Gustav Machatý (9 May 1901 – 13 December 1963) was a Czech

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and actor. He directed films in Czechoslovakia, the United States, and Germany, including '' Erotikon'' and '' Ecstasy''.

Life

He was born Augustín Otokar Jan Machatý in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. His father was a real estate investor. Machatý didn't finish high school and started to work in movies as a teenager. He worked as a cinema pianist, actor, screenwriter, producer and art director. He directed his first film ''Teddy by kouřil'' in 1919. In 1920 he moved to the US, worked for

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

and returned to Czechoslovakia in 1922. In 1926 he finally managed to secure funds for his movie '' The Kreutzer Sonata''. The film was a success and led to Machatý getting offers to direct. His next movie '' Schweik in Civilian Life'' was not successful. Machatý spent two years studying foreign movies and entered the period in which he created the best movies of his career. In 1929 he made a symbolist drama '' Erotikon'', in 1931 a social drama '' From Saturday to Sunday'' and an adaptation of Karel Poláček's novel '' Načeradec, král kibiců'' and in 1933 his best known film '' Ecstasy''. ''Ecstasy'' was screened at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

and made both Machatý and its lead actress Hedy Lamarr internationally famous. They both received offers to work for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. After making '' Nocturno'' in Germany and '' Ballerine'' in Italy he decided to accept the offer and traveled to the US. However his American career consisted mainly of low-level contract work for the studio and MGM producers didn't show interest in his ideas. From 1940 to 1943 he worked for RKO directing only camera test footage with starting actors. In 1945 he managed to direct ''

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'' for a smaller production company

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

. After the suicide of his wife Maria Ray (1904–1951) he returned to Europe and settled in Munich, West Germany. He directed his last movie in 1955 and later worked as a professor at Deutsches Institut für Film und Fernsehen in Münich. He died in Münich in 1963.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Machaty, Gustav 1901 births 1963 deaths Film directors from Prague People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czechoslovak film directors Czech male screenwriters Czech male film actors Czech male silent film actors German-language film directors 20th-century Czech male actors 20th-century Czech screenwriters