Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King

Nothing about Otto Preminger was small or trivial – from his privileged upbringing in Vienna as the son of an improbably successful Jewish lawyer to his work in film and theater in Europe and, later, in America. His range as a director was remarkable: romantic comedies, musicals, courtroom dramas, adaptations of classic plays, political melodrama, war films, and film noir. He directed everything from sweeping sagas to small-scale pictures.

In Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King, Foster Hirsch reveals the genius and torture behind the renowned director and producer. Known as Otto the Terrible, Preminger brought to the screen a balanced style and steadfast belief in his actors’ underacting that was at odds with his hot-tempered personality. Yet it was this fire and determination to get his way that allowed this native European to become one of America’s most progressive directors. He undermined the Production Code of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Catholic Legion of Decency in some of his most important films, defying their demands for changes that betrayed his artistic vision. He broke many social barriers by becoming the industry’s leading employer of both African American and blacklisted performers and, later, by shooting America’s first-ever scene set in a gay bar.

In this full-scale biography of the controversial, underrated, yet greatly admired movie titan, Foster Hirsch shows us the man – enraging and endearing – and his brilliant work.