Ann Blyth fans may be interested to read the excellent new biography of her favorite director, Michael Curtiz, by Alan K. Rode. Two of her
films were directed by Curtiz: Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she was
nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar at the age of 17, and her last film
(pictured above with Paul Newman), The
Helen Morgan Story (1957).
Michael Curtiz – A Life in Film, published by the University Press of Kentucky (2017) is a
well-written and well-researched study on one of Hollywood’s most talented, and
yet perhaps most overlooked, directors.
Mr. Rode rectifies Curtiz’s omission among the great auteurs with a fair
and unblinking examination of the director’s foibles, even occasional cruelty,
but chronicling his impressive body of work and his unique cinematic storytelling. The book is foremost a tribute to a complex
but talented man.
The author interviewed Ann Blyth for this book, and she
supplies her memories of working with Michael Curtiz and her experiences on her
two films with him, praising his talent and reaffirming how much she enjoyed working
with him. She sensed that, “…he was
always seemed to be in my corner. I
remember that we talked about this later on in years when I worked with him
again and I wished that that had happened more often…He had a wonderful way and
would say all kinds of crazy things, but there was always a twinkle in his eye….I
was very, very fond of him.”
There is a photograph in the book of Curtiz directing Ann in
the memorable scene in Mildred Pierce
where she sings “The Oceana Roll” in the waterfront dive owned by Jack
Carson. For more on Ann’s interview, and
for an in-depth review on the life and career of this director whose hits
include Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Casablanca (1943), and White Christmas (1954) to name only a
few perennial favorites, Michael Curtiz –A Life in Film is a treat for classic film buffs who have waited a long
time for a book-length biography on this director.
