Alexander Korda

Alexander Korda (born Sándor László Kellner, 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956) was a Hungarian-born British film producer and director. He worked in Hollywood the first time during the transition to "talkies", from 1926 to 1930. The change led to divorce from his first wife, a popular Hungarian actress who could not make the transition because of her strong accent in English.

From 1930, Korda became a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.

Early life

The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltan and Vincent, Korda was born Sándor László Kellner to a Jewish family in Pusztatúrpásztó (Hungary, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok area) in what is now Hungary (then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire), where he worked as a journalist.

Career

Hungary

Korda became an important film figure through his film magazines Pesti Mozi, Mozihét and Világ. This led to invitations to write film screenplays.

Korda's first film script was for Watchhouse in the Carpathians (1914). When the First World War broke out, Korda was excused from military service in the Austrian Army because of his bad eyesight. Korda went to work at the Pedagogical Studio in Budapest and co-directed three films with Gyula Zilahy.