Géza von Radványi

Géza von Radványi (born Géza Grosschmid; 26 September 1907 – 27 November 1986) was a Hungarian film director, cinematographer, producer and writer.

Biography Born Géza Grosschmid, he took the name Radványi from his paternal grandmother. His brother was the writer Sándor Márai. Géza von Radványi made his debut in journalism before moving to cinema in 1941. He aimed to create a popular cinema in the 1950s and 1960s that would rival Hollywood studios, due to European coproductions.

He began at the end of the 1940s, with Somewhere in Europe and Women Without Names, neorealist dramas with no concession to the ravages of war and the postwar period. During the 1950s, Radványi changed his style: L'Étrange Désir de monsieur Bard, with Michel Simon and Geneviève Page (1953), and, above all, the success of his remake of Mädchen in Uniform with Lilli Palmer and the young rising star Romy Schneider (1958). He also made in the same decade Twelve Hours By the Clock, a thriller based on a script by Boileau and Narcejac, with Lino Ventura and Laurent Terzieff, as well as a slapstick comedy, An Angel on Wheels with Romy Schneider and Henri Vidal (1959).

During the 1960s, he became both more ambitious and more bankable, making 70 mm coproductions like Uncle Tom's Cabin with Mylène Demongeot and Herbert Lom (1965), and Congress of Love with Lilli Palmer, Curd Jürgens, Paul Meurisse and Françoise Arnoul (1966), both of which were rather unsuccessful.

In contrast, he surprisingly wrote the script for the successful film produced by Louis de Funès, L'homme orchestre, directed by Serge Korber (1970). His 1961 film Das Riesenrad was entered into the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival. His 1965 film Uncle Tom's Cabin was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival.

Géza von Radványi ended his career with a modest production made in his home country, Circus Maximus (1980).

Selected filmography Closed Court (1940) Sarajevo (1940) Castle in Transylvania (1940) Europe Doesn't Answer (1941) Yellow Hell (1942) The Talking Robe (1942) A Woman Looks Back (1942) Somewhere in Europe (1947), with Artúr Somlay and Miklós Gábor Women Without Names (1950), with Simone Simon and Françoise Rosay L'Étrange Désir de monsieur Bard (1953), with Michel Simon and Geneviève Page A Girl Without Boundaries (1955), with Sonja Ziemann and Ivan Desny Ingrid (1955), with Johanna Matz and Paul Hubschmid (1957), with Karlheinz Böhm The Doctor of Stalingrad (1958), with O. E. Hasse, Eva Bartok, Hannes Messemer and Mario Adorf Mädchen in Uniform (1958), with Romy Schneider and Lilli Palmer Twelve Hours By the Clock (1959), with Lino Ventura, Laurent Terzieff, Hannes Messemer, Eva Bartok and Gert Fröbe An Angel on Wheels (1959), with Romy Schneider and Henri Vidal (1960), with Wolfgang Lukschy and Hans Christian Blech (1961), with Elke Sommer and Karin Baal Das Riesenrad (1961), with Maria Schell and O. W. Fischer It Can't Always Be Caviar (1961), with O. W. Fischer, Jean Richard, Eva Bartok and Senta Berger This Time It Must Be Caviar (1961), with O. W. Fischer, Jean Richard, Eva Bartok and Senta Berger Uncle Tom's Cabin (1965), with John Kitzmiller, Mylène Demongeot, Juliette Gréco, Herbert Lom and O. W. Fischer Congress of Love (1966), with Curd Jürgens, Lilli Palmer, Hannes Messemer, Paul Meurisse and Françoise Arnoul Circus Maximus (1980), with Ági Margittay and Antal Páger