It could be argued Michael Curtiz made as many first rate entertainments as any director during Hollywood’s Golden Era. But alongside Casablanca, Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk and Mildred Pierce sat some duds even his greatest champions would have a hard time explaining away. As Andrew Sarris pointed out Curtiz’ career pretty much went in the tank when he went to Paramount in the 1950s. His intelligence and elegant visual style found a perfect home at gritty Warner Brothers and when Curtiz was given great material and star power he usually delivered the goods. He is closer to an inspired craftsman than a true artist but his impressive contributions to the American cinema make him a “subject for further research”.
1929 Noah’s Ark ***1/2
1930 Mammy **1/2
1930 Under a Texas Moon
1930 Matrimonial Bed ***
1930 Bright Lights
1930 A Soldier’s Plaything
1930 River’s End ***
1931 God’s Gift to Women
1931 The Mad Genius ***1/2
1932 The Woman from Monte Carlo
1932 Alias the Doctor
1932 The Strange Love of Molly Lovain ***1/2
1932 Doctor X ***1/2
1932 The Cabin in the Cotton ***
1933 20,000 Years in Sing-Sing ***1/2
1933 Mystery of the Wax Museum ***1/2
1933 The Keyhole ***
1933 Private Detective 62 ***
1933 Goodbye Again ***
1933 The Kennel Murder Case ***
1933 Female ***
1934 Mandalay ***
1934 Jimmy the Gent ***1/2
1934 The Key ***
1934 British Agent ***
1935 Black Fury ***
1935 The Case of the Curious Bride ***
1935 Front Page Woman ***
1935 Little Big Shot ***
1935 Captain Blood ***1/2
1936 The Walking Dead ***
1936 The Charge of the Light Brigade ***1/2 1937 Stolen Holiday ***
1937 Mountain Justice ***
1937 Kid Galahad ***
1937 The Perfect Specimen ***
1938 Gold Is Where You Find It ***
1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood ***1/2
1938 Four’s a Crowd ***
1938 Four Daughters ***1/2
1938 Angels with Dirty Faces ***1/2
1939 Dodge City ***1/2
1939 Daughters Courageous ***
1939 The Private Lives of Elizabeth & Essex ***1/2
1939 Four Wives
1940 Virginia City ***
1940 The Sea Hawk ****
1940 Santa Fe Trail ***1/2
1941 The Sea Wolf ***1/2
1941 Dive Bomber ***1/2
1942 Captains of the Clouds ***
1942 Yankee Doodle Dandy ***1/2
1942 Casablanca ****
1943 Mission to Moscow ***
1943 This Is the Army
1944 Passage to Marseilles ***
1944 Janie ***
1945 Roughly Speaking ***
1945 Mildred Pierce ***1/2
1946 Night and Day **1/2
1947 Life with Father ***
1947 The Unsuspected ***1/2
1948 Romance on the High Seas ***
1949 My Dream Is Yours ***
1949 Flamingo Road ***
1949 The Lady Takes a Tailor **1/2
1950 Young Man with a Horn ****
1950 Bright Leaf ***
1950 The Breaking Point ***1/2
1951 Jim Thorpe All-American ***
1951 Force of Arms ***1/2
1951 I’ll See You in My Dreams ***
1952 The Will Rogers Story
1952 The Jazz Singer ***
1953 Trouble Along the Way ***
1954 The Boy From Oklahoma
1954 The Egyptian ***
1954 White Christmas ***
1955 We’re No Angels ***
1956 The Scarlet Hour
1956 The Vagabond King **1/2
1956 The Best Things in Life Are Free
1957 The Helen Morgan Story **1/2
1958 The Proud Rebel ***
1958 King Creole ***
1959 The Hangman
1959 The Man in the Net
1960 A Breath of Scandal ***
1960 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1961 St. Francis of Assisi **1/2
1963 The Comancheros ***