About
Joseph L. Mankiewicz was an American filmmaker born in 1909 in Pennsylvania. After studying at Columbia, he began in Hollywood as a screenwriter, then became a producer at MGM. He turned to directing in 1946 with Dragonwyck. He won four Oscars, including two consecutive for A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve, a film that received 14 nominations. He presided over the Screen Directors Guild and directed notable works such as Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. His final film, Sleuth, earned him another nomination. He died in 1993.
* 1909-02-11 — † 1993-02-05
Major works
- A Letter to Three Wives (1949)film
- All About Eve (1950)film
- Julius Caesar (1953)film
- Cleopatra (1963)film
- Sleuth (1972)film
Key milestones
- 1949Won the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for A Letter to Three Wives.
- 1950Won again the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for All About Eve, which received 14 nominations.
- 1950Elected president of the Screen Directors Guild (now DGA), serving until 1951.
Themes
Power dynamicsAmbition and successTheater and cinemaManipulation and deceitRole of women
Sources: id.loc.gov · britannica.com · dga.org