Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writing·Feb 11, 1909·Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

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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.

Film	Credit
National Theatre Live: All About Eve2019 · Writer	Writer
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story2006 · Self (archive footage)	Self (archive footage)
Backstory: 'All About Eve'2000 · Self (archive footage)	Self (archive footage)
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker1991 · Self	Self
Night of 100 Stars III1990 · Self	Self
Hello Actors Studio1988 · Self	Self
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton1988 · Self	Self
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn1986 · Self	Self
W.C. Fields: Straight Up1986 · Self	Self
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey1985 · Self	Self
All About Mankiewicz1983 · Self	Self
Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano1983 · Self	Self
Sleuth1972 · Director	Director
There Was a Crooked Man...1970 · Director, Producer	Director, Producer
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis1970 · Director	Director
The Honey Pot1967 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
Carol for Another Christmas1964 · Director, Producer	Director, Producer
Cleopatra1963 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
Suddenly, Last Summer1959 · Director	Director
The Quiet American1958 · Director, Producer, Writer	Director, Producer, Writer
Guys and Dolls1955 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
The Barefoot Contessa1954 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Julius Caesar1953 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
5 Fingers1952 · Director	Director
People Will Talk1951 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
TThe Screen Director1951 · Self (archive footage) (uncredited)	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
All About Eve1950 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
No Way Out1950 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
House of Strangers1949 · Director	Director
A Letter to Three Wives1949 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
Escape1948 · Director	Director
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir1947 · Director	Director
The Late George Apley1947 · Director	Director
Somewhere in the Night1946 · Screenplay, Director	Screenplay, Director
Dragonwyck1946 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
The Keys of the Kingdom1944 · Screenplay, Producer	Screenplay, Producer
Reunion in France1942 · Producer	Producer
Cairo1942 · Producer	Producer
Woman of the Year1942 · Producer	Producer
The Feminine Touch1941 · Producer	Producer
The Wild Man of Borneo1941 · Producer	Producer
The Philadelphia Story1940 · Producer	Producer
Strange Cargo1940 · Producer	Producer
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn1939 · Producer	Producer
A Christmas Carol1938 · Producer	Producer
The Shining Hour1938 · Producer, Screenplay	Producer, Screenplay
The Shopworn Angel1938 · Producer	Producer
Three Comrades1938 · Producer	Producer