{"product_id":"michael-curtiz-alan-k-rode-9780813173917","title":"Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film","description":"\u003cp\u003eAcademy Award-winning director Michael Curtiz (1886-1962)-whose best-known films include \u003ci\u003eCasablanca \u003c\/i\u003e(1942), \u003ci\u003e Yankee Doodle Dandy \u003c\/i\u003e(1942), \u003ci\u003eMildred Pierce\u003c\/i\u003e (1945) and \u003ci\u003eWhite Christmas\u003c\/i\u003e (1954)-was in many ways the anti-auteur. During his unprecedented twenty-seven year tenure at Warner Bros., he directed swashbuckling adventures, westerns, musicals, war epics, romances, historical dramas, horror films, tearjerkers, melodramas, comedies, and film noir masterpieces. The director's staggering output of 180 films surpasses that of the legendary John Ford and exceeds the combined total of films directed by George Cukor, Victor Fleming, and Howard Hawks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the first biography of this colorful, instinctual artist, Alan K. Rode illuminates the life and work of one of the film industry's most complex figures. He explores the director's little-known early life and career in his native Hungary, revealing how Curtiz shaped the earliest days of silent cinema in Europe before immigrating to the United States in 1926. In Hollywood, Curtiz earned a reputation for explosive tantrums, his difficulty with English, and disregard for the well-being of others. However, few directors elicited more memorable portrayals from their casts, and ten different actors delivered Oscar-nominated performances under his direction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition to his study of the director's remarkable legacy, Rode investigates Curtiz's dramatic personal life, discussing his enduring creative partnership with his wife, screenwriter Bess Meredyth, as well as his numerous affairs and children born of his extramarital relationships. This meticulously researched biography provides a nuanced understanding of one of the most talented filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alan K. Rode\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0813173914\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780813173917\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Kentucky\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/17\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 712\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.30w x 2.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/15\/2017 pg. 85\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2018\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alan K. Rode","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43992483365119,"sku":"9780813173917","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_49b34c37-e184-4b32-9ce5-ff617cbed514.jpg?v=1683319191","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/michael-curtiz-alan-k-rode-9780813173917","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}