John Brahm
John Brahm | |
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| Born | Hans Brahm August 17, 1893 Hamburg,German Empire |
| Died | October 12, 1982(aged 89) Malibu, California,U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film director,television director |
John Brahm(August 17, 1893 – October 12, 1982) was a German film and television director.[1]His films includeThe Undying Monster(1942),The Lodger(1944),Hangover Square(1945),The Locket(1946),The Brasher Doubloon(1947), and the3Dhorror film,The Mad Magician(1954).
Early life
[edit]Brahm was born Hans Brahm inHamburg,the son of actor Ludwig Brahm and his wife. His family was involved in theater; his paternal uncle was the theatrical impresarioOtto Brahm.[2]
Career
[edit]Brahm started his career in the theatre as an actor. After serving as aninfantrymanin theImperial German Armyon both theWesternandRussian FrontsduringWorld War I,[3]he traveled and worked among the cities ofVienna,Berlin andParis,which had the most artistic cultures of the time. He eventually became a director, and was appointed as resident director for acting troupes at theDeutsches Theaterand theLessing Theater,both inBerlin.[2]
With the rise ofAdolf Hitlerand the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1930s, Brahm left the country, first moving to England. After working as a movie production supervisor, he got a chance to direct his first film,Broken Blossoms,in 1936. It was a remake of the American directorD.W. Griffith's 1919film by the same name.
In 1937, Brahm moved to the US, where he began his Hollywood career atColumbia Pictures.He joined an increasing number of European emigres working in the American film studios in this period. Eventually, he moved to20th Century-Fox.He directed the ill-fatedLet Us Live,the true story of two menwrongly convictedof murder who were almost executed by theCommonwealth of Massachusetts.State authorities were embarrassed by this fiasco and put pressure on the studio to cancel the film. The studio completed the film, but kept it to a small budget.[citation needed]
In his book,The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968,American film historian and criticAndrew Sarrisstates that Brahm "hit his stride" in the 1940s with "mood-drenched melodramas." He suggested that Brahm's work declined after this period. Sarris said that Brahm did not lack work, as he made "approximately 150 TV films"[4]during the 1950s and 1960s. Among these, he also directed numerous episodes ofAlfred Hitchcock PresentsandThe Twilight Zone.Brahm's last full-length film wasHot Rods to Hell.[5]
Personal life
[edit]He married an actress named Hanna, who ran off with another actor, leaving him seriously depressed. His second marriage was to actressDolly Haas.They divorced after coming to the United States, when their careers moved in different directions.[2]She appeared in New York theatre and in 1943 she married again, toAl Hirschfeld,the caricaturist forThe New York Times.
In the 1950s, Brahm married his third wife, Anna. They had two children together. Their grandchildren include Christopher Maltauro, who became a movie producer and assistant director.[citation needed]
Selected filmography
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References
[edit]- ^Profile,The New York Times;accessed October 31, 2014.
- ^abcJohn BrahmatAllMovie
- ^The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima(1952) and John BrahmUCLA LibraryFilm & Television Archive.Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^Sarris, Andrew (1968).The American cinema; directors and directions, 1929–1968.New York:Da Capo Press.p.253.ISBN978-0-306-80728-2.
- ^Mank, Gregory William (2001).Hollywood Cauldron: Thirteen Horror Films From the Genre's Golden Age.Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co Inc Pub. p. 350.ISBN978-0-7864-1112-2.
External links
[edit]- John BrahmatIMDb
- Tribute site,sumishta.com; accessed A tribute to John Brahm created by his daughter Sumishta Brahm; accessed October 31, 2014.
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