Lajos Bíró (; born Lajos Blau; 22 August 1880 – 9 September 1948) was a Hungarian novelist, playwright, and screenwriter who wrote many films from the early 1920s through the late 1940s.

Life

He was born in Nagyvárad,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Oradea,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

) into Hungarian Jewish family. According to some sources he was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. After high school, he worked as a newspaper writer in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, then in Oradea from 1900, and in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

from 1905. From 1904 he was deputy editor of the newspaper Pesti Napló. In March 1906 he married Jolan Veszi, daughter of József Vészi. From 1906 to 1909, he lived in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. After that, he worked for The Newspaper and, from autumn 1913 for The World Newspaper. In 1914 he participated in the founding of the . He responded to the prolongation of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with sharply anti-militarist articles. The Károlyi government appointed him State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He was a member of the writers' directory and president of the Writers' Union. After the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, he was forced into emigration, initially living in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. From 1925 to 1928, he resided in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, then in Berlin, and from 1932, in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In United Kingdom he worked as a scenario chief for London Film Productions run by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

, collaborating on many screenplays with Arthur Wimperis. He died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 9 September 1948 of a heart attack. He is buried in the northern section of Hampstead Cemetery in north London. In 1929, he was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Original Writing for '' The Last Command'', but lost to Ben Hecht for ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

'', the only other nomination in this category. His beginning as a writer was influenced by naturalism. In his tense short stories, he illustrates the contradictions of contemporary

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

morality.

Novels

*''A Serpolette'' (The Serpolette, 1914) *''A bazini zsidók'' (The Jews of Bazin; 1921).

Plays

* ''Szinmü négy felvon (Hotel Imperial)'' (1917) * ''Gods and Kings'', six one-act plays (English translation 1945)Saturday Review of Literature – Volume 28, Part 2 – Page 92 1945 – The New Yorker GODS AND KINGS by Lajos Biro "Six witty and sportive one-act plays, all of which are among the best issued in recent years." —Herald Tribune Books "Unified by wit, skill, and a querying philosophical irony. All the plays ..

Partial filmography

*'' The Prince and the Pauper'' (1920) *'' A Vanished World'' (1922) * '' The House of Molitor'' (1922) *'' Tragedy in the House of Habsburg'' (1924) *'' Forbidden Paradise'' (1924) (play) *'' Eve's Secret'' (1925) * '' A Modern Dubarry'' (1927) * '' The Heart Thief'' (1927) * '' Hotel Imperial'' (1927) (play) *'' The Way of All Flesh'' (1927) *'' The Last Command'' (1928) (story) *'' Yellow Lily'' (1928) *'' Night Watch'' (1928) *'' The Haunted House'' (1928) *'' Women Everywhere'' (1930) *'' Michael and Mary'' (1931) *'' Service for Ladies'' (1932) *'' The Golden Anchor'' (1932) * '' The Faithful Heart'' (1932) *'' Strange Evidence'' (1933) * '' The Ghost Train'' (1933) *'' The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933) *'' Catherine the Great'' (1934) (play) *'' The Private Life of Don Juan'' (1934) *'' The Scarlet Pimpernel'' (1934) *'' Sanders of the River'' (1935) *'' The Ghost Goes West'' (1935) *''

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

'' (1936) *'' The Man Who Could Work Miracles'' (1936) *'' Dark Journey'' (1937) *'' Knight Without Armour'' (1937) *'' The Divorce of Lady X'' (1938) *'' The Drum'' (1938) * '' Flower of the Tisza'' (1939) *'' The Four Feathers'' (1939) *'' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940) *'' Five Graves to Cairo'' (1943) (play) *'' A Royal Scandal'' (1945) (play) *'' An Ideal Husband'' (1947) *''

Storm Over the Nile ''Storm Over the Nile'' is a 1955 British adventure film adaptation of the 1902 novel '' The Four Feathers'', directed by Terence Young and Zoltan Korda. The film not only extensively used footage of the action scenes from the 1939 film ver ...

'' (1955)

Notes

References

External links

* * * * 1880 births 1948 deaths Hungarian male novelists Hungarian Jews People from Oradea Writers from Austria-Hungary Jewish Hungarian writers Jewish Hungarian-language writers Jewish writers 20th-century Hungarian novelists 20th-century Hungarian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Hungarian male writers Hungarian male dramatists and playwrights Hungarian male screenwriters 20th-century Hungarian screenwriters {{screen-writer-stub