Anatole Litvak

Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak OBE, commonly known as Anatole Litvak, was a Russian and American filmmaker. Born to Jewish parents in Kiev, then in the Russian Empire, he began his theatrical training at age 13 in Saint Petersburg, where he lived through the end of the Russian Revolution. He began his film directing career in Germany and France, before moving to the United States in the late 1930s. Litvak was notable for directing little-known foreign actors to early fame and is believed to have contributed to several actors winning Academy Awards. In 1936 he directed Mayerling, a film which made French actors Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux international stars. He returned Swedish star Ingrid Bergman to popularity with American audiences in 1956 with Anastasia, in which she won her second Oscar. He directed Olivia de Havilland to an Academy Award nomination for The Snake Pit (1948).

Biography adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.

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