Rossen Robert

Nato a New York City il 16 marzo 1908 e morto il 18 febbraio 1966 a 58 anni a Los Angeles. Iniziò la carriera a Broadway, come regista teatrale, prima di dedicarsi al cinema come soggettista e sceneggiatore. Lavorò a The Sea Wolf (Il lupo dei mari,1941), A Walk in the Sun (Passeggiata al sole - Salerno ora X, 1945), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (Lo strano amore di Marta Ivers,1946). Nel 1947 passò alla regia con Body and Soul (Anima e corpo,1947), scritto da Abraham Polonsky e interpretato da John Garfield,dimostrando la sua predilizione per i soggetti di argomento sociale. Vinse l’Oscar col violento film politico All the King’s Men (Tutti gli uomini del re, 1949) sulla corruzione politica nel sud degli Stati Uniti. Con The Brave Bulls (Fiesta d’amore e di morte, 1951) condannò con vigore la prassi della tauromachia, ottenendo un rilevante successo di critica. Costretto a lasciare il paese a causa del maccartismo, lavorò in Europa a progetti ambiziosi come Mambo (1954), Alexander the Great (Alessandro il Grande, 1956), Island in the Sun (L’isola nel sole, 1957), Cordura (1959). Ispirati si dimostrarono invece The Hustler (Lo spaccone, 1961) e Lilith (Lilith, la dea dell’amore, 1964).

Born March 16, 1908 in New York City, and died February 18, 1966, age 58, in Los Angeles. He began his career on Broadway, as a theater director, first working in film as a scriptwriter. He worked on The Sea Wolf (1941), A Walk in the Sun (1945), and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). In 1947 he directed his first film with Body and Soul, written by Abraham Polonsky and starring John Garfield, revealing his fondness for using social issues as subject matter. He won an Oscar for his violent political film All the King’s Men (1949), about political corruption in the American South. With The Brave Bulls (1951), he vigorously denounced the practice of bullfighting, receiving considerable praise from critics. Forced to leave his country during the McCarthyist period, he worked in Europe on ambitious projects like Mambo (1954), Alexander the Great (1956), Island in the Sun (1957), and Cordura (1959). He also directed several films adapted from novels, including The Hustler (1961) and Lilith (1964).