Ladislao Vajda | |
---|---|
Born |
László Vajda Weisz 18 August 1906 Budapest, Hungary |
Died | 25 March 1965 Barcelona, Spain |
(aged 58)
Occupation | Film director |
Years active | 1932–1965 |
Ladislao Vajda (born László Vajda Weisz; 18 August 1906, Budapest – 25 March 1965, Barcelona) was a Hungarian film director who made films in Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany.
He was born in Budapest, his father being an actor and screenwriter.
Vajda started his career as film editor (even though he also worked as artistic designer and writer) for different directors, such as Billy Wilder and Henry Koster. Eventually, he undertook his first directorial effort in his native country, Hungary.
Beforehand World War II he became established in Italy, where he directed two movies: La zia smemorata (1940, ) and Giuliano de' Medici (1941, ). Finally, he moved to Spain, where he continued directing films. The first film from his Spanish period was Se vende un palacio (A Palace for Sale), released in 1943. During the 1940s, Vajda directed several movies in Portugal, United Kingdom and, mainly, in Spain.
However, he would reach his artistic peak in the 1950s. Vajda's movies during this period are clearly influenced by German director Fritz Lang. His main works during this period are: The Miracle of Marcelino (1955), Uncle Hyacynth (1956), Afternoon of the Bulls (1956), The Man Who Wagged His Tail (1957) with Peter Ustinov, and It Happened in Broad Daylight (1958). They were acclaimed by both critics and public: The Miracle of Marcelino and Uncle Hyacynth won different prizes in Cannes Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival; Afternoon of the Bulls was nominated for the Palme d'Or and It Happened in Broad Daylight for the Golden Bear.