Art of Film on Sky Arts - Series 2 Episode 3 - The Corda Story

 

This episode was about three Hungarian brothers who helped to shape the British film industry. Alexander (in the centre) was the eldest and most famous. He was a producer, Zoltan was the director and Vincent  the artist. Three very contrasting personalities. Neil Norman said they loved Britain and brought a certain European glamour to their work. Kim Newman added that they wanted to make films equal to those in America so needed decent budgets. 

We hear about their Jewish background, and their miserable time in Hollywood at Fox Studios from 1926. They hated the studio system there and left for the UK in 1931.  Kim tells us they were able to make five low budget films followed by the one that made their mark all over the world. In 1933 came The Private Life of Henry V111 that was a huge success. It was series of love stories that appealed to America and Europe. Charles Laughton won the Oscar for best actor and the movie was nominated for best foreign film. Both unprecedented.

Although Alexander had lost all their money in Hollywood, he found some backing from Prudential Life Insurance to set up London Films. This culminated in 1935 with the founding of  a brand new studio complex near Denham, 165 acres, a huge operation and the largest studios in the UK at the time.

In 1939 came The Four Feathers, A big colour production directed by Zoltan Korda that was shot in Sudan. We hear that Zoltan was abroad so much seeking and immersing himself in the locations all over the world. Ian Nathan said "Zoltan has a flair for the spectacular". We hear how he came to be such a great director.

Next came The Thief of Bagdad in 1940. The youngest of the three brothers, Vincent Korda, won the Oscar for art direction. Vincent was a hugely talented artist and could have succeeded in any form of artistic venture. He "inspired so many designers in British film". He was nominated for an Oscar on three other occasions. In 1936 he was the art director for the science fiction film Things to Come adapted from the HG Wells novel that was produced by his brother Alexander. We are shown clips that demonstrate Vincent's imagination. All three presenters were really impressed that Vincent's contribution was so important to these movies.

In 1949 came perhaps Alexander's most famous film The Third Man with Orson Welles. Then in 1954 came Hobson's Choice and finally we hear about 1957's Cry, The Beloved Country. This was Zoltan's anti-apartheid film and his most personal venture. Stephen Armstrong said that he spent so much time out of the country and Neil Norman added it was "an amazing film". As was the whole episode.