Autocratic Otto

Preminger was a master of high-minded ballyhoo—the taboo-breaking story, the battle with obtuse censors, the overflowing press banquet, the chartered plane to Cannes for a screening (those were the days). Tall, bald, fearless, and charming in a slightly menacing way, he spoke a German-accented English that was a delight to hear and to make fun of. By the late fifties, he was a director second only to Hitchcock as a Hollywood public figure. At the same time, rumors circulated about his spectacular rudeness and his bullying treatment of actors, especially less experienced actors. This highly intelligent man was capable of grabbing a young performer by the shoulders and screaming “Relax! Relax!” into his face. “Sort of a Jewish Nazi,” Joan Crawford called him, and she was a fan.


Read the rest of David Denby on how Otto Preminger made his movies.