Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writing
Born: February 11, 1909 · Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: February 5, 1993 (aged 83)
Highest Rated
Biography
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (/ˈmæŋkəwɪts/ MANG-kə-wits; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American filmmaker. A four-time Academy Award winner, he is best known for his witty and literate dialogue and his preference for voice-over narration and narrative flashbacks. Also known as an actor's director, Mankiewicz directed several prominent actors, including Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor, to several of their memorable onscreen performances. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mankiewicz studied at Columbia University and graduated in 1928. He moved overseas to Europe, where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and translated German intertitles into English for UFA. On the advice of his screenwriter brother Herman, Mankiewicz moved back to the United States, and was hired by Paramount Pictures as a dialogue writer. He then became a screenwriter, writing for numerous films starring Jack Oakie. He next moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where he served as a producer for several films, including The Philadelphia Story (1940) and Woman of the Year (1942). Mankiewicz left MGM after a dispute with Louis B. Mayer. In 1944, Mankiewicz began working for Twentieth Century-Fox, where he produced The Keys of the Kingdom (1944). He made his directorial debut with Dragonwyck (1946) after Ernst Lubitsch had dropped out due to illness. Mankiewicz remained at Fox, directing a broad range of genre films. Consecutively, in 1950 and 1951, he won two Academy Awards each for writing and directing A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950). In 1953, Mankiewicz formed his own production company Figaro, where he independently produced, as well as wrote and directed, The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and The Quiet American (1958). In 1961, Mankiewicz took over direction from Rouben Mamoulian for Cleopatra (1963). Production was beset with numerous difficulties, including a heavily publicized extramarital affair between stars Taylor and Richard Burton. Relatively late into production, Darryl F. Zanuck reassumed control of Fox as studio president and briefly fired Mankiewicz for excessive overruns. Released in 1963, Cleopatra became the year's highest-grossing film and earned mixed reviews from critics. Mankiewicz's reputation suffered, and he did not return to direct another film until The Honey Pot (1967). Mankiewicz then directed There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) and the documentary King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1972), sharing credit with Sidney Lumet on the latter. His final film Sleuth (1972), starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier, earned Mankiewicz his fourth and final Oscar nomination as Best Director. In 1993, Mankiewicz died in Bedford, New York, at the age of 83.
Known for
All About Eve
1950
The Philadelphia Story
1940
Cleopatra
1963
Sleuth
1972
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
1947
Suddenly, Last Summer
1959
The Barefoot Contessa
1954
Guys and Dolls
1955
Fury
1936
Julius Caesar
1953
A Letter to Three Wives
1949
Woman of the Year
1942
Photos (2)
Movies (1)
Self / Appearances (17)
The Mike Douglas Show
Self · 1 eps
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · 2 eps
The Oscars
Self · 1 eps
Ciné regards
Self · 2 eps
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · 1 eps
Night of 100 Stars III
Self
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Self
Hello Actors Studio
Self
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
Self (archive footage)
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
Self
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
Self
Backstory: 'All About Eve'
Self (archive footage)
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
Self
Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano
Self
W.C. Fields: Straight Up
Self
The Screen Director
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
All About Mankiewicz
Self
Directing (22)
Cleopatra
Director
All About Eve
Director
The Barefoot Contessa
Director
Guys and Dolls
Director
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Director
Julius Caesar
Director
Suddenly, Last Summer
Director
There Was a Crooked Man...
Director
A Letter to Three Wives
Director
Sleuth
Director
Somewhere in the Night
Director
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Director
No Way Out
Director
5 Fingers
Director
Carol for Another Christmas
Director
House of Strangers
Director
Dragonwyck
Director
The Honey Pot
Director
People Will Talk
Director
The Late George Apley
Director
The Quiet American
Director
Escape
Director
Writing (52)
Cleopatra
Screenplay
All About Eve
Screenplay
The Barefoot Contessa
Writer
Guys and Dolls
Screenplay
Julius Caesar
Screenplay
The Keys of the Kingdom
Screenplay
A Letter to Three Wives
Screenplay
Somewhere in the Night
Screenplay
If I Had a Million
Story
If I Had a Million
Adaptation
If I Had a Million
Writer
Alice in Wonderland
Screenplay
Manhattan Melodrama
Screenplay
No Way Out
Writer
National Theatre Live: All About Eve
Writer
Dragonwyck
Writer
The Honey Pot
Screenplay
I Live My Life
Screenplay
People Will Talk
Writer
The Bride Wore Red
Story
The River of Romance
Screenplay
Our Daily Bread
Dialogue
A Letter to Three Wives
Original Film Writer
The Shining Hour
Screenplay
June Moon
Screenplay
June Moon
Story
Million Dollar Legs
Story
Forsaking All Others
Screenplay
The Quiet American
Writer
Only Saps Work
Screenplay
Only Saps Work
Adaptation
Emergency Call
Screenplay
Pleins feux
Original Film Writer
Night After Night
Writer
The Light of Western Stars
Writer
Paramount on Parade
Screenplay
Diplomaniacs
Writer
Diplomaniacs
Original Story
Newly Rich
Writer
Three Godfathers
Writer
This Reckless Age
Screenplay
This Reckless Age
Story
Skippy
Writer
Pleins feux
Original Film Writer
Too Much Harmony
Story
Sky Bride
Screenplay
Slightly Scarlet
Screenplay
Sooky
Writer
Sooky
Story
Finn and Hattie
Writer
The Gang Buster
Dialogue
The Social Lion
Screenplay
Producing (23)
The Philadelphia Story
Producer
Woman of the Year
Producer
The Keys of the Kingdom
Producer
There Was a Crooked Man...
Producer
Fury
Producer
A Christmas Carol
Producer
The Wild Man of Borneo
Producer
Carol for Another Christmas
Producer
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Producer
Strange Cargo
Producer
The Bride Wore Red
Producer
Reunion in France
Producer
Love on the Run
Producer
The Shining Hour
Producer
Double Wedding
Producer
The Shopworn Angel
Producer
The Quiet American
Producer
Three Comrades
Producer
Cairo
Producer
The Gorgeous Hussy
Producer
The Feminine Touch
Producer
Three Godfathers
Producer
Mannequin
Producer
