Menyhért Lengyel
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Melchior Lengyel (born Menyhért Lebovics; hu, Lengyel Menyhért; 12 January 1880 – 23 October 1974) was a Hungarian writer, dramatist, and film screenwriter.


Biography

Lengyel was born Menyhért Lebovics in Balmazújváros, Hungary. He started his career as a journalist. He worked first in Kassa (
Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...
), then later in Budapest. His first play, ''A nagy fejedelem'' (''The Great Prince'') was performed by the Thalia Company in 1907. The Hungarian National Theatre performed his next drama ''A hálás utókor'' (''The Grateful Posterity'') in 1908 for which he received the Vojnits Award from the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( hu, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA) is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. Its ma ...
, given every year for the best play. ''Taifun'' (''Typhoon''), one of his plays, written in 1909, became a worldwide success and is still performed today. It was adapted to the screen in the United States in 1914. His articles were often published in ''Nyugat'' (''West''), the most important Hungarian literary journal in the first half of the 20th century. During World War I, he was sent to
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
by the Hungarian daily newspaper ''Az Est'' (''The Evening'') as a reporter. His pacifist articles and other publications written in 1918 were also published in German and French papers and were collected in a book called ''Egyszerű gondolatok'' (''Simple Thoughts''). His story ''The Miraculous Mandarin'' (''A csodálatos mandarin''), a "pantomime grotesque" came out in 1916. It is the story which inspired
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...
, the famous Hungarian composer, to create in 1924 the ballet ''
The Miraculous Mandarin ''The Miraculous Mandarin'' ( hu, A csodálatos mandarin, translit= ˈt͡ʃodaːlɒtoʃ}, ; german: Der wunderbare Mandarin) Op. 19, Sz. 73 (BB 82), is a one act pantomime ballet composed by Béla Bartók between 1918 and 1924, and based on the ...
''. After World War I, Lengyel went to the United States for a longer stay and published his experiences in 1922 in a book ''Amerikai napló'' (''American Journal''). In the 1920s, he was active in the film industry. For some time, he was story editor at May-Film in Berlin. In 1929/30, he was co-director of a Budapest theatre. In 1931, he was sent by the Hungarian newspaper ''
Pesti Napló ''Pesti Napló'' was a Hungarian newspaper published from March 1850 to October 1939. The paper was based in Budapest, Hungary. The Hungarian author Zsigmond Kemény Baron Zsigmond Kemény (June 12, 1814December 22, 1875) was a Hungarian a ...
'' (''Pest Journal'') to London as its reporter. The story of his Utopian novel ''A boldog város'' (''The Happy City'') came out in 1931; it was set in an American city that lay in the depths of a chasm created by the great Californian earthquake. He moved to Hollywood, California in 1937 and became a screenwriter. Several of his stories were the basis of screenplays for films by Ernst Lubitsch which became worldwide successes, such as '' Ninotchka'' (1939), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story; '' To Be or Not to Be'' (1942), and the 1937 film '' Angel'', starring Marlene Dietrich. Lengyel returned to Europe in 1960 and settled down in Italy. In 1963, he received the Great Award of Rome for his literary works. After the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Lengyel often visited his home country and returned to live in Budapest in 1974. He died there shortly afterwards at the age of 94. The city library of Balmazújváros, his native town, was named after him in 2004. A complete list of Lengyel's works as well as the articles and references about him and his publications were compiled by one of the librarians on this occasion.Kun, Józsefné: ''Lengyel Menyhért. Személyi bibliográfia (1880–1974)'' (M. Lengyel. Bibliography 1880 to 1974). Lengyel Menyhért City Library, Balmazújváros, 2004


Selected filmography

* ''
The Gypsy Baron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...
'' (1927) * ''
The Famous Woman ''The Famous Woman'' (German: ''Die berühmte Frau'') is a 1927 German silent drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Lili Damita, Fred Solm and Warwick Ward. It was based on the play '' Die Tänzerin'' by Melchior Lengyel, who also ...
'' (1927) * '' Ninotchka'' (1939) * '' To Be or Not to Be'' (1942)


References


External links

* *
''New York Times'' filmography

''Melchior Lengyel Filmography''


* ttp://theoscarsite.com/whoswho2/lengyel_m.htm ''Melchior Lengyel''
''To Be or Not To Be''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lengyel, Melchior 1880 births 1974 deaths People from Balmazújváros Male screenwriters Hungarian Jews 20th-century Hungarian dramatists and playwrights Hungarian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Hungarian male writers 20th-century Hungarian screenwriters Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery