Jean Negulesco

Jean Negulesco

Birth : 1900-02-26, Craiova, Dolj, Romania

Death : 1993-07-18

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jean Negulesco (26 February 1900 – 18 July 1993) was a Romanian-born American film director and screenwriter. Born in Craiova, he attended Carol I High School. In 1915 he moved to Vienna, in 1919 to Bucharest, where he worked as a painter, before becoming a stage decorator in Paris. In 1927 he went to New York City for an exhibition of his paintings, and settled there. In 1934 he entered the film industry, first as a sketch artist, then as an assistant producer, second unit director and in the late 1930s he became a director and screenwriter. He made a reputation at Warner Brothers by directing short subjects, particularly a series of band shorts featuring unusual camera angles and dramatic use of shadows and silhouettes. Negulesco's first feature film as director was Singapore Woman (1941). In 1948 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Directing for Johnny Belinda. In 1955, he won the BAFTA Award for Best Film for How to Marry a Millionaire. His 1959 movie The Best of Everything was on Entertainment Weekly's "Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time" list. From the late 1960s, he lived in Marbella, Spain. He died there at age 93, of heart failure. During his Hollywood career and in his 1984 autobiography, Negulesco claimed to have been born on 29 February 1900; he was apparently motivated to make this statement because birthdays on Leap Year Day are comparatively rare. In fact, 1900 was not a leap year, so there was no 29 February in 1900. Negulesco's autobiography (in which this claim appears) is appropriately titled Things I Did and Things I Think I Did. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jean Negulesco, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia​

Profile

Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco

Movies

Hello-Goodbye
Director
A car salesman journeys to France and encounters an apparently lonely woman. He immediately begins to successfully woo her only to learn that she is actually a baron's wife. Fortunately, the baron believes in open marriages and winds up hiring the Englishman to teach his son (from an earlier marriage) everything about automobiles. Meanwhile the car salesman finds himself falling seriously in love with the wife. The baron really doesn't mind as he himself is involved with another.
The Invincible Six
Director
Based on the story "The Heroes of Yucca," The Invincible Six features a ragtag group of jewel thieves who become the unofficial guardians of a small Iranian village. When bandits attack the village, looking for the body of their former leader and his treasure map, the Invincible Six are there to save the day, wooing the local females and frustrating the new leader of the bandits.
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Director
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.
The Pleasure Seekers
Director
A trio of gorgeous American tourists hope to find love while vacationing in Spain. Secretary Maggie Williams falls hard for a married newsman named Paul Barton while fighting off the advances of one of his employees. Singer Fran Hobson sets her sights on a handsome European doctor. And coed Susie Higgins receives an unexpected proposal from smooth-talking womanizer Emilio Lacaya.
Jessica
Producer
When the men of a Sicilian village start obsessing over ravishing blonde midwife Jessica, angry females revolt by refusing to have sex with their husbands. As the local priest tries to encourage procreation, Jessica falls for a tricky recluse.
Jessica
Director
When the men of a Sicilian village start obsessing over ravishing blonde midwife Jessica, angry females revolt by refusing to have sex with their husbands. As the local priest tries to encourage procreation, Jessica falls for a tricky recluse.
The Best of Everything
Director
An exposé of the lives and loves of Madison Avenue working girls and their higher-ups.
Count Your Blessings
Director
Englishwoman Grace Allingham marries Frenchman Charles Edouard de Valhubert, but their marriage quickly becomes unusual. Because Charles cheats on her and lives away from his family out of professional obligation to his government, Grace ends up raising the couple's son, Sigismond, on her own. Grace and Charles are finally reunited after nearly a decade apart, and, while they seem headed for a permanent split, there's still a spark between them.
A Certain Smile
Director
A pretty Parisian law student falls in love with her boyfriend's uncle.
The Gift of Love
Director
Fearing she will die, a physicist's wife hopes her husband will be consoled by the orphan she adopts.
Boy on a Dolphin
Director
Phaedra is a poor sponge diver on the lovely Greek isle of Hydra. While diving, she discovers an ancient brass and gold statue of a boy riding a dolphin, which is said to have the magical power to grant wishes. Her shiftless boyfriend wants to sell it to an unscrupulous art collector, but Phaedra wants to give it to anthropologist Jim Calder, who would return it to the Greek government.
The Dark Wave
Director
A young girl, played by Pamela Beaird, normal in every way is affected with severe epilepsy. What happens, in regard to her parents and school friends and their reactions, is shown. In addition, an explanation of the affliction and a demonstration of the treatment involved, both physically and psychologically, are detailed.
The Rains of Ranchipur
Director
India. The spoilt and stubborn Edwina Esketh, comes to a small town with her husband. She falls in love with an indian doctor, Dr. Safti. She also meets an old friend of hers, the alcoholic Tom Ransome. An awful earthquake is followed by days of rain.
Daddy Long Legs
Director
Wealthy American, Jervis Pendleton has a chance encounter at a French orphanage with a cheerful 18-year-old residen, and anonymously pays for her education at a New England college. She writes letters to her mysterious benefactor regularly, but he never writes back. Several years later, he visits her at school, while still concealing his identity, and—despite their large age difference—they soon fall in love.
Woman's World
Director
Needing to fill the position of general manager of his company, and believing that an executive's wife is crucial to her husband's success, auto industry mogul Gifford brings three couples to New York to size up: Jerry and Carol: he hard-driven and self-reliant, she willing to use her beauty to further her husband's career; Sid and Elizabeth, he ulcer-ridden and torn between achieving success and restoring their troubled marriage, she positive that his job will kill him, but gamely agreeing to play the good wife for the duration; and down-to-earth Bill, whose good-natured Katie fears that his promotion would spell the end of their idyllic familiy existence.
Three Coins in the Fountain
Director
Three American roommates working in Italy wish for the man of their dreams after throwing coins into Rome's magnificent Trevi Fountain. Frances, a secretary at a government agency, sets out to win the heart of her smooth-talking novelist employer; Anita, her coworker, defies office regulations by romancing an Italian who works at the agency; and office newcomer Maria meets a real Italian Prince Charming and falls madly in love. The only thing the three hopeful ladies need to do is seal their fate.
How to Marry a Millionaire
Director
Three women set out to find eligible millionaires to marry, but find true love in the process.
Scandal at Scourie
Director
After their orphanage burns down, a group of children are being transported west by train to Manitoba. All of them are available for adoption and at a stop at Scourie, Ontario little Patsy meets Victoria McChesney. Victoria and her husband Patrick have no children and she immediately decides to adopt the girl. The only condition imposed on them is that as Patsy has been baptized a Roman Catholic the Protestant McChesneys agree to raise her as a Catholic. Patsy is a well-behaved little girl whose only real problem is a school bully, also one of the orphans, who spreads stories that she set their orphanage on fire.
Titanic
Director
Unhappily married, Julia Sturges decides to go to America with her two children on the Titanic. Her husband, Richard also arranges passage on the luxury liner so as to have custody of their two children. All this fades to insignificance once the ship hits an iceberg.
O. Henry's Full House
Director
Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critic's acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a nice jail cell. He fails. He can't even accost a woman; she turns out to be a streetwalker. The other stories are "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief", and "The Gift of the Magi".
Lure of the Wilderness
Director
A young girl and her father, who is unjustly accused of murder, seek refuge in a Georgia swamp until they are befriended by a trapper who penetrates the swamp in search of his dog.
Lydia Bailey
Director
A young Boston lawyer, Albron Hamlin, goes to Haiti in 1802 to find Lydia Bailey, whose estate he must settle. The island is war-torn in the strife between Toussaing L'Overture, the black president, and the French who are trying to retake possession of the country. Hamlin finds Lydia and, against the background of war and rebellion, they fall in love while helping the Haitians against the French.
Phone Call from a Stranger
Director
Four strangers board a plane and become fast friends, but a catastrophic crash leaves only one survivor. He then sets off on a journey to discover who these people were, but ultimately discovers the devastating truth about himself.
Take Care of My Little Girl
Director
A young woman enters college and learns some hard truths about sorority life, including snobbery and the cruelty of hazing.
The Mudlark
Director
It's 1875 and a young street urchin wants to see Queen Victoria...
Under My Skin
Director
Set in Paris, Under My Skin stars John Garfield as a washed-up jockey who has stolen money from a crooked gambler (Luther Adler).
Three Came Home
Director
Borneo, 1941, during World War II. When the Japanese occupy the island, American writer Agnes Newton Keith is separated from her husband and imprisoned with her son in a prison camp run by the enigmatic Colonel Suga.
Britannia Mews
Director
In Victorian London, young Adelaide is born into luxury, but marries starving artist Henry. His alcoholism and their lack of money lead to many quarrels. During one such fight, Henry slips down a flight of stairs and dies. A neighbor, Mrs. Mounsey, is the only witness, and she blackmails the young widow by threatening to tell the cops that Adelaide killed her husband. Luckily, lawyer Gilbert swoops in to help Adelaide.
Road House
Director
A night club owner becomes infatuated with a torch singer and frames his best friend/manager for embezzlement when the chanteuse falls in love with him.
Johnny Belinda
Director
A small-town doctor helps a deaf-mute farm girl learn to communicate.
Deep Valley
Director
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.
Humoresque
Director
A classical musician from a working class background is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy, neurotic socialite.
Nobody Lives Forever
Director
A con artist falls for the rich widow he's trying to fleece.
Three Strangers
Director
On the eve of the Chinese New Year, three strangers, Crystal Shackleford, married to a wealthy philanderer; Jerome Artbutny, an outwardly respectable judge; and Johnny West, a seedy sneak thief, make a pact before a small statue of the Chinese goddess of Destiny. The threesome agree to purchase a sweepstakes ticket and share whatever winnings might accrue.
The Conspirators
Director
A guerilla leader falls in love with a mysterious woman in World War II Lisbon.
The Mask of Dimitrios
Director
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.
Roaring Guns
Director
Farmers take up arms against miners whose high water pressure mining operations are destroying their farms with mud and water runoff.
Over the Wall
Director
A prison Chaplain is forced to leave his post for health reasons, but fate provides him with another chance to reform an escaped convict.
Food and Magic
Director
A sideshow barker uses magic and visual aids to alert the public that proper food management is both a resource and a weapon that could be to America's advantage if conserved properly in winning the then current World War.
Cavalcade of Dance
Director
Ballroom dancers Veloz and Yolanda perform the various dance fads of the first half of the twentieth century.
Women at War
Director
Three young women arrive at the Women's Army Corps facility in Fort Des Moines for varied reasons and with different goals. Mary Savage is a war widow who wants to become an officer, farm girl Stormy Hart wants to become involved in motor transport, and Lorna Travis seeks to win the approval of her father, a major general, who has very chauvinist views on the role of women in the military. Intensive training and guidance prepares the three to make a contribution to the success of the upcoming war games conducted by General Travis and validate the value of the WACS to the war effort.
Hit Parade of the Gay Nineties
Director
Newsreel-type short about music from the 1890s making a resurgence in the '40s
All Star Melody Masters
Director
Cole Porter times three! Al Kemp and His Orchestra swing "Begin the Beguine," Emil Coleman and His Orchestra sell us "Just One of Those Things," and Skinnay Ennis and His Orchestra love some "(Let's Do It) Let's Fall in Love."
Three Cheers for the Girls
Director
This short film showcases six production numbers from various Warner Bros. musicals.
Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra
Director
Ozzie Nelson leads his orchestra in two standard numbers, and Ozzie performs two novelty songs.
The United States Navy Band
Director
The United States Navy Band, conducted by Lieutenant Charles Brendler, performs naval and patriotic numbers on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The United States Service Bands
Director
This patriotic wartime short showcases the service bands of the U.S. Army, Army Air Force, Marines, and Navy.
The Voice That Thrilled the World
Director
This short traces the history of sound in the movies, beginning with French scientist Leon Scott's experiments in 1857. Featured are snippets from early sound pictures.
The United States Army Band
Director
On the soundtrack, the US Army Band plays strains of "You're in the Army Now" and a full version of "The Caissons Go Rolling Along" as the films shows us a convoy of trucks and soldiers at work. Then, we go to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where we see and hear the Band play "Aura Lee," "Pack Up Your Troubles," and "It's a Long Way to Tipperary." Band members also sing the latter songs, but "Love Me Tender" isn't a number one song yet, so "Aura Lee" just gets a musical treatment. The film concludes with "Over There," played and sung, as we see news footage of the Army rolling in to Paris.
Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica School
Director
Borrah Minnevitch and His Rascals play popular songs on their harmonicas.
The United States Marine Band
Director
The US Marine Corps Band and chorus perform several songs associated with the Marines and the Navy. As the songs are played, we see monuments in Washington, DC, various battle scenes, planes in flight, and other scenes designed to instill patriotism in the audience.
Six Hits and a Miss
Director
A musical which begins with six men and a woman singing; then a dance number; finally, the six men and woman sing again.
Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra
Director
The popular dance band plays four songs.
Spanish Fiesta
Director
The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo perform a ballet to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol.
The United States Army Air Force Band
Director
The United States Air Force Band and Chorus perform on the National Mall in Washington.
Calling All Girls
Director
The process by which girls are chosen for chorus line members in movie musical is shown. Numbers from popular 1930s musicals are then presented. These include "Don't Say Goodnight" from Wonder Bar (1934); "Lullaby of Broadway" from Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935) ; "Shadow Waltz" from Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933); and "By a Waterfall" and "Shanghai Lil" from Footlight Parade (1933).
The Gay Parisian
Director
The Gay Parisian is an American short film produced in 1941 by Warner Bros. featuring the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo and directed by Jean Negulesco. The film is a screen adaptation, in Technicolor, of the 1938 ballet Gaîté Parisienne, choreographed by Léonide Massine to music by Jacques Offenbach. It was nominated for an Academy Award at the 14th Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).
A Ship Is Born
Director
This Vitaphone 'Technicolor Special' (production number 8001) portrays the behind-the-scenes story of the building and manning, during World War Two, of the USA supply line to Victory against the Axis powers, the United States Merchant Marine service.
At the Stroke of Twelve
Director
This entry in Warner's "Broadway Brevity" series of shorts is based on Damon Runyon's short story, "The Old Doll's House". Racketeer Lance McGowan, on the night he has decided to go straight, finds himself caught between the gunfire of two rival gangsters and, wounded by a bullet, he finds refuge in the home of a wealthy recluse. One of the gangsters is found riddled with bullets from the gun Lance dropped while making his escape, and he is arrested and tried for murder. The reclusive widow comes to the trail and testifies that Lance was her guest that night when the clock struck twelve, the time of the killing. Lance, while innocent, is also lucky, as the widow had her all her clocks set to always strike twelve, as the time her husband had died.
Those Good Old Days
Director
Young Gloria's father and mother go out for the evening to see a television broadcast. Gloria's grandfather entertains her with stories about his days in vaudeville.
Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
Director
Hal Kemp leads his orchestra in four popular songs.
Singapore Woman
Director
A fallen woman seeks redemption at a Singapore rubber plantation. Melodrama.
Cliff Edwards and His Buckaroos
Director
In this musical short, Cliff Edwards and his cowhands run a struggling dude ranch. When a pretty girl arrives, Cliff believes she is an heiress.
Skinnay Ennis and His Orchestra
Director
Skinnay Ennis leads his orchestra as they play "Three Little Words," "Let's Do It," and "Birth of the Blues". He also sings his composition "A Boy, A Girl and the Lamplight."
Henry Busse and His Orchestra
Director
This one-reel musical short, part of the WB/Vitaphone Melody Master series, features the music of trumpet-player and orchestra leader Henry Busse and his Orchestra, playing their own arrangements of various popular songs of the time...or in the Warners' song library. Those include "Wang Wang Blues," "Hot Lips" and "Along the Santa Fe Trail."
The Flag of Humanity
Screenplay
The story of how Clara Barton helped found the American Red Cross.
The Flag of Humanity
Director
The story of how Clara Barton helped found the American Red Cross.
City for Conquest
Director
The heartbreaking but hopeful tale of Danny Kenny and Peggy Nash, two sweethearts who meet and struggle through their impoverished lives in New York City. When Peggy, hoping for something better in life for both of them, breaks off her engagement to Danny, he sets out to be a championship boxer, while she becomes a dancer paired with a sleazy partner. Will tragedy reunite the former lovers?
The Sea Hawk
Second Unit Director
Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal he captures.
Alice in Movieland
Director
In a U.S. town that could be anywhere, 18-year-old Alice Purdee wins a free trip to Hollywood. With the assistance of a cheerful porter, she takes the night train and dreams about her arrival. Instead of instant success, she meets disappointment after disappointment, and she needs the unexpected encouragement of her grandmother and an aging, former star whom she meets at a talent night. Finally, she gets a call to be an extra, and she's so hopeful that the regulars decide to make a fool of her. Is this the end of Alice's dream? Not if the porter has anything to say about it.
Rio
Story
Diabolical French capitalist Paul Reynard is forced to leave Irene, his bride of one year, when he is arrested for the crimes of forgery and embezzlement and sentenced to a penal colony off the coast of South America.
Swiss Miss
Story
Stan and Ollie are mousetrap salesmen hoping for better business in Switzerland, with Stan's theory that because there is more cheese in Switzerland, there should be more mice.
The Beloved Brat
Story
Roberta Morgan is being raised in a wealthy home where her mother is occupied with her society-club activities and her father is immersed in his business activities. She also feels that the household staff is against her and that no one understands her needs and problems. Things spiral out of control.
Expensive Husbands
Screenplay
Unable to get work in her home country, Laurine Lynne (Beverly Roberts) travels to Vienna where her press agent, Joe Craig (Allyn Joslyn), convinces her to marry royalty. The lucky fellow is Prince Rupert (Patric Knowles), an impoverished nobleman now working as a waiter. Do the two of them fall in love despite this marriage of convenience?
Crash Donovan
Co-Director
A California Highway Patrolman gets involved with a smuggling ring.
This Is the Night
Technical Supervisor
When Stephen, the husband of Gerald’s mistress, Claire, discovers a pair of tickets for their planned trip to Venice, Gerald must invent a wife to cover their tracks. He is then forced to hire a woman to play “his wife” when Stephen insists he and Claire accompany them to Venice.