i n g " Th e C h a rge o f t h e L i g h t Brigade." "From now on, I want you to shoot the script and the story, and I want you to stop shooting through foreground pieces. I want the camera in the clear, and I want you to forget about all this crap about composition because if the story is no good you can take the composition and shove it." The studio factory system, especially at Warners, usually dictated that once shooting wrapped, the direc- tor's job was over and the project moved on to post, while he immediately started another picture. "Michael Curtiz" makes virtually no mention of editing or other post work, except to mention composers and scores. When looking at films from this era it is often unclear if and when directors were involved in editing. The Oscar nominated editor of "Casablanca," Owen Marks, spent his entire career, 1928 to 1960, under contract at Warner Broth- ers. He edited dozens of films, including several Curtiz titles, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to know if he and Curtiz ever consulted one another. Rode is unambiguous about Curtiz' re l e n t l e ss wo m a n i z i n g a n d t h e fa c t that his liaisons, sometimes carried out behind the soundstage scenery, were common knowledge in Hollywood. There were also illegitimate children, in Europe as well as America. Curtiz' longtime w i fe B e ss M e re d y t h wa s a n a c t re ss and screenwriter who had roughly 125 writing credits, mostly during the silent and early sound years. As one of three women among the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, she also had a notable presence in Hollywood. Meredyth is thought to have contributed substantially to Curtiz' films, writing and rewriting as he was shooting, although this cannot be docu- mented. Neither does the author or Rode shy away from stories of Curtiz' indiffer- ence and occasional cruelty to those he considered to be in the way of his work. He was known to abuse both animals and extras. The book contains many accounts of Curtiz' ruthlessness on set, and some of his kindnesses. Actress Glenda Farrell is quoted saying: "Michael Curtiz was very exacting. I liked him, we got along fine, but he worked people to death. We all collapsed one night on 'Wax Museum' (1933). He worked us for 23 hours. We all had hysterics and collapsed." According to "Michael Curtiz," the director was often ridiculed for his thick Hungarian accent and malapropisms, although some believe he embellished those for effect. Instructions might include, "Hire 'I liked him, we got along fine, but he worked people to death. He worked us for 23 hours. We all had hysterics and collapsed.'