History Creator / OttoPreminger

Preminger had no intention of returning to Austria, even before the events of March 1938 forced his brother and parents to flee to the United States, where Creator/TallulahBankhead (the actress who would later star in ''A Royal Scandal'') helped them get refugee visas. He returned to New York for three years to direct plays, including vehicles for aging stars Laurette Taylor and John Barrymore. Ironically, his unexpected acting turn as the Nazi villain in the play ''Theatre/MarginForError'' helped restart his film career through TypeCasting. 20th Century-Fox bought the film rights to ''Margin for Error'' on the request of Creator/ErnstLubitsch, who intended to direct Otto in the film version. After Lubitsch decided not to make it, Preminger himself ended up directing the film version on an actor's salary under a short-term contract (already extended before shooting finished) with William Goetz, who had temporarily become head of production when Zanuck went into military service. (The dour Preminger would go on to replace the jovial Lubitsch as director on three more productions: the never-filmed RomanticComedy ''All Over Arlene'', ''A Royal Scandal'' and ''Film/ThatLadyInErmine'', the last of these upon [[AuthorExistenceFailure Lubitsch's death]]. Another director whom Preminger replaced more than once was Rouben Mamoulian on ''Literature/{{Laura}}'' and ''Theatre/PorgyAndBess''.)

* ''Forever Amber'' (1947; produced by William Perlberg)

* ''[[Film/BunnyLakeIsMissing Bunny Lake is Missing]]'' (1965)
* ''Hurry Sundown'' (1967)

''Laura'' proved to be his BreakthroughHit, and Preminger made his mark with a series of FilmNoir and noir-flavored melodramas that were characterized with lengthy takes, moral ambiguity and greater psychological complexity. Preminger's films were remarked upon for their stronger roles for women. In TheFifties, Preminger embarked on GenreRoulette, making films on different subjects, with high-profile subjects and great deal of publicity. He made the all-black musicals, ''Porgy and Bess'' and ''Carmen Jones'', TheWestern ''River of No Return'', the controversial ''Saint Joan'' and ''Bonjour Tristesse''. Preminger's best known and most important work in this period are films which challenged censorship.

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/otto_preminger_allan_warren.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:Portrait by Allan Warren.]]

* ''The Human Factor'' (1979)

* ''Bunny Lake is Missing'' (1965)

* Major Diessen in ''The Pied Piper'' (1942)

* Mr. Freeze in ''Series/{{Batman}}'' (1966)

* ''Bunny Lake Is Missing'' (1965)

* ''The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell'' (1955; produced by William Sperling)

* ''Danger — Love at Work'' (1937; produced by Harold Wilson)

* ''Danger--Love at Work'' (1937; produced by Harold Wilson)

* General Rahl in ''Where do We Go from Here?'' (1945)

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/otto_preminger_allan_warren.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Portrait by Allan Warren.]]

His brother, Ingwald "Ingo" Preminger (1911–2006), was a literary agent for Trumbo during the blacklist, and also produced two films in his own right; one of these was Creator/RobertAltman's classic ''Film/{{MASH}}''.

Otto Preminger (December 5, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an Austrian-American director, film producer, and occasional actor.

In 1951, Preminger directed the Broadway hit ''Theatre/TheMoonIsBlue'', and announced plans to independently produce a film version. ''The Moon Is Blue'' dealt with, for its time, risque sexual matters. The film would not qualify for [[UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode Production Code]] approval (despite attempts to settle differences with Joseph Breen), so Preminger released it without code approval. ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' raised eyebrows not only for its candid treatment of drug use, which also failed to pass the Code, but for its spotlight-stealing credit, "A Film by Otto Preminger." Then there's ''Film/AnatomyOfAMurder'', which also circumvented the code by discussing rape and using other phrases related to it in the film. ''Film/AdviseAndConsent'' was the first Hollywood film to show a gay bar, while ''The Cardinal'' was one of the most critical films about the Catholic Church. These movies played a huge role in loosening censorship and paving the way for other directors to start testing and challenging the Code. A liberal, Preminger along with Creator/KirkDouglas played a role in ending UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist, by crediting Dalton Trumbo for his work as a screenwriter. Preminger put out a ad in the major newspaper a year before the release of ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'', which preceded his film ''Film/{{Exodus}}'' in the release calendar. Both movies credit Trumbo in their titles.

Preminger had no intention of returning to Austria, even before the events of March 1938 forced his brother and parents to flee to the United States, where Tallulah Bankhead (the actress who would later star in ''A Royal Scandal'') helped them get refugee visas. He returned to New York for three years to direct plays, including vehicles for aging stars Laurette Taylor and John Barrymore. Ironically, his unexpected acting turn as the Nazi villain in the play ''Theatre/MarginForError'' helped restart his film career through TypeCasting. 20th Century-Fox bought the film rights to ''Margin for Error'' on the request of Creator/ErnstLubitsch, who intended to direct Otto in the film version. After Lubitsch decided not to make it, Preminger himself ended up directing the film version on an actor's salary under a short-term contract (already extended before shooting finished) with William Goetz, who had temporarily become head of production when Zanuck went into military service. (The dour Preminger would go on to replace the jovial Lubitsch as director on three more productions: the never-filmed RomanticComedy ''All Over Arlene'', ''A Royal Scandal'' and ''Film/ThatLadyInErmine'', the last of these upon [[AuthorExistenceFailure Lubitsch's death]]. Another director whom Preminger replaced more than once was Rouben Mamoulian on ''Literature/{{Laura}}'' and ''Theatre/PorgyAndBess''.)

Otto Preminger (December 5, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an Austrian-American director and film producer.

* ''A Royal Scandal'' (1945; produced by Ernst Lubitsch)

* ''Film/ThatLadyInErmine'' (1948; produced by Ernst Lubitsch)

* ''Angel Face'' (1953)

* ''Whirlpool'' (1950)

* ''Where the Sidewalk Ends'' (1950)

* ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' (1955)

Otto Preminger (1905–1986) was an Austrian-American director and film producer.

* ''Carmen Jones'' (1954)

* ''Fallen Angel'' (1945)

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/otto_preminger_allan_warren.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Portrait by Allan Warren]]

'''Otto Preminger''' (1905–1986) was an Austrian-American director and film producer.