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Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writing

Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Known For
Writing
Birthday
1909-02-11,Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
Gender
Male
Biography
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (/ˈmæŋkəwɪts/ MANG-kə-wits; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American filmmaker. A four-time Academy Award winner, he is best known for his witty and literate dialogue and his preference for voice-over narration and narrative flashbacks. Also known as an actor's director, Mankiewicz directed several prominent actors, including Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor, to several of their memorable onscreen performances. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mankiewicz studied at Columbia University and graduated in 1928. He moved overseas to Europe, where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and translated German intertitles into English for UFA. On the advice of his screenwriter brother Herman, Mankiewicz moved back to the United States, and was hired by Paramount Pictures as a dialogue writer. He then became a screenwriter, writing for numerous films starring Jack Oakie. He next moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where he served as a producer for several films, including The Philadelphia Story (1940) and Woman of the Year (1942). Mankiewicz left MGM after a dispute with Louis B. Mayer. In 1944, Mankiewicz began working for Twentieth Century-Fox, where he produced The Keys of the Kingdom (1944). He made his directorial debut with Dragonwyck (1946) after Ernst Lubitsch had dropped out due to illness. Mankiewicz remained at Fox, directing a broad range of genre films. Consecutively, in 1950 and 1951, he won two Academy Awards each for writing and directing A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950). In 1953, Mankiewicz formed his own production company Figaro, where he independently produced, as well as wrote and directed, The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and The Quiet American (1958). In 1961, Mankiewicz took over direction from Rouben Mamoulian for Cleopatra (1963). Production was beset with numerous difficulties, including a heavily publicized extramarital affair between stars Taylor and Richard Burton. Relatively late into production, Darryl F. Zanuck reassumed control of Fox as studio president and briefly fired Mankiewicz for excessive overruns. Released in 1963, Cleopatra became the year's highest-grossing film and earned mixed reviews from critics. Mankiewicz's reputation suffered, and he did not return to direct another film until The Honey Pot (1967). Mankiewicz then directed There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) and the documentary King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1972), sharing credit with Sidney Lumet on the latter. His final film Sleuth (1972), starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier, earned Mankiewicz his fourth and final Oscar nomination as Best Director. In 1993, Mankiewicz died in Bedford, New York, at the age of 83.

Filmography

W.C. Fields: Straight Up

9

W.C. Fields: Straight Up
1986-01-02

Backstory: 'All About Eve'

9

Backstory: 'All About Eve'
2000-09-09

5.3

Woman Trap
1929-09-28

Hello Actors Studio

6.667

Hello Actors Studio
1988-11-09

Night of 100 Stars III

4

Night of 100 Stars III
1990-05-21

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn

8.333

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
1986-03-09

The Screen Director

7

The Screen Director
1951-03-12

All About Mankiewicz

7

All About Mankiewicz
1983-12-31

Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano

7.75

Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano
1983-11-02

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

5.769

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
1985-03-03

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

8

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991-10-28

In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton

6

In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
1988-09-20

7

The Oscars
1953-03-19

The American Film Institute Salute to ...

6.3

The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973-04-02

The Dick Cavett Show

6.818

The Dick Cavett Show
1968-06-06

The Mike Douglas Show

5.8

The Mike Douglas Show
1961-12-11