Dear fellow Flynn fans,
the definitive behind- the- scenes book has seen the light.
My dear friend Ilona Ryder, a former teacher at the Grant MacEwan Community College, has made her promise true and wrote an intimate portrait of her grandfather Michael Curtiz.
For the first time using never- before- seen documents she lifts the veil on this famous director`s family ties, trials and tribulations. Let me tell you this: he was a busy man!
Besides directing up to 175 films on both ends of the pond and speaking several languages simultanously, he constantly kept falling in love all over again. These liasions resulted in various children, who finally have a say in (t)his biography.
He managed to keep in touch with his loved ones, helped where he could during those dire times of war and never forgot his Austro- Hungarian roots.
If you like me are into cinematic anecdotes from an up close and personal view, you are in for a treat.
Mrs. Ryder interviewed many people over the period of 20 years (Lady Livvie being the most prominent of the lot) to add an angle to the film maker and family man who brought us Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Yankee Doodle Dandy.
There is some Flynn in, but as far as Lil` Damita is concerned… you have to see for yourself.
Get it here if you can: pagemasterpublishing.ca/shop/heres-looking-at-you-kids-michael-curtiz-and-his-hidden-families/…
Congrats,
— shangheinz
Gentleman Tim
June 16, 2019 at 1:16 am
Congratulations Ilona and thank you for scoop insideheinz!!
What an amazing and prolific talent and man Manó/
Mihály/Michael Kaminer/Kertész/Kurtiz/Curtiz was!!!
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BTW, Flynn sure attracted megatalents, including ones from your neck of Alps, viennaheinz – Curtiz and Korngold included. Did Hedy ever jump on board the Flynn express?
The Real Person!
June 17, 2019 at 8:11 am
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Indeed Gentlamarr Tim, this intimate family portrait of Mike Curtiz is well worth reading. Especially at times when the Hollywood of (G)old is rarely a topic in publishing any more. As far as Hedy is concerned, she would have made a terrific Mrs. Tell. But many other actresses were mentioned in passing by Errol to starr in his on- off epic. Gina Lollobrigida was the first choice, allegedly Hildegarde Neff had been considered, as well as Swe-dish delight, Ulla Jacobsson. See, what Flynn did there was big name dropping to feed the media in every European port (airport that is) to keep the sinking ship afloat. Max Reinhardt followed Curtiz to Warners and he is to credit for casting Hedy for his Theater an der Josefstadt. The couch was his desk as the story goes…
The Real Person!
June 28, 2019 at 12:18 pm
There are so many explanations out there about the meaning of „Here‘s looking at you“. I like the one best, that it was a toast amoungst fighters gazing through the glass bottoms of their mugs in order to not get whacked in the head. youtu.be/rEWaqUVac3M…