Kurt Neumann

Kurt Neumann (5 April 1898, Nuremberg, Germany - 21 August 1958, Los Angeles) was a Jewish Hollywood film director who specialized in science fiction movies in his later career. Neumann came to the US in the early talkie era, hired to direct German language versions of Hollywood films.

Once he mastered English and established himself as technically proficient in filmmaking, Neumann directed such low-budget programmers as "The Big Cage" (1932), "Secret of the Blue Room" (1933) with Paul Lukas and Gloria Stuart, "Hold 'Em Navy" (1936), "It Happened in New Orleans" (1936) with child star Bobby Breen, "Wide Open Faces" (1937) with Joe E. Brown, and "Ellery Queen: Master Detective" (1939).

Neumann was signed by producer Hal Roach in 1941 to direct a series of "streamliners", 45-minute features designed to fill out short double bills. Among these 4-reel comedies were "About Face" (1942), "Brooklyn Orchid" (1942), "Taxi, Mister?" (1943) and "Yanks Ahoy" (1943).

In 1945, he joined the company of producer Sol Lesser, who engaged Neumann as coproducer and principal director of the Tarzan series produced by Lesser 1945-1954. The Tarzan films were produced for RKO and starred Johnny Weissmuller and later Gordon Scott.

Neumann became known as a specialist in science fiction movies due to his producing and directing such productions as "Rocketship X-M" (1950) and "The Fly" (1958). Neumann directed other sci-fi and horror films such as "Kronos" (1957) and "She-Devil" (1957), and directed non-scifi films such as "The Ring" (1952) an independent feature co-starring Rita Moreno, "Carnival Story" (1954), "Mohawk" (1956), and "The Deerslayer" (1958)

According to the Internet Movie Database, Neumann killed himself in Los Angeles on 21 August 1958, shortly after a preview screening of "The Fly" but before the official premiere. Thus Newmann never knew what a boxoffice hit "The Fly" was. He was interred at Home of Peace Memorial Park.

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0627087/ Kurt Neumann at the Internet Movie Database]