The Korda Brothers: British Filmmakers Extraordinaire
Born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Alexander Korda’s chutzpah, sheer audacity, and persistent good luck brought him and his brothers to Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, London, and eventually Hollywood, shaping the growing motion picture business along the way.
The most serendipitous of chances enabled Alexander to make his first film. Sitting in a Budapest café one day, the 20-year-old writer overheard producers discussing plans to make a patriotic film in response to the recent outbreak of World War I.
There was only one problem: They had no story. Alexander jotted down a story idea and pitched it to them right there. They loved it. When the assigned director became ill, Alexander directed the film himself—in one day.
The film was a hit. He was on his way to becoming a major player in the film industry. Of course, his name wasn’t Alexander Korda yet. He would call himself Korda Sandor until 1920.
Alexander had a few rules for living that would surely drive most people into bankruptcy, but they were his key to success. In each new city he moved to, he would rent the best suite at the finest hotel. He hired a car and chauffeur. He’d wear custom-tailored suits, dine at the best restaurant with a beautiful woman every night, and tip lavishly. He then waited for the offers to pour in.
They did. He followed another rule for making movies: Never use your own money, always someone else’s. His brothers followed his bold footsteps into the motion picture business wherever they went. London was where the Kordas really made their impact.
There’s nothing like the teamwork that arises when families work together. While the Warner brothers founded a movie studio in Hollywood, three Hungarian brothers, the Kordas, revolutionized the British film industry.
Led by the eldest brother Alexander (1893–1956), who primarily produced films, the family also included director Zoltan (1895–1961) and art director Vincent (1897–1979).
From Hungary to London
Like many eldest sons, Alexander set the course his younger siblings would follow. Born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the brothers came from a Jewish family named Kellner.After his father died, Alexander provided for the family. At 17, he went to university in Budapest. He also wrote film reviews for extra income. He adopted the pen name Korda, inspired by the Latin phrase “sursum corda” (“lift up your hearts”); this became the family surname.
Alexander’s chutzpah, sheer audacity, and persistent good luck brought him and his brothers to Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, London, and eventually Hollywood, shaping the growing motion picture business along the way.
The most serendipitous of chances enabled him to make his first film. Sitting in a Budapest café one day, the 20-year-old writer overheard producers discussing plans to make a patriotic film in response to the recent outbreak of World War I.
There was only one problem: They had no story. Alexander jotted down a story idea and pitched it to them right there. They loved it. When the assigned director became ill, Alexander directed the film himself—in one day.
The film was a hit. He was on his way to becoming a major player in the film industry. Of course, his name wasn’t Alexander Korda yet. He would call himself Korda Sandor until 1920.
Alexander had a few rules for living that would surely drive most people into bankruptcy, but they were his key to success. In each new city he moved to, he would rent the best suite at the finest hotel. He hired a car and chauffeur. He’d wear custom-tailored suits, dine at the best restaurant with a beautiful woman every night, and tip lavishly. He then waited for the offers to pour in.
They did. He followed another rule for making movies: Never use your own money, always someone else’s. His brothers followed his bold footsteps into the motion picture business wherever they went. London was where the Kordas really made their impact.
The Korda Formula
Hollywood was known as the hub of the motion picture business, and during its Golden Age, its half-dozen studios were ruled by an assortment of moguls. In the 1930s, England developed a competitively successful film industry, both financially and artistically, but it had few Hollywood-style bosses.Alexander has been called Britain’s only movie mogul. The title fit his flamboyance, daring decisions, and talent. He made a name for himself in Hollywood at the end of the silent film era in the late 1920s, but the transition to sound hurt the proceeds of his blockbuster “The Private Life of Helen of Troy” (1927). He made his way to England and founded his film company, London Film Productions.
Up to this point, Alexander proved highly successful as a director, writer, and producer. Going forward, he showed his ability as a studio boss or mogul. The magic of the Korda formula became teamwork, particularly family teamwork.
‘The Private Life of Henry VIII’
Alexander wanted to make a distinctly British blockbuster, and he found the perfect subject matter in the story of King Henry VIII. “The Private Life of Henry VIII” (1933) put England on the filmmaking map, made stars of many of the featured actors, and established the careers of all three Korda brothers.
For his over-the-top performance as the title character, British thespian Charles Laughton received the first Academy Award nomination for an actor in a non-American film.
As one of Henry’s many screen wives, Laughton’s real-life wife, Elsa Lanchester, received great acclaim for her comical performance.
An unknown Eurasian beauty captured audiences’ attention with her short but unforgettable performance as the ill-fated Ann Boleyn. Alexander made the Indian actress into a star, named her Merle Oberon, and married her.
Team of Brothers
For the rest of the decade, the three brothers worked together to make a series of highly acclaimed films. However, family was very important to this Hungarian clan, as reported by Vincent’s son and the family biographer, Michael Korda. Without the contributions of all three brothers, London Film Productions and the Korda legacy wouldn’t have happened.Both Zoltan and Vincent had dabbled in several areas of the film industry over the years, working as cameramen, film editors, and writers. Now, they found their specialties, and each became highly acclaimed in his own right.
Throughout the 1930s, Zoltan made his name as a director, receiving critical recognition for “Sanders of the River” (1935) and “Elephant Boy” (1937) before directing his most acclaimed film, the adventure drama “The Four Feathers” (1939).
Vincent began to receive recognition for his art direction in the early 1940s, as the Kordas moved some of their productions to the United States because of World War II. In 1940, he won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction for “The Thief of Baghdad,” the brothers’ first co-American production; he was also nominated for “That Hamilton Woman” (1941) and “The Jungle Book” (1942).
While Vincent and Alexander continued working in England in the later 1940s, Zoltan spent the rest of his life in Hollywood. “The Jungle Book” was the last film on which all three brothers worked for many years.
Fittingly, they reunited for “Storm Over the Nile” (1955), Zoltan’s remake of his earlier hit “The Four Feathers,” which would prove to be the last film both older brothers made. However, both Alexander and Vincent’s contributions were uncredited. Alexander died the next year, and Zoltan retired due to poor health.
Alexander finished his career just as he began it—with and for his beloved family. For all their eccentricities, the Korda brothers represent a refreshing story of a family business in the film industry.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/bright/the-korda-brothers-british-filmmakers-extraordinaire-6105296
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