Josef Berne (January 19, 1904 – December 19, 1964) was a Russian-born American writer,

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and producer. Berne was born Josef Berstein on January 19, 1904, in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). He also wrote and directed

Yiddish language Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

dramas.allmovie
/ref> He directed 32 films between 1933 and 1950, most of which were short films. He died on December 19, 1964, aged 60 in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

Selected filmography

* ''La vida bohemia'' (1938) * ''

Mirele Efros ''Mirele Efros'' was an 1898 Yiddish play by Jacob Gordin. Some have called it "the Jewish Queen Lear". The title character is a powerful matriarch who becomes bitterly estranged from her own family. Lulla Rosenfeld, in her commentary to Jacob A ...

'' (1939) an adaptation of Yiddish play by

Jacob Gordin Jacob Michailovitch Gordin (Yiddish: יעקב מיכאַילאָװיטש גאָרדין; May 1, 1853 – June 11, 1909) was a Russian-born American playwright active in the early years of Yiddish theater. He is known for introducing realism and ...

of the same name * ''

Jam Session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without exte ...

'' (1942) * ''Turkey in the Straw'' (1942), short film starring Freddie Fisher * '' Heavenly Music'' (1943) won

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Short Subject * ''

Lucky Cowboy ''Lucky Cowboy'' is a 1944 American two-reel Western film directed by Josef Berne using a screenplay by Robert Stephen Brode. The film starred Eddie Dew, Julie Gibson, Bob Kortman, and LeRoy Mason LeRoy Franklin Mason (July 2, 1903 – ...

'' (1944) * ''They Live in Fear'' (1944) * ''

Down Missouri Way ''Down Missouri Way'' is a 1946 American musical film directed by Josef Berne and written by Sam Neuman. The film stars Martha O'Driscoll, John Carradine, Eddie Dean, William Wright, Roscoe Karns and Renee Godfrey. The film was released on ...

'' (1946)

References

External links

* * 1904 births 1964 deaths American film directors {{US-film-director-1900s-stub