Michał Waszyński (29 September 1904 – 20 February 1965) was first a

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, pr ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, then in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and later (as Michael Waszynski) a producer of major

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

films, mainly in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Known for his elegance and impeccable manners, he was known by his acquaintances as "the prince". Waszyński was born as Mosze Waks into a Polish Jewish family in 1904 in Kowel, a small town in

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

(now in

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 inva ...

), which at the time was part of

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

. As

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

occupied this part of Europe during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he moved first to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

and later to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. As a young man he worked as an assistant director under the legendary German director

F.W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at th ...

. Upon his return to Poland he changed his name to Michał Waszyński and converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In the 1930s Waszyński became the most prolific film director in Poland, directing 37 of the 147 films made in Poland in that decade, or one out of four. Along with popular films in Polish produced for a wide local audience, he directed an important film in Yiddish '' The Dybbuk'', today a monument of the rich cultural life of East European Jewry before

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...

. At the beginning of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Waszyński escaped from

, which was being bombed by German planes, to

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok U ...

. That city was taken in mid-September 1939 by the Germans, but within weeks, as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, the city was given to the Soviet Union and occupied by its army. Waszyński began a new career as a theater director, first in

and later in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. In the summer of 1941, after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Waszyński joined the newly formed

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

of general

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyears ...

(loyal to the

Polish government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) and subsequently was relocated to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

(

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

), and later as a soldier of the 2nd Corps of the Polish Army to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and

. As a member of the army film unit, he filmed the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

, where the Polish Army suffered great losses, but helped to win the day. After World War II, he stayed in Italy, where he directed a Polish-language feature film about the Battle of Monte Cassino, and then three Italian films. Later in his career, Waszyński worked as a producer for the major American studios in Italy and (primarily) Spain, credited as ''Michael Waszynski''. His credits include '' The Quiet American'' (1958) (associate producer), ''

El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El C ...

'' (1961), and '' The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)'' (1964) (executive producer and associate producer). He died of a heart attack on 20 February 1965 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and was buried in a ceremonious Catholic funeral in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Filmography

* '' William Tell'' (1949) * La Grande strada (1948) Polish film produced in Italy, (1946, Italian version completed in 1948, with the collaboration of Vittorio Cottafavi); with

Jadwiga Andrzejewska Jadwiga Andrzejewska (1915–1977) was a Polish film and theater actress who was popular between the World Wars in Poland and Germany. Filmography This filmography lists only most important movies: * '' Milioner'' (1977) * '' A jeśli będzie je ...

* '' Fire Over the Sea'' (1947) * '' The Unknown Man of San Marino'' (1946) *''

Wielka droga ''Wielka droga'' is a 1946 Polish film directed by Michał Waszyński. Plot The plot spans from shortly before the outbreak of World War II to its end. In the city of Lwów (PL) in 1939 Adam and Irena fall in Love, but are separated by the outb ...

'' (1946) *''

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...

'' (1944) *'' Mp. Adama i Ewy'' (1944) *'' Dzieci'' (1943) *'' Pobyt generala Wl. Sikorskiego na Srodkowym Wschodzie'' (1943) *'' Polska parada'' (1943) *'' Kronika wojenna nr 1'' (1942) *'' Marsz do wolnosci'' (1942) *'' Od pobudki do capstrzyku'' (1942) *''

The Three Hearts ''The Three Hearts'' (Polish: ''Trzy serca'') is a 1939 Polish romantic comedy film directed by Michał Waszyński Michał Waszyński (29 September 1904 – 20 February 1965) was first a film director in Poland, then in Italy, and later ...

'' (1939) *'' U kresu drogi'' (1939) *'' The Vagabonds'' (1939) * Serce matki (1938) *

Gehenna The Valley of Hinnom ( he, , lit=Valley of the son of Hinnom, translit=Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm) is a historic valley surrounding Ancient Jerusalem from the west and southwest. The valley is also known by the name Gehinnom ( ''Gēʾ-Hīnnōm'' ...

(1938) * Profesor Wilczur (1938) *

Ostatnia brygada ''Ostatnia brygada'' (alternative title: ''Prawo do szczęścia'') is a 1938 Polish film directed by Michał Waszyński. The film's art direction is by Jacek Rotmil. Cast * Zbigniew Sawan ... Andrzej Dowmunt * Maria Gorczyńska ... Lena * E ...

(1938) * Druga młodość (1938) * Kobiety nad przepaścią (1938) * Rena (1938) *'' The Dybbuk''(1937) * Znachor (1937) * Papa się żeni (1936) * Bohaterowie Sybiru (1936) * Dodek na froncie (1936) * 30 karatów szczęścia (1936) * Będzie lepiej (1936) * Bolek i Lolek (1936) * Nie miała baba kłopotu (1935) * Panienka z poste restante (1935) * Wacuś (1935) * Jaśnie pan szofer (1935) *

ABC miłości ''ABC miłości'' (''ABC of Love'') is a 1935 Polish film directed by Michał Waszyński. Cast *Adolf Dymsza... Wincenty Poziomka * Maria Bogda ... Helenka * Kazimierz Krukowski ... Krupkowski, revue actor * Basia Wywerkówna ... Basienka *Kon ...

(1935) * Antek policmajster (1935) * Czarna perła (1934) * Kocha, lubi, szanuje (1934) * Pieśniarz Warszawy (1934) *

Parada rezerwistów ''Parade of the Reservists'' (''Parada rezerwistów'') is a 1934 Polish film directed by Michał Waszyński. Cast *Adolf Dymsza ... The Chief * Jerzy Kobusz * Józef Kondrat ... The Private * Tola Mankiewiczówna ... Barbara *Stanisław ...

(1934) * Co mój mąż robi w nocy (1934) * Zabawka (1933) * Prokurator Alicja Horn (1933) * Dvanáct kresel (1933) * Jego ekscelencja subiekt (1933) * Sto metrów miłości (1932) * Głos pustyni (1932) * Bezimienni bohaterowie (1932) *

Uwiedziona ''Uwiedziona'' is a 1931 Polish film directed by Michał Waszyński. Cast *Maria Malicka ... Lena *Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski ... Rawicz * Krystyna Ankwicz ... Maria Rawicza * Zbigniew Sawan ... Jerzy Rawicz * Tadeusz Olsza ... Gust ...

(1931) * Niebezpieczny romans (1930) * Kult ciała (1930) * Pod banderą miłości (1929) * '' Jealousy'' (1922)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waszynski, Michal 1904 births 1965 deaths 20th-century Polish people Polish film directors LGBT people from Poland LGBT Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Polish people of Jewish descent LGBT Jews Volhynian Jews Polish expatriates in Italy People from Kovel People from Volhynian Governorate Polish military personnel of World War II 20th-century LGBT people