Known for Writing
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.
Born
February 11, 1909
Died
February 5, 1993 (age 83)
Birthplace
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
Filmography
116 films, 5 shows


Sleuth
1972 · 2h 18m · UK
A man who loves games and theatre invites his wife's lover to meet, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.


There Was a Crooked Man...
1970 · 2h 3m · US
A charming but ruthless criminal is sent to a remote Arizona prison, where he enlists the help of his cellmates in an escape attempt with the promise of sharing his hidden loot.


King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
1970 · 3h 5m · US
A presentation of key events in the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning with the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, MLK is followed through major steps in his struggle to promote racial equality. Including footage of King's stirring speeches, it is a fitting tribute to his legacy, and features clips narrated by a wide range of celebrities, including Harry Belafonte, Paul Newman Charlton Heston, Ruby Dee, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quinn, Walter Matthau, Ben Gazzara, Clarence Williams III, Joanne Woodward, and James Earl Jones.


The Honey Pot
1967 · 2h 5m · US
In Venice, a millionaire hires an actor to help him prank three greedy exes into thinking he's dying and leaving his fortune to one of them.


Carol for Another Christmas
1964 · 1h 24m · US
Wealthy industrialist and fierce isolationist Daniel Grudge, long embittered by the loss of his son in World War II, is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve who lead him to reconsider his attitude toward his fellow man.


Cleopatra
1963 · 4h 11m · UK
Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.


Suddenly, Last Summer
1959 · 1h 54m · UK
The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.


The Quiet American
1958 · 2h · US
Cynical British journalist Fowler falls in love with a young Vietnamese woman but is dismayed when a naïve U.S. official also begins vying for her attention. In retaliation, Fowler informs the communists that the American is selling arms to their enemy.


Guys and Dolls
1955 · 2h 29m · US
In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a Salvation Army missionary to Havana, and unexpectedly they fall for each other. And the bet has a hidden motive ... classic song and dance ensues!


The Barefoot Contessa
1954 · 2h 8m · US
A washed-up filmmaker gets a second chance at stardom when he discovers stunning peasant Maria Vargas dancing in a Madrid nightclub. Goaded by his producer, the director convinces Maria to screen test for, and then star in, his next big picture. But as the producer's possessive nature and the realities of stardom weigh on Maria, she seeks a genuine lover with whom she can escape.


Julius Caesar
1953 · 2h 1m · US
The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but both have sorely underestimated Mark Antony.


5 Fingers
1952 · 1h 48m · US
During WWII, the valet to the British Ambassador to Ankara sells British secrets to the Germans while trying to romance a refugee Polish countess.


People Will Talk
1951 · 1h 50m · US
A successful, unorthodox doctor befriends a young woman with suicidal ideations due to her pregnancy by her ex, a military reservist killed in action.


All About Eve
1950 · 2h 19m · US
From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.


No Way Out
1950 · 1h 46m · US
Two hoodlum brothers are brought into hospital for gunshot wounds, and when one dies, the other accuses their Black doctor of murder.


House of Strangers
1949 · 1h 41m · US
Ruthless Italian-American banker Gino Monetti is engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business practices. Three of them take over the business but kick their father out. Max, a lawyer, is the only son that remains loyal.


A Letter to Three Wives
1949 · 1h 43m · US
A letter is addressed to three wives from their 'best friend', announcing that she's running away with one of their husbands – but she doesn't specify which one.


Escape
1948 · 1h 18m · UK
A convict sentenced to three years for killing a detective escapes and goes on the lam, aided by a local girl.


The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
1947 · 1h 45m · US
In 1900, young widow Lucy Muir learns that her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.


The Late George Apley
1947 · 1h 33m · US
Bostonites George and Catherine Apley live a proper life in a social circle. However, their daughter Eleanor's love for Howard Boulton and their son John's union with Myrtle threatens their home.


Somewhere in the Night
1946 · 1h 50m · US
George Taylor returns from WWII with amnesia. Back home in Los Angeles, while trying to track down his old identity, he stumbles onto a three year old murder case and a hunt for a missing $2 million.


Dragonwyck
1946 · 1h 43m · US
A simple Connecticut farm girl is recruited by a distant relative, an aristocratic patroon, to be governess to his young daughter in his Hudson Valley mansion.