Edward Dmytryk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Edward Dmytryk
Born	(1908-09-04)September 4, 1908 Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada
Died	July 1, 1999(1999-07-01) (aged 90) Encino, Los Angeles, California, United States
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
Nationality	Ukrainian
Occupation	Film director, film editor
Years active	1929–1979
Spouse(s)	Madeleine Robinson ​ ​ (m. 1932; div. 1947)​ Jean Porter ​ ​ (m. 1948)​
Children	4

Edward Dmytryk (born September 4, 1908 – died July 1, 1999) was a famous American film director. He was known for his exciting "film noir" movies in the 1940s. He even got an Oscar nomination for Best Director for his film Crossfire in 1947.

In 1947, Edward Dmytryk became part of a group called the Hollywood Ten. These were film professionals who refused to answer questions from a government committee. They faced consequences for this. Later, Dmytryk decided to cooperate with the committee. He then directed many successful films, including The Caine Mutiny (1954), which was a huge hit.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Edward Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada, on September 4, 1908. His parents were immigrants from Ukraine. His family moved to California, first to San Francisco and then to Los Angeles.

Edward started working at a film studio called Famous Players-Lasky (which later became Paramount Pictures) when he was still in high school. He began as a messenger and slowly learned about filmmaking. He became a projectionist, then a film editor. By the time he was 31, he was directing his own movies and had become a U.S. citizen.

Becoming a Director

Edward Dmytryk worked as an editor on many films in the 1930s. Some of these included Duck Soup (1933) and Ruggles of Red Gap (1935). These experiences helped him learn how movies were put together.

He directed his first movie, The Hawk, in 1935. It was a low-budget Western. After that, he went back to editing for a while, mostly on smaller "B films." He slowly worked his way up to bigger movies.

In the early 1940s, Dmytryk directed several films for different studios. He made a surprise hit called Hitler's Children (1943), which earned a lot of money. This success helped him get promoted to direct "A films," which were the bigger, more important movies.

He directed famous actors like Ginger Rogers in Tender Comrade (1943). He also directed Murder, My Sweet (1944), a popular detective story. He worked with John Wayne on the war film Back to Bataan (1945). His film Crossfire (1947) was a huge success and earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Director.

The Hollywood Ten

After World War II, there was a lot of concern in the U.S. about communism. A government group called the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) started looking into whether communists were influencing the film industry.

Edward Dmytryk was called to testify before this committee in 1947. He had briefly been part of a political group in 1944 and 1945. He and nine other people in Hollywood decided not to answer the committee's questions. This group became known as the Hollywood Ten. They were sent to prison for refusing to cooperate. Dmytryk lost his job at RKO studio.

He went to England and made two films there. But when his passport ran out, he returned to the U.S. and was arrested. He spent about four and a half months in prison.

In 1951, Dmytryk appeared before the HUAC again. This time, he answered all their questions. He talked about his brief time with the political group and named other people who had been involved. This helped him get his career back on track. He wrote about his experiences in a book called Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Hollywood Ten.

Later Career and Teaching

Dmytryk in 1951

Dmytryk directed Humphrey Bogart and Van Johnson in The Caine Mutiny in 1954.

After his testimony, Edward Dmytryk started directing films again. He worked with producer Stanley Kramer on several movies. One of his most famous films was The Caine Mutiny (1954). This World War II movie starred Humphrey Bogart and Van Johnson. It was a big success and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture.

Dmytryk went on to direct many more popular films. He worked with famous actors like Spencer Tracy in Broken Lance (1954) and The Mountain (1956). He also directed Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift in the war film The Young Lions (1958).

In the 1960s, he directed blockbusters like The Carpetbaggers (1964) and Mirage (1965) with Gregory Peck. He also directed Westerns like Alvarez Kelly (1966) and Shalako (1968), which starred Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot. His last film was Not Only Strangers in 1979.

In the 1980s, Dmytryk started teaching. He taught about filmmaking at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Southern California film school. He also wrote several books about how to make movies, including On Film Editing and On Screenwriting.

Personal Life and Death

Edward Dmytryk married actress Jean Porter in 1948. He passed away on July 1, 1999, in Encino, California, at the age of 90. He was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood.

Legacy and Honors

• 1948: Nominated for Best Director Oscar for Crossfire
• 1955: The Caine Mutiny nominated for Best Picture Oscar
• 1955: Nominated for a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement

Filmography

This list shows the feature films Edward Dmytryk directed:

See also

In Spanish: Edward Dmytryk para niños

• The Hollywood Ten documentary