John H. Auer (August 3, 1906 in

Budapest, Hungary 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 of ...

– March 15, 1975 in

North Hollywood, Los Angeles North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

) was a Hungarian-born child actor who, on coming to the Americas in 1928, became a movie director and producer, initially in Mexico but, from the early 1930s, in Hollywood.

Career

Auer was a child actor in Vienna from the age of 12. After he grew up, he had some business experience in Europe, but decided to emigrate to the United States in 1928. He first sought work as a director in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

but luck did not seem to favour him. Next, he tried his hand at directing some Mexican films, which did quite well as they not only brought him critical acclaim but also fared well in box office receipts; some even brought him awards from the Mexican government. His success in Mexico helped Auer to make a re-entry into Hollywood and direct films. Although he worked mostly for the

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

who specialized in

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

and

B films B, or b, is the second Letter (alphabet), letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English ...

, he stuck to crime thrillers and musicals. Besides directing, he also produced most of his directed films. The year 1934 saw Auer's Hollywood directorial venture, Frankie and Johnny, filmed at the Mascot Studios. His later years were spent mostly with the

. It was in the late 1940s and early 1950s when some of his B-rated movies such as ''Angel on the Amazon'', ''Thunderbirds'', and ''Hell's Half Acre'' were well accepted by the film lovers. He also did a film with

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

's ''Gangway for Tomorrow'' and

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

's ''Johnny Doughboy''.

Filmography

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auer, John H. 1906 births 1975 deaths American film directors American film producers American male screenwriters Male actors from Budapest Hungarian emigrants to Mexico 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Hungarian emigrants to the United States