1914: A becsapott ?js?g?r? (The Duped Journalist) (co-director); Tutyu ?s Totyo (Tutyu and Totyo) (co-director). 1915: Lyon Lea (Lea Lyon) (co-director); A tiszti kardbojt (The Officer's Swordknot) (+scenarist/scriptwriter). 1916: Feh?r ?jszak?k (White Nights) or Fedora (+scenarist/scriptwriter); A nagymama (The Grandmother) (+scenarist/scriptwriter); Mes?k az ?r?g?producer?l (Tales of the Typewriter) (+scenarist/scriptwriter); A k?tsz?v? f?rfi (The Man with Two Hearts); Az egymilli? fontos bank? (The One Million Pound Note) (+scenarist/scriptwriter); Cikl?men (Cyclamen); Verg?director? sz?vek (Struggling Hearts); A nevet? Szaszkia (The Laughing Saskia); M?gn?s Miska (Miska the Magnate). 1917: Szent P?ter eserny?je (St. Peter's Umbrella) (+producer); A g?lyakalifa (The Stork Caliph) (+producer); M?gia (Magic) (+producer); Harrison ?s Barrison (Harrison and Barrison) (+producer). 1918: Faun (+producer); Az aranyember (The Man with the Golden Touch) (+producer); Mary Ann (+producer). 1919: Ave Caesar! (+producer); Feh?r r?zsa (White Rose) (+producer); Yamata (+producer); Se ki, se be (Neither In Nor Out) (+producer); A 111-es (Number 111) (+producer). 1920: Seine Majest?t das Bettelkind (Prinz und Bettelknabe; The Prince and the Pauper). 1922: Heeren der Meere (Masters of the Sea); Eine Versunkene Welt (Die Trag?die eines Verschollenen F?rstensohnes) (A Vanished World); Samson und Delilah (Samson and Delilah) (+producer). 1923: Das unbekannte Morgen (The Unknown Tomorrow) (+producer). 1924: Jedermanns Frau (Jedermanns Weib) (Everybody's Woman) (+producer); Trag?die im Hause Habsburg (Das Drama von Mayerling; Tragedy in the House of Hapsburg) (+producer). 1925: Der T?nzer meiner Frau (Dancing Mad). 1926: Madame w?nscht keine Kinder (Madame Wants No Children). 1927: Eine Dubarry von heute (A Modern Dubarry); The Stolen Bride; The Private Life of Helen of Troy. 1928: Yellow Lily; Night Watch. 1929: Love and the Devil; The Squall; Her Private Life. 1930: Lilies of the Field; Women Everywhere; The Princess and the Plumber. 1931: Die Manner urn Lucie (+producer); Rive Gauche (French version of Die Manner urn Lucie) (+producer); Marius; Zum Goldenen Anker (German version of Marius). 1932: Service for Ladies (Reserved for Ladies) (+producer). 1933: Wedding Rehearsal (+producer); The Private Life of Henry VIII (+producer); The Girl from Maxim's (+co-producer). 1934: La Dame de Chez Maxim (French version) (+producer); The Private Life of Don Juan (+producer). 1936: Rembrandt (+producer). 1941: That Hamilton Woman (Lady Hamilton) (+producer). 1945: Perfect Strangers (Vacation from Marriage) (+producer). 1947: An Ideal Husband (+producer).
Worked at Path? studios, Paris, 1911; title writer and secretary, Pictograph films, Budapest, and founder of film journal Pesti mozi, 1912; directed first film, 1914; formed Corvin production company with Mikl?s P?sztory, built studio near Budapest, 1917; arrested under Horthy regime, fled to Vienna, 1919; formed Corda Film Consortium, 1920 (dissolved 1922); formed Korda-Films, Berlin, 1923; with wife, contracted to First National, Hollywood, 1927; hired by Paramount French subsidiary, 1930; moved to British Paramount, London, 1931; founder, London Films, 1932; built Denham Studios, also made partner in United Artists, 1935 (sold interest, 1944); lost control of Denham Studios, 1938; formed Alexander Korda Productions, retained position as head of London Films, 1939; based in Hollywood, 1940-43; entered partnership with MGM, 1943 (dissolved, 1946); reorganized London Films, bought controlling interest in British Lion (distributors), 1946; founder, British Film Academy (now British Academy of Film and Television Arts), 1947.
S?ndor L?szl? Kellner in Puszta Turp?szt?, Hungary, 16 September 1893; adopted surname Korda, from journalistic pseudonym ?Sursum Corda? (meaning "lift up your hearts"), 1910.
Attended schools in Kis?jsz?ll?s, Mez?t?r, and Budapest, until 1909.
Married 1) Maria Farkas (actress Maria Corda), 1919 (divorced 1930), one son; 2) Merle Oberon, 1939 (divorced 1945); 3) Alexander Boycun, 1953.
In London, 23 January 1956.
Alexander Korda may be Britain's most controversial film figure, but there is no doubt that his name stands everywhere for the most splendid vision of cinema as it could be, if one had money and power. Both of these Korda had, although several times he was close to bankruptcy, living on pure Hungarian charm and know-how. He at least had a dream that came near reality on several occasions.
Korda had two younger brothers, Zoltan, who worked with him as a director, and Vincent, who was an art director; both were outstanding in their fields. Alexander worked as a journalist and film magazine editor before he directed his first film in Hungary in 1914. He had labored long in the cinematic fields of Vienna and Berlin when finally in 1926 his film production of A Modern Dubarry earned him a contract in Hollywood with First National, where his initial film was the extravagantly beautiful The Private Life of Helen of Troy, starring his wife Maria Corda as Helen. It brought him instant recognition. He directed four features starring Billie Dove (who should have played Helen of Troy for him): The Stolen Bride, The Night Watch, The Yellow Lily, and Her Private Life, a remake of Zo? Akins's play, which Corinne Griffith had filmed earlier under its stage title, Declass?. Korda also directed a sound feature starring Griffith, Lilies of the Field. Alexander Korda could soon write his own ticket.
He did just that in 1931, leaving Hollywood to return to England where he set up his own production company, London Film Productions. There he was almost fully occupied with production details, and only directed eight of the many films which his company produced. It was an exciting era for an ambitious producer like Korda. His company's product was so lavish that he seemed in a fair way not only to rival Hollywood but to surpass it. His first big success was The Private Life of Henry VIII, starring Charles Laughton as Henry and with Merle Oberon making her debut as the unfortunate Anne Boleyn. Korda then married Oberon and started to set the stage for her stardom. Hers was not the only career Korda established, for he had much to do with the film careers of Laurence Olivier, Vivian Leigh, Robert Donat, and Leslie Howard, among others. He was the power behind it all who set up financial deals for pictures that starred these actors.
While the pictures he directed, like Rembrandt, That Hamilton Woman, and Vacation from Marriage, were done in exquisite taste, Korda was also involved in the production of such pictures as Catherine the Great, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Elephant Boy, The Ghost Goes West, Drums, The Four Feathers, The Thief of Bagdad, The Fallen Idol, and The Third Man.
Three times Korda built and rebuilt his company, and the third time it was with national aid. Even after the Korda empire collapsed he was able to secure new financial alliances which allowed him to keep producing until his death in 1956. His name stood for glory, and when, after 1947, his name ceased to appear as part of the film credits, the lustre surrounding a London Films production vanished.?De WITT BODEEN