Josef von Sternberg

Infobox actor
name = Josef von Sternberg


imagesize = 220px
birthname = Jonas Sternberg
birthdate = birth date|1894|5|29
birthplace = Vienna, Austria-Hungary
deathdate = death date and age|1969|12|22|1894|5|29
deathplace = Hollywood, California
spouse = Riza Royce (1926-1930)
Jean Avette McBride (1945-1947)
Meri Otis Wilner (1948-1969)

Josef von Sternberg aka Jonas Sternberg (29 May 1894, Vienna, Austria – 22 December 1969, Los Angeles, California) was an Austrian-American film director. He is one of the earliest examples of auteur filmmakers, and performed many other duties on his films besides directing, including cinematographer, writer, and editor. Sternberg's style has had a vast influence on later directors, particularly during the "film noir" movement. His mastery of mise-en-scene, lighting and soft lense is unrivaled, and his collaboration with sultry actress Marlene Dietrich is internationally celebrated.

Life and Work

Josef von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg (the false aristocratic title 'von' was later added by a Hollywood studio head to make the name sound more distinctive) to a Jewish family in Vienna but spent much of his childhood in New York City where his father, a former soldier in the army of Austria-Hungary, tried to make a new life for himself. Sternberg grew up in poverty and dropped out of high school. As a youth he got a job cleaning and repairing movie prints and soon found himself apprenticing in the movie industry. He made his directorial debut in 1925 with "The Salvation Hunters" (called by some the first American independent film). Charlie Chaplin was impressed by this film, and worked with Sternberg at his Hollywood Studio. Sternberg had commercial success later in the decade at Paramount Pictures with the remarkable late-period silent films "The Last Command" and "The Docks of New York", both noted for their influential cinematography. His reputation was also advanced by a series of early gangster films including "Underworld" and "Thunderbolt".

His new found prosperity made it possible for him to commission an impressive mini-mansion from the famous architect Richard Neutra. Even after its demolition Von Sternberg house remained an example of modernism in Architecture.

In 1930, Sternberg went to Germany and directed the widely acclaimed film "Der blaue Engel" ("The Blue Angel") in German and English versions simultaneously, the first German-language talkie. It was Sternberg's second film with the then-famous German actor Emil Jannings as the doomed Professor Rath. (The first was "The Last Command".)

Sternberg also cast the then-unknown Marlene Dietrich as Lola Lola, the female lead, and overnight made her an international star. Sternberg and Dietrich continued to collaborate on "Morocco", "Dishonored", "Shanghai Express", "Blonde Venus", "The Scarlet Empress", and "The Devil is a Woman".

"Macao" (1952) was one of Sternberg's last Hollywood films.

"Anatahan" (1953) is the story of a group of Japanese soldiers who refused to believe that the Second World War had ended, it was directed, photographed, narrated, and written by von Sternberg. "Anatahan" had limited release, and it was a financial failure. Also, it happened to be Sternberg's final film: even though another Hollywood picture he directed ("Jet Pilot") was released in 1957, it had actually been shot seven years earlier, when he was still under contract with producer Howard Hughes. [ [http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-10002773/reviews.php?critic=movies&sortby=default&page=1&rid=1135897 The Saga of Anatahan (1953): Joseph von Sternberg ] ]

Sternberg died from a heart attack in 1969, aged 75, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Sternberg's autobiography is titled "Fun In A Chinese Laundry". Also, over fifty production stills (from the Purviance Family collection), showing von Sternberg work from The Sea Gull (A Woman of the Sea), has been published.

Filmography

ilent films

*"The Salvation Hunters" (1925)
*"The Exquisite Sinner" (1925, lost)
*"A Woman of the Sea" (1926, also known as "The Sea Gull" or "Sea Gulls", lost)
*"Underworld" (1927)
*"The Last Command" (1928)
*"The Dragnet" (1928, lost)
*"The Docks of New York" (1928)
*"The Case of Lena Smith" (1929, lost)

ound films

*"Thunderbolt" (1929)
*"The Blue Angel" (1930)
*"Morocco" (1930)
*"Dishonored" (1931)
*"An American Tragedy" (1931)
*"Shanghai Express" (1932)
*"Blonde Venus" (1932)
*"The Scarlet Empress" (1934)
*"The Devil is a Woman" (1935)
*"Crime and Punishment" (1935)
*"The King Steps Out" (1936)
*"Sergeant Madden" (1939)
*"The Shanghai Gesture" (1941)
*"The Town" (1943, short film)
*"Macao" (1952)
*"Anatahan" (1952–8, also known as "The Saga of Anatahan")

Documentaries

*"The Fashion Side of Hollywood" (1935)

Other projects

*"The Masked Bride" (1925, directed with Christy Cabanne, uncredited)
*"It" (1927, directed with Clarence G. Badger, uncredited)
*"Children of Divorse" (1927, directed with Frank Lloyd, uncredited)
*"Street of Sin" (1928, directed with Mauritz Stiller, uncredited)
*"I, Claudius" (1937, unfinished)
*"The Great Waltz" (1938, directed with Julien Duvivier, uncredited)
*"I Take This Woman" (1940, directed with W.S. Van Dyke, uncredited)
*"Duel in the Sun" (1946, directed with King Vidor, uncredited)
*"Jet Pilot" (1957; Sternberg only directed a small portion of this film, in 1950, while still under contract to Howard Hughes)

External links

*imdb name|id=0903049|name=Josef von Sternberg
* [http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/19/sternberg.html Senses Of Cinema: Josef von Sternberg]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6032 Josef von Sternberg's Photo & Gravesite]
* [http://www.filmmuseum.at/jart/projects/fm/main.jart?rel=en&content-id=1167729091193 Josef von Sternberg. The Case of Lena Smith] Book on Josef von Sternberg's last silent movie - one of the legendary lost masterpieces of the American cinema; Published by the [http://www.filmmuseum.at/ Austrian Film Museum]

References

Persondata
NAME= Sternberg, Josef von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Film director
DATE OF BIRTH= (29 May 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH= AUT
DATE OF DEATH= 22 December 1969
PLACE OF DEATH= Los Angeles