Laslo Benedek(1905-1992)
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Editor
Laslo Benedek was brought to Hollywood from Hungary--where he had been
a writer, editor and photographer--by MGM, and his first few films were
undistinguished programmers. His third, however, was quite a bit
better:
Death of a Salesman (1951),
the screen version of
Arthur Miller's classic play.
Although trashed by critics at the time for, among other things, its
"staginess" (Benedek said that he wanted to keep the work's
theatricality intact), overlooked is the fact that Benedek drew out
convincing, evocative performances from
Kevin McCarthy,
Cameron Mitchell,
Fredric March and
Mildred Dunnock.
Benedek's next film, however, is the one he'll be remembered for:
The Wild One (1953). This granddaddy
of all biker flicks is amusingly tame--some might even say lame--by
today's standards, but it caused quite a commotion in its day (it was
banned in England and was railed against by conservative religious and
social pressure groups in the US as yet one more example of how
Hollywood was "corrupting the youth of America"). The film is actually
not all that much, being rather slow-going and the "bikers" coming
across more like bratty teenagers than dangerous rampaging hoods, but
it struck a chord with young people and parents alike--for different
reasons, of course--and was far and away the most successful film of
Benedek's career.
a writer, editor and photographer--by MGM, and his first few films were
undistinguished programmers. His third, however, was quite a bit
better:
Death of a Salesman (1951),
the screen version of
Arthur Miller's classic play.
Although trashed by critics at the time for, among other things, its
"staginess" (Benedek said that he wanted to keep the work's
theatricality intact), overlooked is the fact that Benedek drew out
convincing, evocative performances from
Kevin McCarthy,
Cameron Mitchell,
Fredric March and
Mildred Dunnock.
Benedek's next film, however, is the one he'll be remembered for:
The Wild One (1953). This granddaddy
of all biker flicks is amusingly tame--some might even say lame--by
today's standards, but it caused quite a commotion in its day (it was
banned in England and was railed against by conservative religious and
social pressure groups in the US as yet one more example of how
Hollywood was "corrupting the youth of America"). The film is actually
not all that much, being rather slow-going and the "bikers" coming
across more like bratty teenagers than dangerous rampaging hoods, but
it struck a chord with young people and parents alike--for different
reasons, of course--and was far and away the most successful film of
Benedek's career.