Litvak, (Michael) Anatole
LITVAK, (Michael) ANATOLE
LITVAK, (Michael) ANATOLE (1902–1974), U.S. film producer and director. Born in Kiev, Litvak attended a Russian dramatic school until the age of 16, and then worked in Soviet film studios. After leaving the U.S.S.R. in 1924, he directed films in Europe and the United States in French, German, and English. His European films included Dolly macht Karriere (1930), L'Equipage (1935), and Mayerling (1936), a film that earned him international renown. In 1936 he was invited to work in Hollywood, where he began to make films for rko and Warner Brothers. When the United States entered World War ii, Litvak joined the U.S. Army, worked with director Frank Capra on the "Why We Fight" series, and was put in charge of the combat photography during the Normandy invasion.
Litvak's major American films, many of which he also produced, are The Woman I Love (1937), Tovarich (1937), The Sisters (1938), Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), All This, and Heaven Too (1940), Blues in the Night (1941), The Snake Pit (Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Best Director, 1949), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), Decision before Dawn (Oscar nomination for Best Picture, 1951), Act of Love (1954), The Deep Blue Sea (1955), Anastasia (1956), The Journey (1958), Goodbye Again (1961), Five Miles to Midnight (1962), The Night of the Generals (1967), and The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (1970).
[Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)]