Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (/ˈmæŋkəwɪts/MANG-kə-wits; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American filmmaker. A four-timeAcademy Award winner, he is best known for his witty and literate dialogue and his preference for voice-over narration andnarrative flashbacks.[1] Also known as an actor's director, Mankiewicz directed several prominent actors, includingBette Davis,Humphrey Bogart andElizabeth Taylor, to several of their memorable onscreen performances.[2]
Born inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mankiewicz studied atColumbia University and graduated in 1928. He moved overseas to Europe, where he worked as a foreign correspondent for theChicago Tribune and translated German intertitles into English forUFA. On the advice of his screenwriter brotherHerman, Mankiewicz moved back to the United States, and was hired byParamount Pictures as a dialogue writer. He then became a screenwriter, writing for numerous films starringJack Oakie. He next moved toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where he served as a producer for several films, includingThe Philadelphia Story (1940) andWoman of the Year (1942). Mankiewicz left MGM after a dispute withLouis B. Mayer.
In 1961, Mankiewicz took over direction fromRouben Mamoulian forCleopatra (1963). The production was beset with numerous difficulties, including a heavily publicized extramarital affair between the film's starsElizabeth Taylor andRichard Burton. Relatively late into the production,Darryl F. Zanuck reassumed control of Twentieth Century-Fox as studio president and briefly fired Mankiewicz for the film's excessive production overruns. Released in 1963,Cleopatra became theyear's highest-grossing film and earned mixed reviews from film critics. Mankiewicz's reputation suffered, and he did not return to direct another film untilThe Honey Pot (1967).
Mankiewicz was born inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Franz Mankiewicz (died 1941) and Johanna Blumenau,Jewish emigrants from Germany andCourland, respectively.[3] His siblings wereHerman J. Mankiewicz (1897–1953) and Erna Stenbuck (née Mankiewicz, 1901–1979).[4] At age four, Joseph moved with his family to New York City, and graduated in 1924 fromStuyvesant High School.[5] He followed his brother Herman toColumbia University, where he initially wanted to be a psychiatrist. Mankiewicz once stated, "I took a pre-med course at Columbia. Then came the part where you disembowel frogs and earthworms, which horrified and nauseated me. But what really finished me was physics."[6] Mankiewicz failed the course, and switched his major to English and wrote for theColumbia Daily Spectator. He graduated in 1928 and moved to Germany. There, he intended to enroll in theUniversity of Berlin and finish atOxford for a potential career in pedagogy.[7]
However, Mankiewicz abandoned these plans, and was hired as an assistant correspondent for theChicago Tribune.Sigrid Schultz, the Berlin bureau chief for theTribune, gave Mankiewicz his first assignment, which was to interview explorerUmberto Nobile. Mankiewicz earned another job, translating film intertitles from German to English forUFA, and worked a third job as astringer for theVariety trade magazine.[8] He relocated toParis, which Mankiewicz described as the "three most miserable months of my life." After receiving a despondent letter from his brother, Herman encouraged Joseph to move to Hollywood.[9]
In 1929, Joseph was hired byParamount Pictures, becoming the studio's youngest hired staff writer at the age of 20. Within eight weeks, Joseph wrote titles for 1929'sThe Dummy (with his brother Herman),The Man I Love, andThunderbolt.[10]David O. Selznick, then an assistant to Paramount general managerB. P. Schulberg, proposed that Joseph write the dialogue toFast Company (1929), an adaptation of the 1928 playElmer The Great byGeorge M. Cohan andRing Lardner. Mankiewicz's name later appeared in theLos Angeles Record's 1929 list of the ten best dialogue writers. The recognition earned Mankiewicz the assignment of writing several films, which starredJack Oakie.[11]
At age 22, Joseph was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay forSkippy (1931), which starredJackie Cooper.[12] Based on the nomination, Herman petitioned to Schulberg to give Joseph a pay raise. Schulberg declined, and Herman threatened to resign. Eventually, Schulberg relented and signed Joseph to a seven-year contract, which earned him a weekly salary of "somewhere between $75 to $100".[13] He co-wrote the screenplay ofSooky (1931), a sequel toSkippy. Meanwhile, Joseph dated actressFrances Dee, who co-starred inJune Moon (1931) andThis Reckless Age (1932), which he had co-scripted.[14]
Joseph wrote four films with Paramount Pictures in 1932, which included writing segments forIf I Had a Million (1932).[15] The segments included "Rollo and the Roadhogs" which featuredW. C. Fields andAlison Skipworth as two retired vaudevillians, and "The Three Marines" with Jack Oakie andGary Cooper. He also contributed to other segments, including "The China Stop" withCharlie Ruggles as a bookkeeper in a china stop and "The Forger" withGeorge Raft as a run-away criminal who is unable to cash his check.[16] After six months of courtship, Joseph became engaged to Frances Dee but one week before their marriage, Dee eloped withJoel McCrea, whom she co-starred with onThe Silver Cord (1933). Feeling devastated, Joseph ran a fever and was hospitalized for a "partial nervous breakdown."[17]
Joseph wrote an original story treatment titledIn the Red, which satirized theLeague of Nations. Paramount studio executives accused him of plagiarizing the nextMarx Brothers filmDuck Soup (1933), in which Herman was the film's producer. Joseph contested the charge and resigned from Paramount in December 1932. He then moved toRKO Pictures, whereSam Jaffe hired Joe and Henry Myers to complete the script, which was retitledDiplomaniacs (1933).[18] Jaffe later hired Joseph to scriptEmergency Call (1933). He returned to Paramount forToo Much Harmony (1933) with Jack Oakie andBing Crosby.[19] Selznick selected Joseph to do uncredited rewrites for MGM'sMeet the Baron (1933), which Herman had written the screenplay for.[20]
Mankiewicz's next project was adaptingForsaking All Others (1934) based on the 1933 play by Edward Barry Roberts and Frank Morgan Cavett.Bernard H. Hyman was the producer, and Joe was instructed to write forLoretta Young,George Brent, andJoel McCrea. When Mankiewicz delivered the script, Hyman replied: "We're going to use Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Robert Montgomery." He told Mankiewicz to arrive at Crawford's residence and read the script to her.[25] Mankiewicz at first declined the offer, but later drove to Crawford's Brentwood home. During the reading, Crawford was delighted at the line: "I could build a fire by rubbing two boy scouts together."[26]Forsaking All Others became a success, and Mankiewicz was assigned another Joan Crawford vehicleI Live My Life (1935), afterLouis B. Mayer told Mankiewicz: "You're the only one on the lot who knows what to do with her."[26]
The 1936 film poster forThree Godfathers. Mankiewicz is listed as the producer near the bottom.
In the autumn of 1935, having written three successful films, Mankiewicz personally requested Mayer to direct his own feature film. Mayer declined his proposition and instead replied: "You have to learn to crawl before you can walk."[27] Mankiewicz was instead promoted as a film producer, beginning withThree Godfathers (1936). Adapted from the1913 novel byPeter B. Kyne, the film is a biblically-inspiredWestern about three outlaws—Chester Morris,Lewis Stone andWalter Brennan—rescuing a baby in theMojave Desert.[28]
Mankiewicz's next project wasFury (1936), that was inspired by a real-life mob lynching in which two suspects, held in aSan Jose prison, were hanged for the murder of a department store heir. While in New York, screenwriterNorman Krasna read the story inThe Nation, and during the summer of 1934, he pitched the idea to Mankiewicz andSamuel Marx, who were interested in it, which prompted an early story treatment.[29] After some time, Krasna had no recollection of the story, so Mankiewicz wrote a ten-page treatment titledMob Rule and paid Krasner for the screen rights. Mankiewicz was assigned withFritz Lang on a film "about a crooked D.A." but the project was shelved.[30]
MGM general managerEddie Mannix then handed Lang theMob Rule treatment, with the subsequent drafts written byBartlett Cormack.[31] During filming, Lang had an adversarial relationship with the cast and crew,[32] in which Mankiewicz reflected on years later, calling Lang a "a strange man" and a "terrible tyrant on the set."[33] Released in June 1936,Fury was acclaimed by several film publications and was a box office success, catapulting Mankiewicz with his first major hit as a producer.[34]
Mankewicz reteamed with Crawford on the 1936 filmThe Gorgeous Hussy—her first costume drama film—as an innkeeper's daughter, with Robert Taylor,Franchot Tone,Melvyn Douglas andJames Stewart as potential tutors.[35] Their collaboration continued withLove on the Run (1936), a romantic comedy with two newspaper men, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone vying for Crawford. Retroactively seen as a pale imitation ofIt Happened One Night (1934, which also starred Gable), it was a box office success.[36] Crawford next starred inThe Bride Wore Red (1937), directed byDorothy Arzner.[37]
Beginning withMannequin (1937), Mankiewicz collaborated with directorFrank Borzage in a story about aDelancey Street working-class girl torn between her chiseler husband (Alan Curtis) and a shipping magnate (Spencer Tracy).[38] Their follow-up film,Three Comrades (1938), withMargaret Sullavan and Robert Taylor, beganF. Scott Fitzgerald writing the initial script. However, Sullavan complained to Mankiewicz that her passages were unspeakable, which led to Mankiewicz and other screenwriters redrafting Fitzgerald's dialogue. Mankiewicz later joked, "If I go down at all in literary history, in a footnote, it will be as the swine who rewrote F. Scott Fitzgerald."[39] Borzage's next filmThe Shining Hour (1938), starring Crawford, Sullavan and Melvyn Douglas, was well received by critics but was a box-office flop.[38]
Mankiewicz producedA Christmas Carol (1938). At least four film versions had already existed before Lionel Barrymore, who had playedEbenezer Scrooge on the radio, prompted MGM to have his filmed version. However, Barrymore broke his hip after tripping over a cable while filmingSaratoga (1937). Mankiewicz offered to delay filming for a year, but Barrymore insisted the production continue. Mankiewicz selectedReginald Owen as Scrooge, who had been hired to portrayJacob Marley.[40] Production was completed in November 1938 and the film was screened as a holiday attraction at theRadio City Music Hall.[41] A review inVariety wrote the film wielded "superb acting, inspired direction and top production values into an intensively interesting exposition of the Dickens story."[42] Since its release,A Christmas Carol has become a perennial television favorite.[41]
By 1938,Katharine Hepburn had been labeled "box office poison" by box office exhibitors after several unsuccessful films. Hepburn departed Hollywood and starred as Tracy Lord inPhilip Barry's 1939 playThe Philadelphia Story.[43] It became one of the year's successful Broadway plays, andHoward Hughes secured the film rights enabling Hepburn to forge a screen comeback. Several Hollywood studios declined to produce the film on the basis of Hepburn's box office record and male actors who demurred being potentially outshined by her. Louis B. Mayer took Hughes's offer on the assurance that Hepburn should appear with "two important male stars."[44]
L-R: John Howard, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart inThe Philadelphia Story.
Cary Grant andJames Stewart were cast in the leading male roles, whileGeorge Cukor was hired to direct. At Hepburn's insistence,Donald Ogden Stewart wrote a faithful adaptation of Barry's play, though he added two brief scenes based on Mankiewicz's suggestions.[45] Mankiewicz claimed credit for the film's opening scene—a silent comic prologue featuring Grant and Hepburn in a tableau of their temperamental and fracturing marriage.[46] Released in December 1940,The Philadelphia Story was a critical and commercial success, making it Mankiewicz's biggest hit as a producer. At the1941 Academy Awards, the film earned six Oscar nominations, including one forOutstanding Production for Mankiewicz. James Stewart won theAcademy Award for Best Actor, as well as Odgen Stewart winning forBest Adapted Screenplay.[47]
Mankiewicz reteamed with Hepburn on the romantic comedyWoman of the Year (1942). Deriving inspiration fromhis father and newspaper columnistDorothy Parker,Ring Lardner Jr. had written a story outline before collaborating withGarson andMichael Kanin. Both men drafted a 99-paged script, tentatively titledThe Thing About Women, which they showed to Hepburn.[48] Eager to make it her next film, Hepburn presented the script directly to Mayer, who then consulted Mankiewicz for his opinion. He was enthusiastic for the script, believing it had been written byBen Hecht andCharles MacArthur.[49]
RetitledWoman of the Year, the premise involves Tess Harding, a high-browed foreign affairs reporter, pitted against Sam Craig, a sports columnist.Spencer Tracy was Hepburn's first choice, though he was initially unavailable untilThe Yearling (1946) was cancelled.[50] Mankiewicz introduced the two stars, who at the time had never met before. Hepburn greeted Tracy, commenting, "I fear I may be too tall for you, Mr. Tracy." "Don't worry," Mankiewicz chimed in, "He'll cut you down to size."[51][52] George Cukor was also unavailable as he was directingTwo-Faced Woman (1941) so at Hepburn's behest,George Stevens was loaned out to MGM fromColumbia Pictures.[50]
During test screenings, preview audiences were disdainful of the original ending, which had Tess accepting her newfound role as a housewife.[53] Stevens, Mankiewicz and Mayer agreed a new ending was needed, with Tess attempting to make breakfast but failing miserably. Hepburn deplored the new scene, but test audiences responded favorably. Released in February 1942,Woman of the Year was praised by film critics for the chemistry between the stars. At the1943 Academy Awards, Hepburn was nominated forBest Actress, while Michael Kanin and Lardner Jr. won forBest Original Screenplay.[54][55]
By 1942, Mankiewicz was romantically involved withJudy Garland. As a vehicle for Garland, he began adaptingS. N. Behrman's 1942 playThe Pirate. The adaptation was never completed, but eventually became a1948 musical unrelated to Mankiewicz's involvement.[56] To reduce Garland's dependency on prescription medicine, Mankiewicz advised her to seek psychiatric therapy sessions withErnst Simmel. Garland's mother Ethel Gumm reported the incident to Mayer, who later called Mankiewicz into his office. There, Mayer chastened him for his involvement, stating, "You mustn't mess with our property."[57] The two fell into an argument, and Mankiewicz decided to quit MGM negotiating for an early termination with one year left on his contract.[58] Mankiewicz's final productions at MGM wereReunion in France (1942) starring Joan Crawford andJohn Wayne, andCairo (1942) withJeanette MacDonald—the latter film Mankiewicz had his producing credit removed at his request.[59]
Rose Stradner and Gregory Peck inThe Keys of the Kingdom
By August 1943, Mankiewicz had signed with Twentieth Century-Fox, stipulating his contractual right to write and direct.[60] As a follow-up toThe Song of Bernadette (1943), Mankiewicz selectedA. J. Cronin's 1941 novelThe Keys of the Kingdom ashis first production.[61] Rewriting a script byNunnally Johnson, the tale centered on Father Francis Chisholm, a humble Scottish Catholic priest, in his thirty-five years as a missionary in a small Chinese village.Gregory Peck was cast in the lead role whileIngrid Bergman was the studio's first choice as the Reverend Mother Maria-Veronica. When Bergman became available, Mankiewicz pleaded withDarryl F. Zanuck to instead cast his then-wifeRose Stradner.[62] The film opened in December 1944 to mixed reviews, though it garnered four Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Gregory Peck.[63]
Meanwhile, Twentieth Century-Fox acquired the screen rights toAnya Seton's gothic romance novelDragonwyck, withErnst Lubitsch as the director. However, Lubitsch collapsed from a heart attack while filmingA Royal Scandal (1945). While recuperating, he decided instead to produce and have Mankiewicz directDragonwyck (1946).[64] By May 1944, Gregory Peck andGene Tierney were cast in the leading roles,[65] but Peck dropped out to star inDuel in the Sun (1946) and was replaced byVincent Price.[66]
L–R: Glenn Langan, Gene Tierney, and Vincent Price inDragonwyck
Dragonwyck tells of Nicholas van Ryn, the proprietor of the Dragonwyck estate, who poisons his invalid wife and marries his cousin Miranda, in hopes of bearing an heir. When their infant son dies, Nicholas copes withopium and schemes to murder Miranda, who falls for a local doctor.[67] Displeased with Mankiewicz's creative decisions, Lubitsch removed his name from the production credits.[68] "We differed about some of the direction," Mankiewicz explained, "mostly about where I put the camera."[69] A review inVariety applaudedDragonwyck as a "psychological yarn, its mid-19th century American feudal background being always brooding with never a break in its flow of morbidity. Yet, it is always interesting if somewhat too pointed at times in its fictional contrivance."[70] The film earned $3 million in box office rentals in the United States and Canada.[71]
Somewhere in the Night (1946) originated fromMarvin Borowsky's short story "The Lonely Journey". While Zanuck was in Europe, Anderson Lawler came across the story, which impressed Zanuck. Back in the United States, Lawler presented an adaptation script by Howard Dimsdale to Mankiewicz, who was eager to direct his second film.[72] Afilm noir,John Hodiak plays an amnesiac war veteran who searches for a detective named Larry Cravat, whom he discovers was involved in a murder over $2 million in Nazi funds funneled into Los Angeles.[73]
Over a course of eighteen months, Mankiewicz directed three adaptations byPhilip Dunne—The Late George Apley (1947),The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1948), andEscape (1948)—each film "done in rapid succession, not of my writing, in which I concentrated upon learning the technique and craft—indeed, upon dissociating myself as far as possible from the writer's approach."[74] Adapted fromJohn P. Marquand'snovel of the same name,The Late George Apley was first produced as a play by Marquand andGeorge S. Kaufman. Fox purchased the film rights for $275,000,[75] withRonald Colman andPeggy Cummins as the title character and Eleanor Apley, George's daughter.[76]
Adapted fromR. A. Dick's 1945 novel,The Ghost and Mrs. Muir starsRex Harrison as the ghost of a sea captain unsuccessfully seeking to frighten Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney), a young widow who has rented her house, at the turn of the century. During filming, Tierney's first two days were reshot at Dunne and Zanuck's request, as Dunne had envisioned her as a "straightforward, practical woman" compared to Tierney's initial quirkier characterization.[77] More reshoots were done whenRichard Ney was replaced withGeorge Sanders.[78] Upon its release, film reviewers praised Harrison and Tierney's performances.[79]The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Cinematography (Black and White). Mankiewicz reteamed with Harrison inEscape (1948), a story about a convict who escapes aDartmoor prison. Filmed in Britain under tax regulations, much of the film was shot on location.[80]
ProducerSol C. Siegel had acquired the screen rights to the 1946 novelA Letter to Five Wives, which first appeared as a short story published inCosmopolitan magazine. Siegel had intended for Ernest Lubitsch to direct, and tappedVera Caspary to write a script adaptation. Mankiewicz remembered, "I read [Caspary's script] and knew I had looked upon thePromised Land. I wrote the screenplay about four wives; Zanuck, in an almost bloodless operation, excised one, so we ended withA Letter to Three Wives."[6] Set in an affluent, postwar American suburb, three wives—Jeanne Crain,Linda Darnell, andAnn Sothern—reflect on their marriages as each considers which of their husband has eloped with Addie Ross, voiced byCeleste Holm.[81] The film premiered at the Radio City Music Hall, and was lauded by critics and audiences for the performances of the cast. At the22nd Academy Awards, in 1950, Mankiewicz was bestowed two Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.[82]
In May 1949, Mankiewicz was the first recipient of theScreen Directors Guild (SDG)'sAward for Outstanding Directorial Achievement.[83] A year later, he was elected as the president for the Screen Directors Guild. A proponent for theHollywood blacklist,Cecil B. DeMille proposed guild members should take an anticommunist loyalty oath. In August 1950, the board approved the measure, while Mankiewicz was vacationing overseas after filmingAll About Eve.[84] When Mankiewicz returned, he was shocked DeMille had gone behind his back. "It seems to me that kind of thing only happens inMoscow," to which DeMille replied, "Well, maybe we need a little of that here."[85] On October 12, DeMille convened a general board meeting, requesting 25 signatures to recall Mankiewicz as guild president. Mankiewicz's supporters includedJohn Huston,William Wyler, andBilly Wilder. Over the night, at theBeverly Hills Hotel, Mankiewicz survived the recall election but retained the loyalty oath.[85]
Meanwhile, Siegel had hired screenwriterPhilip Yordan to adaptJerome Weidman's novel,I'll Never Go There Anymore into a feature film titledHouse of Strangers (1949). However, Yordan was fired after writing two-thirds of a first draft. Between assignments, Mankiewicz did an entire rewrite of the script, in which the Screen Writers Guild arbitrated a shared credit between him and Yordan. Mankiewicz angrily disagreed so Yordan was given the sole credit.[86] FeaturingEdward G. Robinson,Richard Conte andSusan Hayward, the story centers on Gino Monetti, an Italian-American ex-convict son of a banking family who seeks revenge against his brothers for turning him into the police. The film was entered into the1949 Cannes Film Festival where Robinson won for Best Actor.[87]
Following a trend of socially conscious films, includingGentleman's Agreement (1947) andThe Snake Pit (1948), Zanuck purchased a story byLesser Samuels about a racially charged encounter between a Black doctor and a white racist criminal. Yordan had written a script, which Mankiewicz promptly rewrote in six weeks. TitledNo Way Out (1950), Mankiewicz castSidney Poitier in his screen debut whileRichard Widmark played one of the racist brothers accusing Poitier of medical malpractice.[88]
L-R: Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Anne Baxter and George Sanders inAll About Eve.
All About Eve (1950) originated from the 1946Cosmopolitan short story "The Wisdom of Eve" byMary Orr. Fox purchased the rights to Orr's story for $5,000 and Mankiewicz began writing the first draft while preparing forNo Way Out. Notably, he secluded himself for six weeks to laboriously write the draft at theSan Ysidro Ranch nearSanta Barbara.[89] On March 7, 1950, Zanuck finished reading Mankiewicz's script and immediately sent a memo: "Without any question of a doubt you have done a remarkable job. The holes that were present in certain sections of the original treatment have disappeared." However, he delivered a lengthier memo, requesting a reduction of 50 pages.[90]
Claudette Colbert was initially cast as Margo Channing, but suffered a back injury and withdrew less than ten days before filming.[91] To replace her, Mankiewicz consideredGertrude Lawrence. Her attorneyFanny Holtzmann demanded changes to the script, which Mankiewicz declined to make.[92] Fresh from her mutual split fromWarner Bros.,Bette Davis read the script, describing it as the best she had ever read, and accepted the role.[93] Jeanne Crain was originally considered for the part of Eve Harrington, but Mankiewicz felt she lacked the "bitch virtuosity" needed for the role. With Zanuck's approval,Anne Baxter was instead cast.[94] Filming forAll About Eve began in April 1950 at theCurran Theatre in San Francisco, which doubled as the interior and exterior locations of a Broadway theater.[95]
Critical reaction towardsAll About Eve was unilaterally positive, with praise directed towards the performances from the cast and Mankiewicz's direction and screenplay.[96] At the23rd Academy Awards, in 1951,All About Eve was nominated for fourteen Academy Awards and won for Best Picture. Mankiewicz and Lester Samuels was also nominated for Best Story and Screenplay forNo Way Out, but lost toSunset Boulevard (1950).[97] For his adaptation script and direction forAll About Eve, Mankiewicz won his second consecutive set of Academy Awards. Bette Davis and Anne Baxter were nominated for the Best Actress Oscar, but lost toJudy Holliday inBorn Yesterday (1950).[98]
Mankiewicz adapted and directedPeople Will Talk (1951), also produced by Zanuck, which starred Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain. Adapted fromCurt Goetz's 1932 playDr. Prätorius, Grant plays a physician who is investigated for his unorthodox medical practices led by Professor Ewell (Hume Cronyn). Meanwhile, he falls for Deborah Higgins, an unwed pregnant student contemplating suicide.[99] Though it received favorable reviews, it failed to be profitable.[100]
Mankiewicz's last film under contract with Fox was5 Fingers (1952), starringJames Mason andDanielle Darrieux. Zanuck had enlistedHenry Hathaway to direct andMichael Wilson to write a script fromLudwig Carl Moyzisch's non-fiction bookOperation Cicero. Mankiewicz read Wilson's script and cabled to Zanuck, stating he wanted to rewrite the dialogue feeling it needed "humor, sex and excitement."[101] Zanuck consented providing that Mankiewicz would not seek a writing credit and acceptOtto Lang as the film's producer. At Zanuck's insistence, the film was retitled5 Fingers to avoid association with arace riot that had occurred inCicero, Illinois.[102] On the last day of filming, in September 1951, Mankiewicz declined to renew his contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, in which he decided to be an independent filmmaker.[103] Released in March 1952,5 Fingers garnered fairly positive reviews.[104]
In December 1951, Mankiewicz signed a three-picture contract with MGM'sDore Schary, with a stipulation he be allowed to produce theatrical stage productions.[105] By 1952, Mankiewicz had three projects he was contemplating—an adaptation of Carl Jonas's novelJefferson Selleck about a midwestern businessman experiencing amidlife crisis withSpencer Tracy;The Barefoot Contessa, and a new stage production ofLa bohème at theMetropolitan Opera.[106] During this time, MGM producerJohn Houseman approached Mankiewicz about directinga film adaptation ofJulius Caesar. He reflected, "Joe was one of the first people I thought of. He is so literate and such a good dialogue writer, I knew he'd be interested."[107]
Casting for the central roles involved several American and British actors, including James Mason asBrutus,John Gielgud asCassius, and Louis Calhern as Caesar.[108]Marlon Brando's casting asMarc Antony was met with skepticism, so much thatTime magazine jokingly wondered if Brando would be "muttering and grumbling his lines in a Polish accent, sound reading the funeral oration?"[109] Against the studio's objections, Houseman chose to photograph in black and white so it would mirror newsreels ofBenito Mussolini. Principal photography continued until late October 1952,[109] with the production sets repurposed fromQuo Vadis (1951).[110]
Released during the summer of 1953,Julius Caesar opened to positive reviews from film critics.[110]Bosley Crowther ofThe New York Times wrote the film was "a production that pulls the full potential of point and passion from this classic of the stage", and Brando's reciting ofMark Antony's speech was described as a "brilliant, electrifying splurge of bitter and passionate invective".[111] While directing rehearsals forLa bohème, disagreements overJefferson Selleck led to a lapse in Mankiewicz's MGM contract.[112]
In 1951, Mankiewicz relocated his family to New York and within two years, he established his independent production company Figaro, Inc. Its namesake was taken from the barber inMozart's operaThe Marriage of Figaro. In Mankiewicz's words, Figaro did "a little bit of everything."[112] In June 1956, theNBC television network acquired a 50 percent ownership stake with theright of first refusal to any proposed film project.[113]United Artists was inked as the distributor, and Mankiewicz proceeded with his two-picture deal withThe Barefoot Contessa (1954), which he had been originally written to be a novel.[112]
For his first original screenplay, Mankiewicz is believed to have been inspired by several Hollywood actresses, includingRita Hayworth, Linda Darnell, andAnne Chevalier.[114] Envisioned as aCinderella-like story set in Hollywood, the tale centers on the starlet Maria Vargas as her career is told in flashbacks, with one told by Harry Dawes, a veteran film director, played byHumphrey Bogart.Ava Gardner was Mankiewicz's first choice for the title role, and she was loaned from MGM for a payment of $200,000 plus 10 percent of the box office returns.[115]
Principal filming began in early January 1954 at theCinecittà studio in Rome. Bogart was frustrated with Gardner whispering her lines during one take and criticized her acting skills. Bogart himself had severe racking coughs while delivering his lines. When filming had concluded, Mankiewicz regretted not building any rapport with Gardner.[116] Upon its release, Gene Arneel ofVariety praised the film as a "dish of ingeniously-fashioned, original entertainment for grown-up viewers. it has a strong show business flavor and a line or two that might be beyond the ken of strangers in movie-making. But its basic story elements are strong and make for substantial fare on anyone's menu."[117]
At the27th Academy Awards, Mankiewicz was nominated for his screenplay whileEdmond O'Brien won for Best Supporting Actor.[118] Meanwhile, the script was faced with two plagiarism lawsuits, one was quickly dismissed and the other was litigated in 1960, alleging similarities to an unpublished manuscript inspired by Chevalier's life. It was also dismissed.[119]
In 1954,Samuel Goldwyn hired Mankiewicz to write and directthe film version of the Broadway musicalGuys and Dolls. Goldwyn pursuedGene Kelly for the part of Sky Masterson, but MGM'sNicholas Schenck vigorously declined to loan out Kelly. Goldwyn suggested Marlon Brando instead, and Mankiewicz convinced Brando to take the part to expand his acting oeuvre.[120]Frank Sinatra pursued the role as Nathan Detroit, whileJean Simmons was cast as Sister Sarah Brown after an extensive search.[121]Guys and Dolls was one of 1955's biggest box office hits, earning $9 million in estimated distributor rentals in the United States and Canada.[122] However, film critics found the film too verbose and were mixed on the musical performances.[123]
By the timeGuys and Dolls was released, Mankiewicz's Figaro expanded with its contract with United Artists to produce nine films, with five films to be written and directed by him within four years.[124] For his second directorial effort with Figaro, Mankiewicz considered a biographical film ofFrancisco Goya and an adaptation of Shakespeare'sTwelfth Night withAudrey Hepburn andDanny Kaye.[125] He however decided to write and directThe Quiet American (1958), an adaptation ofGraham Greene's 1955novel. Set against the backdrop ofIndochina (now known asVietnam), Alden Pyle, an idealistic American, vies for the affection of Phuong, a local Vietnamese woman, against Thomas Fowler, a British journalist.[126]
The choice role of Thomas Fowler had been offered toLaurence Olivier, who later declined after reading a draft.William Holden and James Mason were unavailable thus Mankiewicz turned toMichael Redgrave.Montgomery Clift was considered for Alden Pyle, but he was severely injured while filmingRaintree County (1957). Mankiewicz then castAudie Murphy and selected Italian actressGiorgia Moll for Phuong.[127] Mankiewicz, influenced by the climate ofanti-Communism and theHollywood blacklist, altered the message of Greene's book, changing major parts of the story. He told film criticArthur Knight after filming had wrapped, he wanted to "make the American both more credible and truer to the earnest, hardworking, apolitical types that he found in Indo-China."[128] A cautionary tale about America's blind support for anti-Communists was turned into, according to Greene, a "propaganda film for America".[129] Upon its release, several American film critics acknowledged Mankiewicz's deviations from Greene's novel but praised the film. However, the film was a commercial disappointment at the box office.[130]
While preparingThe Quiet American, in 1956, Mankiewicz recruited film producerWalter Wanger to work for Figaro. Wanger proposed numerous film projects but most of these were turned down. After six months of no progress, Wanger proceeded with a film project starringSusan Hayward.[131] By October 1957, Figaro had signed Hayward to star inI Want to Live! (1958), a real-life account ofBarbara Graham's lethal execution.[132] When a script draft was completed, Mankiewicz recommended several truncations to the script, which were made by his nephewDon Mankiewicz.[133]Robert Wise was hired to direct the film.
Mankiewicz reunited with Sam Spiegel onSuddenly, Last Summer (1959), an adaptation ofTennessee Williams'sstage play. Katharine Hepburn portrayed Violet Venable, a wealthy widow, who has her niece Catherine Holly institutionalized after she had witnessed her son Sebastian's death. Bribing the hospital with a one-million donation for renovation, Violet pushes John Cukrowicz, a neurosurgeon, to have Catherine lobotomized in order to preserve Sebastian's memory.Elizabeth Taylor was cast as Catherine, and it was Taylor who convinced Spiegel to cast her friend Montgomery Clift as Cukrowicz.[134] The film earned mixed reviews from film critics but was a box office success, earning $9 million in worldwide box office rentals. At the32nd Academy Awards, Hepburn and Taylor received competitive Oscar nominations for Best Actress.[135]
By May 1960, Mankiewicz was selected to write and direct a film adaptation ofLawrence Durrell's 1957 novelJustine, the first volume ofThe Alexandria Quartet. Ava Gardner andDavid Niven were hired in the lead roles.[136] The premise centered on Darley, an Anglo-Irish schoolmaster and aspiring novelist, who is determined to unravel the truth behind Justine, a beautiful young woman, with whom he had a brief affair with him. Darley later learns Justine is married to her husband Nassim, who is involved in a Coptic plot against the Muslims to arm the Zionists inPalestine.[137]
By the winter of 1960, Mankiewicz was vacationing at the Children's Bay Cay—Hume Cronyn andJessica Tandy's private island—in the Bahamas. He had completed a 151-pagetreatment outline and written a partially complete first screenplay draft.[138] On January 18, 1961, he flew north to New York for dinner with his agentCharles Feldman and Spyros Skouras, who requested him to complete Walter Wanger's concurrent troubled productionCleopatra (1963), a film project Mankiewicz's Figaro Inc. had earlier declined to finance.[139] The film's star Elizabeth Taylor had personally requested Mankiewicz to take over the project afterRouben Mamoulian had resigned as director. Mankiewicz declined the request, but Skouras was persistent in hiring him. Feldman persuaded Mankiewicz he could resumeJustine after he finishedCleopatra under the advice: "Hold your nose for fifteen weeks and get it over with."[140]
"Cleopatra was conceived in a stage of emergency, shot in hysteria, and wound in a blind panic."
Skouras decided to acquire Figaro, Inc., in which Mankiewicz was paid $1.5 million, while NBC (which controlled a 50 percent stake) earned the other half for a total of $3 million.[142] On January 25, 1961, Mankiewicz was hired as writer and director, and within a month, he toured the production sets constructed atPinewood Studios in London. Being familiar with Roman antiquities having directedJulius Caesar (1953), Mankiewicz decided to rewrite the entire script, with a "modern, psychiatrically rooted" approach as described by Wanger in his production diary.[143] Lawrence Durrell andSidney Buchman were hired to collaborate on the script forCleopatra. By late April 1961, Mankiewicz was dissatisfied with Durrell's story outlines, while Buchman was instructed to finish the outline. Wanger hired screenwriterRanald MacDougall to finish the shooting script based on Buchman's outline.[144]
Meanwhile, Twentieth Century-Fox dismantled the Pinewood sets, worth an estimated cost of $600,000 (roughly $6.4 million in 2025). Skouras decided to reshoot the film in California, but Mankiewicz persuaded him to shoot inRome. By June 30, Skouras reversed his decision and allow the production to film atCinecittà, where principal filming forCleopatra began on September 1961 under Mankiewicz's direction.[145] Because Skouras insisted for the production to resume, Mankiewicz's revised shooting script was not complete at the start of filming. Therefore, Mankiewicz directed at daytime and wrote the script longhand at night, to the point he contracted a dermatological disorder on his hands forcing him to wear thin protective gloves.[146] To maintain his health regimen for several months, Mankiewicz required dailyvitamin B12 shots. One shot accidentally hit his sciatic nerve, rendering him barely able to walk.[147]
A 1963 trailer screenshot crediting the film as Joseph L. Mankiewicz'Cleopatra.
On January 22, 1962, Elizabeth Taylor andRichard Burton filmed their first scene together. Their romantic chemistry was not lost on Mankiewicz who later told Wanger: "I have been sitting on a volcano all alone for too long, and I want to give you some facts you ought to know. Liz and Burton are not justplaying Antony and Cleopatra."[148] In February 1962, rumors of the extramarital affair were spreading, and by the spring, it became worldwide news.[149] In June 1962, Skouras was forced out as studio president and replaced with Darryl Zanuck.[150] In early October 1962, Mankiewicz screened his rough cut at Zanuck's residence in Paris. Infuriated by Cleopatra's dominance over Marc Antony, Zanuck remarked, "If any woman behaved toward me the way Cleopatra treated Antony, I would cut her balls off." Mankiewicz and Zanuck had planned to discuss the cut the next day, but Zanuck cancelled the meeting.[151]
Less than two weeks later, Mankiewicz sent a letter to Zanuck requesting an "honest and unequivocal statement of where I stand in relation toCleopatra." Zanuck wrote back stating his services were terminated, and in a memo addressed to the press, he believed Mankiewicz has "earned a well-deserved rest."[152] In response to his public firing, Mankiewicz toldTime magazine: "The actors are almost more upset than I am. They gave three goddam good performances and, badly cut, they'll be ruined."[153] In December 1962, Zanuck rehired Mankiewicz to film reshoots inAlmería,Spain and complete the final editing.[154] Mankiewicz finished the reshoots on March 5, 1963.[155]
Cleopatra opened at the Rivoli Theatre to mixed reviews, with Bosley Crowther who exclaimed the film was "one of the great epic films of our day". On the contrary,Judith Crist of theNew York Herald Tribune headlined her review calling the film a "monumental mouse."[156] The film's premiere runtime of 243 minutes was reduced to over 3 hours for its first-run engagements.[157]
Regardless,Cleopatra became the highest-grossing film of 1963, generating $26 million in distributor rentals. However, the film held a negative cost of $44 million and did not break-even until Fox sold the televisionbroadcasting rights toABC in 1966.[152] At the37th Academy Awards,Cleopatra was nominated for nine Oscars and it won four. The film's notorious production and mixed reception damaged Mankiewicz's professional reputation and self-esteem.[158]
RetitledThe Honey Pot (1967), the story centers on Cecil Fox, an eccentric English millionaire, who hires William McFly, a struggling actor, in a scheme modeled after Volpone's play. McFly invites three of Fox's former mistresses to his Venetianpalazzo as Fox pretends to be on his death bed.[160] Filming began on September 20, 1965 at the Cinecittà and ran for five months.[162] Similar toCleopatra, the production was troubled. After the first week of filming, Mankiewicz fired his cinematographerGianni di Venanzo and replaced him withPasqualino De Santis.Rachel Roberts, then married to Rex Harrison (who was cast as Fox), attempted suicide after she was turned down in favor ofMaggie Smith. Susan Hayward was granted permission to attend to her dying husband back in the United States.[163] Mankiewicz began editing in London in March 1966, and settled on a runtime of 150 minutes when it premiered in London in the following year. It was later trimmed to 131 minutes when it premiered in New York.[164] Critics complimented Rex Harrison and Maggie Smith's performances but criticized the runtime.[165]
In 1968, Mankiewicz signed a multi-picture deal withWarner Bros.-Seven Arts, with his first project titledThe Bawdy Bard and Bill, a biopic about William Shakespeare byAnthony Burgess. However, he was intrigued by an original script tentatively titledWar byDavid Newman andRobert Benton, the screenwriting team ofBonnie and Clyde (1967).[166] The film was retitledThere Was a Crooked Man... (1970), and it was the firstWestern genre film Mankiewicz had directed. He reflected: "It's been a chance to try some muscles I haven't used before. Although, of course, I wrote a lot of Westerns in the old days. The old, old days."[167] The film starredKirk Douglas as a charming but ruthless convict who is sent to a remote Arizona prison where the conscientious prison warden (Henry Fonda) attempts to reform him.[168] Filming began in March 1969, but six weeks into production, Mankiewicz slipped a disk at his home and directed the rest of the film from a wheelchair.[169]
Meanwhile, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts underwent corporate restructuring, and the film's release was delayed by over a year. It premiered in London months before its release in the United States on Christmas Day 1970, with a minimal promotional campaign. Contemporary critical reaction was mixed, though the film has been viewed more favorably in retrospect.[170]Vincent Canby ofThe New York Times wrote the film was "a movie of the sort of taste, intelligence and somewhat bitter humor I associate with Mr. Mankiewicz who, in real life, is one of America's most sophisticated, least folksy raconteurs, especially of stories about the old Hollywood."[171]Pauline Kael ofThe New Yorker however lambasted the film as a "commercialized black comedy nihilism seems to have been written by an evil 2-year-old, and it has been directed in the Grand Rapids style of filmmaking."[172]
Later that year,Anthony Shaffer's 1970 playSleuth had a successful Broadway run, and received theTony Award forBest Play.Laurence Olivier portrays Andrew Wycke, a mystery writer, who invites Cockney hairdresser Milo Tindle (Michael Caine) to his country estate knowing that Milo is having an affair with his wife. From there, a clever mystery game ensues with potentially deadly results. At the time, Mankiewicz was developing a remake ofThe Front Page (1931).[174] Filming was scheduled from April to June 1971, but production ran over schedule. Mankiewicz, plagued with back pain, tore his thigh when he fell onto a camera equipment. Olivier, with his own health problems, had a real-life injury that was incorporated into the finished film.[175]
To qualify as an eligibleOscar contender,Sleuth (1972) was rushed into completion and premiered in New York in December 1972.[176] The film received largely positive reviews and was a moderate financial success earning over $5.7 million in box office rentals.[177] Two weeks after its premiere,Edgar Scherick, the film's executive producer, wanted an intermission and cuts made to the film leading into its nationwide release for January 1973. APalomar Pictures studio executive notified Mankiewicz about the proposed changes even after an intermission had been inserted, which damaged the negative film. Furious over the alterations,Sleuth was restored to Mankiewicz's preference.[178] At the45th Academy Awards, Mankiewicz received his fourth Best Directing nomination. Olivier and Caine received competitive Oscar nominations for Best Actor.[179]
In 1975,Robert Redford approached Mankiewicz about directingAll the President's Men (1976). However, Mankiewicz did not likeWilliam Goldman's early draft of the script and decided instead to direct an adaptation of the 1973 novelJane byDee Wells.[180] The story centered on the eponymous heroine living in London who unexpectedly becomes pregnant and speculates the identity of the father. Mankiewicz signed withColumbia Pictures to write and direct the film,[181] but he was removed during development after completing two-thirds of the script.[182] Meanwhile, in 1978, Kenneth L. Geist published a biography of Mankiewicz titledPictures Will Talk, having spent eight years researching his filmography.[183]
In 1983, Mankiewicz was a member of the jury at the33rd Berlin International Film Festival.[184] By 1992, still search of a new project,The New York Times reported Mankiewicz was "writing in notebooks, transcribing facts, opinions and "tribal customs and taboos" for a probable autobiography.[182]
Joseph was the younger brother of Hollywood screenwriterHerman J. Mankiewicz, the co-writer (withOrson Welles) ofCitizen Kane among numerous other films.[185] In 2024, Joseph and Herman were both announced as inductees into the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame.[186]
In 1933, Mankiewicz metElizabeth Young, a New York socialite and descendant of theSchermerhorn family. Young made her film debut inBig Executive (1933) and was borrowed by MGM to appear inQueen Christina (1933).[187] They were married on May 20, 1934 in the backyard garden of Herman and his wife Sara's house.[188] In November 1936, Mankiewicz moved out of their Beverly Hills apartment and issued a press statement stating incompatibility and irreconcilable differences. Shortly after, Young filed for divorce, alleging Mankiewicz had treated her cruelly and telling her he no longer loved her. The divorce was dropped when they resumed living together, but they filed again in May 1937. On the third anniversary of their marriage, their divorce was finalized.[189] They had a son, Eric, who was born on July 1, 1936.[190] In 1943, Young legally had Eric assume his stepfatherEugene Reynal's surname after she had remarried.[191]
Mankiewicz met Austrian actressRose Stradner, who had been contracted to MGM. There, Mankiewicz was instructed to help improve her English as he had with other German-speaking actresses.[192][193] The two were married on July 28, 1939,[194] at Mankiewicz's sister's apartment in New York. When they returned to Los Angeles, on Stradner's 26th birthday, MGM studio writers and producers greeted them at the railway station with rice and a ten-piece orchestra. Stradner gave birth to two sons, Christopher, born in 1940, andTom Mankiewicz, born in 1942.[193] During his marriage to Stradner, Mankiewicz had extramarital affairs with several actresses, includingJudy Garland[195] andLinda Darnell.[196] In September 1958, Stradner was found dead at her summer home in Bedford Hills, aged 45. Her death was ruled a suicide through an overdose of sedatives.[197]
In 1954, Mankiewicz met his third wife Rosemary Matthews while filmingThe Barefoot Contessa in Rome. For several years, they kept in contact, and Matthews served as a production assistant forCleopatra. On December 14, 1962, the two were married in a New York courthouse.[198] They had a daughter, Alexandra.[199]
Joseph was the uncle ofFrank Mankiewicz, a political campaign manager who officially announced the assassination of Democratic presidential candidateRobert F. Kennedy in 1968. His niece Johanna "Josie" Mankiewicz Davis, worked as a journalist and a novelist. In July 1974, she was struck and killed by a taxicab in New York City at the age of 36.[200]
Mankiewicz died of a heart attack on February 5, 1993, six days before his 84th birthday. He was interred in Saint Matthew's Episcopal Churchyard cemetery inBedford, New York.[5]
^"Dr. Frank Mankiewicz".The New York Times. December 5, 1941.Mankiewicz, Mr. Frank, dearly beloved husband of Johanna, devoted father of Herman, Joseph, and Mrs.Erna Stenbuck. Services Park West Memorial Chapel, ...
^abFlint, Peter (February 6, 1993)."Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Literate Skeptic of the Cinema, Dies at 83".The New York Times.Archived from the original on March 5, 2025. RetrievedNovember 1, 2007.Joseph L. Mankiewicz, a writer, director and producer who was one of Hollywood's most literate and intelligent film makers, died yesterday at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y. He was 83 and lived in Bedford, N.Y.
^Hopper, Hedda (May 9, 1960)."Ava and Niven Set for 'Justine'".Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 10.Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
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