About Curtis Bernhardt
Lived 1899 – 1981 (aged 81). Curtis Bernhardt was an American and German film director, screenwriter, director, film producer and actor.
Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt.
Career He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, with Nameless Heroes. Other films include A Stolen Life (1946) and Sirocco (1951).
Bernhardt made films in Germany from 1925 until 1933, when he was forced to flee the Third Reich — which briefly had him arrested — because he was Jewish. Bernhardt directed films in France and England before moving on to Hollywood to work for Warner Brothers in 1940. He produced and directed his last Hollywood picture, Kisses for My President (1964), about the nation's first female Chief Executive starring Polly Bergen and Fred MacMurray.
He is interred at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, near his wife, Pearl Argyle Wellman Bernhardt.
Filmography
Nameless Heroes (short) (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1924) Torments of the Night (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1926) Orphan of Lowood (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1926) Children's Souls Accuse You (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1927) The Girl with the Five Zeros (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1927) The Prince of Rogues (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1928) The Last Fort (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1929) The Woman One Longs For aka The Woman Men Yearn For (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1929) The Last Company (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1930) (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1930) The Man Who Murdered (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1931) The Rebel (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1932) The Tunnel (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1933) Le tunnel (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1933) Gold in the Street (1934) The Beloved Vagabond (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1936) Chaste Susanne (1937) The Girl in the Taxi (1937) Le vagabond bien-aimé (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1937) Crossroads (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1938) Night in December (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1940) My Love Came Back (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1940) Lady with Red Hair (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1940) Million Dollar Baby (1941) Juke Girl (1942) Happy Go Lucky (1943) Conflict (1945) My Reputation (1946) Devotion (1946) A Stolen Life (1946) High Wall (1947) Possessed (1947) The Doctor and the Girl (1949) Sirocco (1951) Payment on Demand (1951) The Blue Veil (1951) The Merry Widow (1952) Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) Beau Brummell (1954) Interrupted Melody (1955) Gaby (1956) Stefanie in Rio (1960) Damon and Pythias (1962) Kisses for My President (1964)
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Important facts
Family & relationships
People in Curtis Bernhardt's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Curtis Bernhardt's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Curtis Bernhardt?
German film director (1899–1981)
When was Curtis Bernhardt born?
Curtis Bernhardt was born on 15 April 1899 in Worms.
When did Curtis Bernhardt die?
Curtis Bernhardt died on 22 February 1981 in Pacific Palisades.
What was Curtis Bernhardt's occupation?
Curtis Bernhardt was a film director, screenwriter, director, film producer and actor.
What nationality was Curtis Bernhardt?
Curtis Bernhardt was American and German.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Curtis Bernhardt. https://biography.guide/curtis-bernhardt/
MLA: "Curtis Bernhardt." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/curtis-bernhardt/.
Chicago: "Curtis Bernhardt." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/curtis-bernhardt/.
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