Henry Blanke

Birth : 1901-12-30, Steglitz, Berlin, Germany

Death : 1981-05-28

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Henry Blanke (December 30, 1901 – May 28, 1981) was a German-born film producer who also worked as an assistant director, supervisor, writer, and production manager. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for The Nun's Story (1959). He was born Heinz Blanke in Steglitz, Berlin, Germany, the son of painter Wilhelm Blanke. He began his career as a film cutter in 1920. Blanke became an assistant to Ernst Lubitsch and was the production manager of Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis. He produced nine films in his native Germany before emigrating to Hollywood. He became a power at Warner Bros., working there for decades. Among his Hollywood producing credits are: Of Human Bondage (1946), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) and The Fountainhead (1949). When the announced production of The Life of Emile Zola (1937) came under fire from Georg Gyssling, the Nazi German consul to the United States (due to its portrayal of Alfred Dreyfus, who was of Jewish descent), Blanke lied to him, telling him the Dreyfus affair was only a small part of the film. The Online Archive of California has a transcript of his oral recollections.

Movies

Hell Is for Heroes
Producer
World War II drama where the action centers around a single maneuver by a squad of GIs in retaliation against the force of the German Siegfried line. Reese joins a group of weary GIs unexpectedly ordered back into the line when on their way to a rest area. While most of the men withdraw from their positions facing a German pillbox at the far side of a mine-field, half a dozen men are left to protect a wide front. By various ruses, they manage to convince the Germans that a large force is still holding the position. Then Reese leads two of the men in an unauthorized and unsuccessful attack on the pillbox, in which the other two are killed; and when the main platoon returns, he is threatened with court-martial. Rather that face the disgrace, and in an attempt to show he was right, he makes a one-man attack on the pillbox.
The Sins of Rachel Cade
Producer
A female doctor in the Congo is torn between two loves.
Cash McCall
Producer
Wealthy hotshot Cash McCall makes his money by purchasing unsuccessful businesses, whipping them into shape and then selling them for a huge profit. When Cash comes across Austen Plastics, a small manufacturing corporation on its last legs, he realizes it might be a gamble to buy the company. But when Cash finds out that the company's owner is the father of his old flame, Lory, he buys the business just to get a second chance at romance.
Ice Palace
Producer
Alaska: America's last great wilderness frontier. A land of primitive grandeur, of glaciers, mountains and ice-fields. And of ambitious cannery tycoon Zeb "Czar" Kennedy (Richard Burton) and rugged activist leader Thor Storm (Robert Ryan), two rough-hewn men whose bitter 40-year rivalry mirrored their powerful land's struggle for statehood.
The Miracle
Producer
A novice leaves a Spanish convent to follow a 19th-century British soldier she loves.
The Nun's Story
Producer
After leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.
Westbound
Producer
As the Civil War spills our nation’s blood, Capt. John Hayes (Randolph Scott) fights on a vital but little-known battlefront. He aims to ship gold to Union banks through a small Colorado town, defying Southern sympathizers who aim to stop him at any cost.
Too Much, Too Soon
Producer
The daughter of iconic actor John Barrymore becomes reunited with her father after a ten year estrangement and engages in his self-destructive lifestyle.
Serenade
Producer
A wealthy woman discovers a vineyard worker with a beautiful operatic singing voice. She helps make him a star but then breaks his heart. He flees in misery to Mexico where he meets a sweet farm girl.
Sincerely Yours
Producer
He dazzled America for decades with his musical artistry. Now fans as well as those curious about this exciting entertainer’s unique appeal can relive the Liberace magic in his only starring film, Sincerely Yours. In a poignant story scripted by Irving Wallace, Liberace plays a concert pianist threatened by deafness. Plunged into despair, he finds escape from personal sorrow by secretly involving himself in the problems of strangers. Liberace touches the heart and delights the ear with sparkling renditions of 31 selections from Chopin to Chopsticks. Along the way he romances Joanne Dru and Dorothy Malone, trades barbs with old pro William Demarest and in a warmly humorous nightclub scene, pokes fun at his own image as the 1950s matinee idol of the little-old-lady set. From beginning to end, Sincerely Yours perfectly captures the charisma and sheer musicality of the legendary Mr. Showmanship.
Young at Heart
Producer
The lives and romances of three sisters in a musical family; the youngest daughter's life is complicated by the subsequent arrival of a charming composer and a cynical music arranger.
Lucky Me
Producer
Three struggling theatrical performers meet a famous songwriter who is trying to convince a wealthy oilman to finance a musical he is scripting, promising them stardom if it comes to fruition.
Phantom of the Rue Morgue
Producer
When several women are found mutilated and murdered, the Paris police are baffled as to who the killer may be. All evidence points to Dupin, but soon it becomes apparent that it is someone (or something) stronger and deadlier than a human.
So Big
Producer
After the death of her father and the loss of his fortune, Selina takes a job teaching school in the Dutch community of New Holland. She stays with the Pools and teaches young Roelf piano. He has a crush on her, but it is Pervus she marries. Dirk is their only child. After a few years Pervus dies. With a young child and only the farm, Selina begins her quest to grow high quality vegetables. She wants more for Dirk and guides his life until he graduates from college as an architect. As her vegetable label prospers, she sees Paula control Dirk's life as he moves away from creating and into sales, which is not where he wants to go.
The Iron Mistress
Producer
In this biopic, Jim Bowie goes to New Orleans, where he falls for Judalon and befriends her brother, Narcisse. Soon, Jim is forced to avenge Narcisse's murder, but Judalon takes up with another man. Jim eventually has another romantic interlude with Judalon and is forced to kill one of her suitors in self-defense. Jim leaves town, and falls for the daughter of a Texas politician, but his entanglement with Judalon continues to bedevil him.
Operation Secret
Producer
After assisting the French Underground during WWII, an American Officer is later accused of murder and subversive activities by former colleagues. Based on the actual exploits of Lieutenant Colonel Peter Ortiz.
Room for One More
Producer
Anne and "Poppy" Rose have three quirky kids. Anne has a generous heart and the belief in the innocence of children. To the unhappy surprise of her husband she takes in the orphan Jane, a problem child who already tried to kill herself once.
Come Fill The Cup
Producer
Alcoholic newspaperman Lew Marsh hits bottom, loses his job and is rehabilitated by Charley Dolan. After six years on the wagon he gets his job back and devotes himself to other recovering alcoholics.
Tomorrow Is Another Day
Producer
A man who spent his formative years in prison for murder is released, and struggles to adjust to the outside world and escape his lurid past. He gets involved with a cheap dancehall girl, and when her protector is accidentally killed, they go on the lam together, getting jobs as farm labourers. But some fellow workers get wise to them.
Goodbye, My Fancy
Producer
Agatha has fond memories of her romance with college president Dr. James Merrill, when she was a student and he was her professor, and wants to see if there is still a spark between them.
Lightning Strikes Twice
Producer
Sent to a dude ranch in the west to recover her health, a New York actress falls in love with a ranch owner recently acquitted of the murder of his wife.
Bright Leaf
Producer
Two tobacco growers battle for control of the cigarette market.
Beyond the Forest
Producer
Rosa, the self-serving wife of a small-town doctor, gets a better offer when a wealthy big-city man insists she get a divorce and marry him instead. Soon she demonstrates she is capable of rather deplorable acts -- including murder.
The Fountainhead
Producer
An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.
June Bride
Producer
A magazine's staff, including bickering ex-lovers Linda and Carey, cover an Indiana wedding, which goes slightly wrong...
The Woman in White
Producer
A young painter stumbles upon an assortment of odd characters at an English estate where he has been hired to give art lessons to beautiful Laura Fairlie. Among them are Anne Catherick, a strange young woman dressed in white whom he meets in the forest and who bears a striking resemblance to Laura; cunning Count Fosco, who hopes to obtain an inheritance for nobleman Sir Percival Glyde, whom he plans to have Laura marry; Mr. Fairlie, a hypochondriac who can't stand to have anyone make the slightest noise; and eccentric Countess Fosco who has her own dark secret. The artist also finds himself drawn to Marion Halcomb, a distant relation to Laura for whom the Count also has plans.
Winter Meeting
Producer
A repressed poetess and an embittered war hero help each other cope with their problems.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Producer
Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, both down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico in 1925, meet up with a grizzled prospector named Howard and decide to join with him in search of gold in the wilds of central Mexico. Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but bandits, the elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster.
Escape Me Never
Producer
A penniless composer marries a young widow with a baby—even though he is in love with his brother's fiancée.
Deep Valley
Producer
A shy California farm girl falls head-over-heels in love with Barry Burnett, a fugitive from a chain gang building a road through the wilderness.
Cry Wolf
Producer
A woman uncovers deadly secrets when she visits her late husband's family.
Deception
Producer
After marrying her long lost love, a pianist finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy composer who is besotted with her.
Of Human Bondage
Producer
A medical student with a club foot falls for a beautiful but ambitious waitress. She soon leaves him, but gets pregnant and comes back to him for help.
My Reputation
Producer
Tongues begin to wag when a lonely widow becomes romantically involved with a military man. Problems arise when the gossip is filtered down to her own children.
Roughly Speaking
Producer
In the 1920s, enterprising Louise Randall is determined to succeed in a man's world. Despite numerous setbacks, she always picks herself back up and moves forward again.
The Mask of Dimitrios
Producer
A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.
Old Acquaintance
Producer
Two writers, friends since childhood, fight over their books and lives.
The Constant Nymph
Producer
The daughter of a musical mentor adores a promising composer, who is quite fond of the adolescent. When her father dies, an uncle arrives with his own grown daughter, who begins a romance with the composer which culminates in marriage but creates an emotional rivalry that affects the three.
Edge of Darkness
Producer
The film pivots around the local Norwegian doctor and his family. The doctor's wife (Ruth Gordon) wants to hold on to the pretence of gracious living and ignore their German occupiers. The doctor, Martin Stensgard (Walter Huston), would also prefer to stay neutral, but is torn. His brother-in-law, the wealthy owner of the local fish cannery, collaborates with the Nazis. The doctor's daughter, Karen (Ann Sheridan), is involved with the resistance and with its leader Gunnar Brogge (Errol Flynn). The doctor's son has just returned to town, having been sent down from the university, and is soon influenced by his Nazi-sympathizer uncle. Captain Koenig (Helmut Dantine), the young German commandant of the occupying garrison, whose fanatic determination to do everything by the book and spoutings about the invincibility of the Reich hides a growing fear of a local uprising.
The Gay Sisters
Producer
The eldest (Barbara Stanwyck) of three sisters protects their Fifth Avenue mansion from a developer (George Brent) she once married.
Blues in the Night
Producer
A struggling band find themselves attached to a fugitive and drawn into a series of old feuds and love affairs, as they try to stay together and find musical success.
The Maltese Falcon
Producer
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
Out of the Fog
Associate Producer
A Brooklyn pier racketeer bullies boat-owners into paying protection money but two fed-up fishermen decide to eliminate the gangster themselves rather than complain to the police.
The Great Lie
Associate Producer
After a newlywed's husband apparently dies in a plane crash, she discovers that her rival for his affections is pregnant with his child.
The Sea Wolf
Producer
Shipwrecked fugitives try to escape a brutal sea captain who's losing his mind.
Honeymoon for Three
Associate Producer
Noted writer Kenneth Bixby, in love with his witty secretary Anne Rogers, is on a book tour when he meets up with a former college fling with a loopy Danish girl which he barely remembers. She remembers him, very well.
Four Mothers
Associate Producer
Four married sisters face motherhood, financial, marital and family issues together.
The Sea Hawk
Associate Producer
Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal he captures.
Four Wives
Associate Producer
In this sequel to Four Daughters, Ann struggles to move on after the death of her husband as she falls in love with Felix, but on the day of her engagement discovers that she carries Mickey's child.
We Are Not Alone
Associate Producer
A British doctor and his son's Austrian governess have an affair and are accused of killing his wife.
The Old Maid
Associate Producer
The lives of two cousins are complicated by the return of an ex-boyfriend and an illegitimate child.
Daughters Courageous
Associate Producer
Nan Masters, a single mother living with her four marriageable daughters, plans to marry Sam Sloane, businessman. Out of the blue her 1st husband Jim returns after deserting the family 20 years earlier. The worldly wanderer Jim gets a cool family reception at first but his warm personality gradually wins the affections of his four daughters. In fact, youngest daughter Buff, who has her eye on a maverick of her own in Gabriel Lopez, is pleased when Jim grants his stamp of approval on her relationship. Buff plans to elope with Gabriel on her mother's wedding day, but 'unpredictable' is Gabriel's middle name.
Juarez
Associate Producer
The newly-named emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlota arrive in Mexico to face popular sentiment favoring Benito Juárez and democracy.
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Producer
Robin Hood fights nobly for justice against the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne while striving to win the hand of the beautiful Maid Marian.
Jezebel
Associate Producer
In 1850s Louisiana, the willfulness of a tempestuous Southern belle threatens to destroy all who care for her.
The Life of Emile Zola
Producer
Biopic of the famous French writer Emile Zola and his involvement in the Dreyfus Affair.
Green Light
Producer
A brilliant young surgeon takes the blame for a colleague when a botched surgery causes a patient's death and buries himself at a wilderness research facility.
The Green Pastures
Supervising Producer
God, heaven, and several Old Testament stories, including the Creation and Noah's Ark, are described supposedly using the perspective of rural, black Americans.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Producer
A film adaptation by Max Reinhardt of his popular stage productions of Shakespeare's comedy. Four young people escape Athens to a forest where the king and queen of the fairies are quarreling, while meanwhile a troupe of amateur actors rehearses a play. When the fairy Puck uses a magic flower to make people fall in love, the whole thing becomes a little bit confused...
The Girl from 10th Avenue
Producer
When his fiancée Valentine dumps him, prominent lawyer Geoffrey Sherwood goes on a bender and winds up married to a stranger, Miriam Brady. They decide to give their marriage a chance. Their landlady, a one-time Floradora girl, offers to help Miriam become refined. Successful again, Geoffrey is approached ("if only we were free") by Valentine. Miriam tells Valentine off in no uncertain terms. Geoffrey moves into his club where Valentine's husband tells him he is a fool to leave Miriam
The Secret Bride
Associate Producer
Before Ruth Vincent, daughter of a state governor, and state attorney general Robert Sheldon can announce their marriage, the governor is accused of bribe-taking. To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, they decide to keep their marriage secret. The political intrigue becomes more involved, and no one is quite what they seem. Soon Sheldon and Ruth must decide between saving the governor's career and an innocent person's life.
British Agent
Camera Operator
An Englishman falls in love with a Russian spy.
Fog Over Frisco
Supervising Producer
Val takes the assistance of a society reporter and a journalist to investigate the disappearance of her half-sister Arlene, a wealthy socialite who is involved in criminal activities.
Fashions of 1934
Producer
When the Manhattan investment firm of Sherwood Nash goes broke, he joins forces with his partner Snap and fashion designer Lynn Mason to provide discount shops with cheap copies of Paris couture dresses.
Easy to Love
Producer
Carol feels, for whatever reason, that her husband, John, has grown indifferent to her, and is on a quest to find out why, suspecting another woman. She sees the family physician, Dr. Swope, first and then hires a private detective. Her own sleuthing is more effective and she devises a plan; having long been pursued by Eric, she apparently accedes and accompanies him to an apartment and, per her plan, enter the wrong one. There, they find Carol's best friend, Charlotte, and John hiding in a closet. The latter, showing more nerve than good sense, goes into a rage and berates Carol for her apparent philandering. The battle continues at home, where their daughter Janet informs them that because of them, she and Paul have given up on the idea of marriage, but are going away together, anyway. Carol and John trail them to a hotel and find them in twin beds, whereupon John, armed with a fire-ax, summons a justice of the peace and demands a fire-ax version of a shotgun wedding.
Convention City
Producer
Extra-marital fun and games at a convention of the Honeywell Rubber Company in Atlantic City.
Bureau of Missing Persons
Producer
Butch Saunders has been transferred to Missing Persons because he was too brutal in other police work...
Goodbye Again
Producer
Flirtatious mix-ups abound when a celebrated novelist tangles with an old flame and her suspicious husband. Will the author's savvy secretary, who's secretly in love with him, save his neck?
The Silk Express
Producer
As the demand for raw silk goes sky high, crooked businessman Wallace Myton corners the market with plans to drive up the price. Determined to fulfill his contracts, manufacturer Donald Kilgore imports $3 million worth of silk to Seattle and accompanies it by special train to New York. But when his secretary is found murdered, Kilgore soon discovers Myton has planted three killers on board with orders to stop the express and its passengers dead in their tracks.
Mystery of the Wax Museum
Producer
The disappearance of people and corpses leads a reporter to a wax museum and a sinister sculptor.
Le bluffeur
Director
Parallel French-speaking version of Warners' "High Pressure" (1932), a comedy satire on fast-talking promoters, crazy inventors, and stock market hype. The story line comes from Kandel's stage play "Hot Money," which had played on Broadway a month or two in 1931, before Warners bought screen rights and changed the title.
The Holy Flames
Producer
This is the German-language version of 1929's "The Sacred Flame", from the W. Somerset Maugham play, shot by Warner Bros. in Hollywood with a German-speaking cast.
Demon of the Sea
Producer
Ahab pursues a whale that chewed off a leg when his brother, vying with him for the hand of a minister's daughter, pushed him overboard. When he has caught the monstrous whale he will then deal with his brother.
Those who dance
Producer
The Desired Woman
Assistant Director
The beautiful and cultured Lady Diana Whitney marries Captain Maxwell of the British Army. When he is transferred to the Sahara, life at his remote post becomes one trial after another for Diana. Then Larry Trent, a young lieutenant, arrives to provide a pleasant reminder of days past, but Maxwell, in a jealous rage over their innocent companionship, sends Trent to a distant village.
The Third Degree
Assistant Director
Alicia, a circus artist, deserts her husband and child to elope with Underwood, her handsome lover. Fifteen years later, Annie Martin, Alicia's deserted daughter, is a trapeze performer in a sideshow at Coney Island, operated by Mr. and Mrs. Chubb, and has married Howard Jeffries in spite of opposition by his wealthy parents. Jeffries, Sr., hires a man (Underwood) to separate the young couple. Underwood convinces the newlyweds that each is being unfaithful to the other, and consequently, he is threatened by Howard. Driven to fury by Underwood's uncontrollable demands, Alicia shoots him in a quarrel and makes her escape just as Howard enters; despite his innocence, Howard confesses to the crime when subjected to the third degree. Annie, realizing her mother's guilt, claims to be guilty, but Alicia then confesses. Annie is saved from suicide by Howard, and they are united by love.