Alexander Esway (20 January 1895 – 23 August 1947) was a Hungarian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer.

Life and career

Esway was born Sándor Ezry in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he worked as a director and screenwriter, first in Germany and then in the UK. He began working primarily in France from 1933, although he also continued to work in the UK where he set up a short-lived production company, Atlantic Film Productions, in 1935. The company's only production was ''

Thunder in the City ''Thunder in the City'' is a 1937 British drama film directed by Marion Gering and starring Edward G. Robinson, Luli Deste, Nigel Bruce and Ralph Richardson. Plot An American salesman with radically successful methods visits England ostensib ...

'', starring Edward G. Robinson. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he worked in Hollywood on Allied propaganda films, most notably, ''

The Cross of Lorraine ''The Cross of Lorraine'' is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer war film about French prisoners of war escaping a German prison camp and joining the French Resistance. Directed by Tay Garnett, starring Jean-Pierre Aumont and Gene Kelly, was partly base ...

''. After the war, he returned to France where he made his last two films: the two-part war film ''

Le Bataillon du ciel ''Le Bataillon du ciel'' (''Sky Battalion'') is a 1947 French film in two parts by Alexander Esway about the Second World War. The film, written by Joseph Kessel, became the biggest box office success in France that year with more than 8 million ...

'', based on the book of the same name by

Joseph Kessel Joseph Kessel (10 February 1898 – 23 July 1979), also known as "Jef", was a French journalist and novelist. He was a member of the Académie française and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. Biography Kessel was born to a Jewish family in ...

, and '' L'Idole'', starring

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held stron ...

. Esway died in St. Tropez at the age of 52.

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

"Alexandre Esway: Carrière/Filmographie"
Retrieved 30 April 2013 Low, Rachael (2005)
''The History of the British Film 1929-1939: Film Making in 1930s Britain''
p. 205. Routledge.

Filmography

Director *''

Herkules Maier ''Herkules Maier'' is a 1928 German silent film, silent comedy film directed by Alexander Esway and starring Reinhold Schünzel, Claire Rommer and Ida Perry.Bock & Bergfelder p.434 It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. The film's sets ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Lady with the Mask ''The Lady with the Mask'' (german: Die Dame mit der Maske) is a 1928 German silent film directed by Wilhelm Thiele and starring Max Gülstorff, Arlette Marchal and Vladimir Gajdarov.Bock & Bergfelder p. 215 It was shot at the Babelsberg Studi ...

'' (1928) *''

Taxi for Two ''Taxi for Two'' is a 1929 part talkie British romantic comedy film drama directed by Denison Clift and Alexander Esway and starring Mabel Poulton and John Stuart. Produced by Gainsborough Pictures, it was the first sound film made by Gainsbo ...

'', co-directed with

Denison Clift Denison Clift (1885 – 1961) was an American playwright, novelist, screenwriter and film director. He directed in both America and Great Britain, mainly during the Silent Era. Biography Clift was educated at Stanford University. He began his ...

(1929) *'' Children of Chance'' (1930) *''

Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

'' (1931) * '' Children of Fortune'' (1931) *'' Le Jugement de minuit'', co-directed with

André Charlot André Eugène Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French impresario known primarily for the successful musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He also worked as a character actor in numerous films. Early li ...

(1932) *''

Une vie perdue Une is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Eastern Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is located at an altitude of at a distance of from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Chipaque in the nor ...

'', co-directed with

Raymond Rouleau Raymond Rouleau (4 June 1904 – 11 December 1981) was a Belgian actor and film director. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1928 and 1979. He also directed 22 films between 1932 and 1981. Rouleau studied at the Royal Conservatory of B ...

(1933) *''

Mauvaise Graine ''Mauvaise Graine'' (English: ''Bad Seed'') is a 1934 French drama film directed by Billy Wilder (in his directorial debut) and Alexander Esway. The screenplay by Wilder, , Max Colpet, and Claude-André Puget focuses on a wealthy young playboy w ...

'', co-directed with

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...

(1934) *''

It's a Bet ''It's a Bet'' is a 1935 British comedy drama film directed by Alexander Esway and starring Gene Gerrard, Helen Chandler and Judy Kelly. It was made at Elstree Studios by British International Pictures.Wood p.82 The film's sets were designed b ...

'' (1934) *''

Music Hath Charms ''Music Hath Charms'' is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley, Walter Summers, Arthur B. Woods and Alexander Esway. It stars Henry Hall with the BBC Dance Orchestra, Carol Goodner and Arthur Margetson. It was given a t ...

'' (1935), co-directed with

Thomas Bentley Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, ''The Man in the Street'' (1926), '' ...

Walter Summers Walter Summers (1892–1973) was a British film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Barnstaple to a family of actors, British motion picture director Walter Summers began his career in the family trade; his first contact with filmma ...

, and

Arthur B. Woods Arthur Bickerstaffe Woods (17 August 1904 – 8 February 1944) was an English film director with 27 credits between 1933 and 1940. Woods' films were mainly quota quickies but were diverse in style, from light comedy and musicals to dark crime ...

*'' Hercule'', co-directed with

Carlo Rim Carlo Rim (19 December 1902 – 3 December 1989) was a French film screenwriter, producer and director. Born Jean Marius Richard, he made an anagram of his initials (RJM - treating I and J as the same letter) for his pseudonym, adding "Carlo" a p ...

(1937) *''

Barnabé Barnabé is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Persons *Arrigo Barnabé (born 1951), Brazilian musician and an actor *Barnabé Brisson (1531–1591), French jurist and politician * Barnabé Brisson (engineer) (1 ...

'' (1938) *''Éducation de Prince'' (1938, remake of the 1927 silent film '' Éducation de Prince'') *''

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistro ...

'', co-directed with

Pierre Colombier Pierre Colombier (1896–1958) was a French screenwriter and film director. Selected filmography Director * '' The Marriage of Rosine'' (1926) * '' His Best Client'' (1932) * ''Charlemagne'' (1933) * '' School for Coquettes'' (1935) * '' La Marrai ...

and

Christian Chamborant Eugène Christian Chamborant (4 June 1892 – 10 December 1948), was a French film director. Biography Little is known about the life of this discreet filmmaker who ended his days a week before the release of his latest film. Before becoming a ...

(1939) *'' L'Homme qui cherche la vérité'' (1939) *''

Monsieur Brotonneau ''Monsieur Brotonneau'' is a 1939 French comedy drama film directed by Alexander Esway and starring Raimu, Josette Day and Marguerite Pierry.Crisp p.112 Synopsis Monsieur Brotonneau leaves his cheating wife Thérèse for his secretary Louise. When ...

'' (1939) *''

Conquest of the Air ''Conquest of the Air'' is a 1936 documentary film or docudrama on the history of aviation up to that time. The film features historical footage, and dramatic re-creations, of the developments of commercial and military aviation; including the e ...

'', semi-dramatised documentary co-directed with

Zoltan Korda Zoltan Korda (June 3, 1895 – October 13, 1961) was a Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, director and producer. He made his first film in Hungary in 1918, and worked with his brother Alexander Korda on film-making there and in London ...

John Monk Saunders John Monk Saunders (November 22, 1897 – March 11, 1940) was an American novelist, screenwriter, and film director. Early life and career Born in Hinckley, Minnesota, to Robert C. Saunders and Nannie Monk Saunders, his family (6 children) move ...

William Cameron Menzies William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American film production designer (a job title he invented) and art director as well as a film director and producer during a career spanning five decades. He began his career ...

, Donald Taylor, and Alexander Shaw (1940) *'' Steppin' in Society'' (1945) *''

'' (1946) *'' L'Idole'' (1947) Screenwriter *'' Die Dame mit der Maske'', directed by

Wilhelm Thiele Wilhelm Thiele (1890–1975) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He directed over 40 films between 1921 and 1960. Life and career Thiele started his show career as a stage actor. He got his start in Austrian and German film during t ...

(1928) *''Taxi for Two'', directed by Esway and Denison Clift (1929) *''

'', directed by

Tay Garnett William Taylor "Tay" Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director and writer. Biography Early life Born in Los Angeles, Garnett attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a naval aviator in Wo ...

(1943) Producer *''

'', directed by

Marion Gering Marion Gering (June 9, 1901 in Rostov-on-Don – April 19, 1977 in New York City) was a Russian-born American stage producer and director. He moved to the United States in 1923 as an artist. He became involved in the theatrical community in Chicag ...

(1937) *''Shadows'', directed by Esway (1931)

References

External links

*
Filmography: Esway, Alexandre
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esway, Alexander Hungarian film directors Hungarian film producers 1895 births 1947 deaths Hungarian emigrants to France