1925–1937: Theater career Back in New York, Mann took a job as a night watchman for Westinghouse Electric, which enabled him to look for stage work during the day. Within a few months, Mann was working full-time at the Triangle Theater in
Greenwich Village. Using the name "Anton Bundsmann", he appeared as an actor in
The Dybbuk (1925) with an English translation by
Henry Alsberg,
The Little Clay Cart (1926), and
The Squall (1926) by
Jean Bart. Towards the end of the decade, Mann appeared in the Broadway productions of
The Blue Peter and
Uncle Vanya (1929). In 1930, Mann joined the
Theatre Guild, as a
production manager and eventually as a director. Nevertheless, he continued to act, appearing in
The Streets of New York, or Poverty is No Crime (1931), and
The Bride the Sun Shines On (1933) portraying the "Duke of Calcavalle". In 1933, Mann directed a stage adaptation of
Christopher Morley's
Thunder on the Left, which was performed at the
Maxine Elliott's Theatre. In a theatre review for
The New York Times,
Brooks Atkinson dismissed the play, writing "its medley of realism and fantasy grows less intelligible scene by scene, and some of the acting is disenchantingly profane." He later directed
Cherokee Night (1936),
So Proudly We Hail (1936), and
The Big Blow (1938). He worked for various stock companies, and in 1934, he established his own, which later became Long Island's Red Barn Playhouse.
1937–1941: Move to Hollywood and television career In 1937, Mann began working for
Selznick International Pictures as a talent scout and casting director. He also directed screen tests for a number of films, including
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938),
Intermezzo (1939),
Gone with the Wind (1939), and
Rebecca (1940). One of the unknown actresses he tested was
Jennifer Jones. After a few months at Selznick, Mann moved to
Paramount Pictures to serve as an
assistant director for several film directors, most particularly for
Preston Sturges on ''
Sullivan's Travels'' (1941). Mann recalled, "[Preston] let me go through the entire production, watching him direct – and I directed a little. I'd stage a scene and he'd tell me how lousy it was. Then I watched the editing and I was able gradually to build up knowledge. Preston insisted I make a film as soon as possible." He served three years in the position. Meanwhile, Mann did notable, but mostly lost, work as a director for
NBC's experimental television station
W2XBS from 1939 to 1940. This included condensations of the hit Western play
The Missouri Legend and the melodrama
The Streets of New York. A five-minute silent clip of the latter show survives in the
Museum of Television and Radio, including noted actors
Norman Lloyd and
George Coulouris.
1942–1946: Move to directing Through the efforts of his friend
MacDonald Carey, Mann made his directorial debut with
Dr. Broadway (1942) at Paramount, which starred Carey. Decades later, Mann remembered he was told to complete shooting the film in eighteen days. Upon its release, Herman Schoenfeld of
Variety was dismissive of the film writing, "The dialog could have just as well have been written in baby talk, and Anton Mann's direction just wasn't. The photography is spotty and the production looks inexpensive. Acting is weak, only
Edward Ciannelli as the killer who gets killed, turning in an adequate job." ''
Harrison's Reports'' was more complimentary, stating the film was a "fairly good program entertainment" with "colorful characters, human interest, fast action, and situations that hold one in suspense." His follow-up film was
Moonlight in Havana (1943) at
Universal Pictures. The film featured
Allan Jones and
Jane Frazee. In August 1944, it was reported Mann might return to Broadway to direct
Mirror for Children. After nine months without directing a feature film, Mann went to
Republic Pictures where he directed ''
Nobody's Darling (1944) and My Best Gal'' (1944). He next directed
Strangers in the Night (1944). The film tells of Hilda Blake (
Helene Thimig) who creates an imaginary "daughter" for Sgt. Johnny Meadows (William Terry) who is injured in the South Pacific. After being discharged and returning to the U.S., Meadows searches for the imaginary woman. He is informed of the truth by Dr. Leslie Ross (
Virginia Grey), who is later murdered by Blake; in turn, Blake plans to murder Meadows. The film was notable for its noirish
mise-en-scène and psychological depth that appeared in Mann's latter films. Mann then directed
The Great Flamarion (1945), starring
Erich von Stroheim and
Mary Beth Hughes. During principal photography, Mann clashed with von Stroheim, describing him at length as "difficult. He was a personality, not really an actor ... He drove me mad. He was a genius. I'm not a genius: I'm a worker." Mann moved to RKO to direct ''
Two O'Clock Courage (1945), itself a remake of the 1936 film Two in the Dark, with Tom Conway and Ann Rutherford in the leading roles. That same year, he also directed Sing Your Way Home. Mann returned to Republic Pictures for Strange Impersonation (1946). He directed The Bamboo Blonde'' (1946) at RKO.
1947–1949: Film noir and career breakthrough By 1946, Mann had signed with
Eagle-Lion Films, a fledgling studio founded by
Arthur B. Krim and
Robert Benjamin. There, he directed
Railroaded! (1947). According to Mann, the film was shot in ten days. A film review in
Variety noted the film was "an old-type, blood-and-thunder gangster meller that's better than its no-name cast would indicate," and particular praised Mann for directing "with real acumen in developing maximum of suspense." That same year,
T-Men (1947) was released. According to
Elmer Lincoln Irey, the film originated from a rejected offer to dramatize the U.S. Treasury's investigation of
Al Capone on tax evasion charges. Instead, Irey brought forward three cases related to the investigation. Initially budgeted at $400,000,
T-Men was shot within three weeks from July 31 to August 23, with four days of reshoots in September. For the film, Mann specifically requested cinematographer
John Alton, who was loaned out from Republic for the job, marking
T-Men as their first collaboration. During its release, the film earned $2.5 million worldwide. He went back to RKO for
Desperate (1947), which he also co-wrote with Dorothy Atlas. A review in
Variety positively wrote it was "a ripsnorting gangster meller, with enough gunplay, bumping off of characters and grim brutality to smack of
pre-code days"; Mann's direction was noted as "being done skillfully". Mann returned to Eagle-Lion to direct
Raw Deal (1948), reteaming with screenwriter
John C. Higgins, screenwriter Leopold Atlas and actor
Dennis O'Keefe. The film centers on Joe (O'Keefe), who has been wrongly imprisoned and fingered by his old friends. He escapes from prison and goes on the run with two women, a nice social worker, Ann (
Marsha Hunt), whom he takes as a hostage, and a femme fatale, Pat (
Claire Trevor), who helped release him. Both women are doomed to be in love with him. The film review magazine ''
Harrison's Reports'' wrote: "Fast-paced and packed with action, this gangster-type melodrama should go over pretty well with adult audiences, in spite of the fact that the plot is not always logical"; it also noted "Anthony Mann's taut direction has squeezed every bit of excitement and suspense out of the material at hand."
Variety noted: "Though a medium budgeter, [
Raw Deal] is dressed tidily with a good production and some marquee weight furnished by" the cast.
Bosley Crowther of
The New York Times gave the film a negative review, writing it is "a movie—and a pretty low-grade one, at that—in which sensations of fright and excitement are more diligently pursued than common sense." Mann's success with
Desperate and
T-Men made him Eagle-Lion's most valuable director. In February 1948, Mann was hired to direct a dramatization of the
storming of the Bastille, with
Richard Basehart to portray an aide to
General Lafayette. With
Walter Wanger preoccupied with
Joan of Arc (1948), he handed off supervisory duties to production designer
William Cameron Menzies. Principal photography lasted 29 days, from August to September 1948, and cost $850,000. Reteaming with Alton, he and Mann developed a low-cost noir style, using low lighting levels and omnipresent shadows on minimal decor, high-angled camera shots, and
rear projection for wide crowd shots. The resulting film was titled
Reign of Terror (1949). After filming had begun, Mann was brought in to direct several scenes for
He Walked by Night (1948), which also starred Basehart. Mann again collaborated with Higgins and Alton on the film. However,
Alfred L. Werker was given the official director's credit. While researching on
T-Men (1947), Higgins and Mann had come across the topic of
Border Patrol agents along the
Mexico–United States border.
Border Incident (1949) was initially developed at Eagle-Lion, but in December 1948, MGM's
Dore Schary purchased the script for $50,000 and hired Mann to direct the film. Schary had also signed Mann onto a multi-picture contract with MGM. Beforehand, in July 1947, Mann and Francis Rosenwald had written a script for
Follow Me Quietly (1949). It was first purchased by
Jack Wrather Productions for
Allied Artists, with
Don Castle in the lead role. According to
Eddie Muller, of
Turner Classic Movies, Mann was slated to direct the film, but was enticed by
Edward Small to instead direct
T-Men and
Raw Deal. Months later, in December, RKO had purchased the script from Wrather and assigned
Martin Rackin write a new script. Due to Mann's absence,
Richard Fleischer was hired to direct
Follow Me Quietly, and there has been speculation suggesting Mann did uncredited filming. However, Muller has disagreed. After
Border Incident (1949), Mann was approached by
Nicholas Nayfack, who asked him: "How would you like to direct a Western? I've a scenario here that seems interesting." He was handed the script for ''
Devil's Doorway'' (1950), deeming it "the best script I had ever read." The film starred
Robert Taylor, portraying a
Shoshone native who faces prejudice after returning home in
Medicine Bow, Wyoming following his decorated service in the
American Civil War. Principal photography began on August 15, 1949, and lasted until mid-October. MGM initially withheld the film because of its topical subject, but released the film after
Delmer Daves'
Broken Arrow (1950), which starred
James Stewart, had become successful. When it was released, the film was neither a critical or commercial success. He followed this with a Western at Universal, starring James Stewart, ''
Winchester '73 (1950). The film was originally set to be directed by Fritz Lang, but he felt Stewart was unsuitable for the lead role and dropped out. When Stewart had seen a rough cut of Devil's Doorway'' (1950), he suggested Mann as a replacement. Mann readily accepted, but threw out the script calling
Borden Chase for a rewrite. Principal photography began on February 14, 1950, in
Tucson, Arizona for a thirty-day shooting schedule. The film was a commercial success, earning $2.25 million in distributor rentals becoming Universal Pictures' second-most successful film of 1950. At the invitation of
Hal Wallis, Mann directed the Western
The Furies (1950) at Paramount starring
Barbara Stanwyck and
Walter Huston. Also released in summer 1950, the film grossed $1.55 million in distributor rentals in the United States and Canada. There, Mann worked 24 nights, filming the
burning of Rome sequence with assistant cinematographer
William V. Skall.
Side Street (1950) was the final
film noir that Mann directed. The film starred
Farley Granger and
Cathy O'Donnell, reteaming after
They Live by Night (1948). He next directed a period thriller with
Dick Powell,
The Tall Target (1952). After the success of ''Winchester '73
(1950), Universal Pictures wanted another collaboration between Mann and Stewart. After a recommendation from one friend, Stewart proposed adapting the novel Bend of the River by Bill Gulick to Universal. The studio agreed and purchased the film rights. The actor and director made a contemporary adventure film, Thunder Bay'' (1953) at Universal. Feeling dissatisfied with the final film, Mann stated, "We tried but it was all too fabricated and the story was weak. We were never able to lick it ...It didn't get terribly good notices but of course it made a profit." In 1952, MGM approached Mann to direct
The Naked Spur (1953). The story told of bounty hunter Howard Kemp who wants to collect a $5,000 reward on an outlaw's head so he can buy back land lost to him during the American Civil War. With unwanted help from a gold prospector and an Army deserter, Kemp captures the outlaw and the girlfriend who accompanies him. With the film's release in 1953, Mann fulfilled his contract with MGM. Mann and Stewart had their biggest success with
The Glenn Miller Story (1954). During its release, the film earned $7 million in distributor rentals in the United States and Canada. That same year, he filmed
The Far Country with James Stewart and
Walter Brennan. The film would be Mann's last collaboration with Borden Chase. Mann and Stewart paired for one more non-Western film,
Strategic Air Command (1955). Stewart had served with the
U.S. Air Force and pushed for a cinematic portrayal. With the cooperation of the Air Force, Mann agreed to direct the film, wanting to film the
Convair B-36 and
Boeing B-47 in action as the human characters, in his words, "were papier-mâché". During its release, the film earned $6.5 million at the box office. Mann's last collaboration with Stewart was
The Man from Laramie (1955) at
Columbia Pictures. The film was an adaptation from a serial by Thomas T. Flynn, first published in
The Saturday Evening Post in 1954. The film was shot on location in Coronado,
New Mexico, and in
Sante Fe. The film was the favorite of Stewart's of the films they made together. After the film's release,
Harry Cohn asked Mann to direct another Western film for Columbia. Mann agreed and decided to direct
The Last Frontier (1955). Mann offered Stewart the lead role to which he declined and instead cast
Victor Mature. In 1956, Mann was handed the script for
Night Passage (1957) by
Aaron Rosenberg, intending to reunite him with Stewart for a potential ninth collaboration. Before filming was set to begin on September 4, Mann withdrew from the project. Contemporary accounts reported that Mann withdrew because he had not yet finished editing
Men in War (1957). However, latter accounts state Mann had developed creative differences with Chase over the script, which Mann considered to be weak. In 1967, Mann had also accused Stewart of only doing the film so he could play his accordion. Mann asked to be replaced, and
James Neilson was hired to direct the film. Stewart and Mann never collaborated on another project again. Mann directed a musical starring
Mario Lanza titled
Serenade (1956). During filming, he worked with actress
Sara Montiel, who became his second wife. In August 1957, Mann announced he had acquired the film rights to
Lion Feuchtwanger's novel
This is the Hour, which told a fictionalized account of painter
Francisco Goya. Montiel was set to portray
Maria Teresa de Cayetana, Duchess of Alba. By February 1958, Mann had abandoned the project as a rival film titled
The Naked Maja (1958) was in production. He then purchased the film rights to
John McPartland's then-recently published novel
Ripe Fruit, with Montiel set to star. However, the project failed to materialize. Mann directed a Western starring
Henry Fonda and
Anthony Perkins titled
The Tin Star (1957). Mann then teamed with
Philip Yordan on two films starring
Robert Ryan and
Aldo Ray; the first being
Men in War (1957) was about the
Korean War. The film was the first of three Mann had directed for
United Artists. His second project was a
1958 film adaptation of
Erskine Caldwell's then-controversial novel ''
God's Little Acre''. Mann and producer
Sidney Harmon had intended to film in
Augusta, Georgia, but the novel's controversial subject matter heightened resistance from city leaders and local farmers. As a result, the production was denied permission to film in the state. In October 1957, they eventually selected
Stockton, California. On both films, Yordan was given the official screenwriter credit, but
Ben Maddow stated he had written both screenplays. Mann later directed
Gary Cooper in a Western,
Man of the West (1958) for United Artists. Filming began on February 10, 1958, and ended later that same year. When it was released,
Howard Thompson of
The New York Times wrote the film was "good, lean, tough little Western" that was "[w]ell-acted and beautifully photographed in color and Cinema-Scope". Elsewhere,
Jean-Luc Godard, then a critic for
Cahiers du Cinéma, gave the film a raving review when it was released in France.
1959–1964: Widescreen films Mann was hired by Universal Pictures to direct
Spartacus (1960), much to the disagreement of
Kirk Douglas who felt Mann "seemed scared of the scope of the picture". Filming started on January 27, 1959, in
Death Valley,
California, for the mine sequence. As filming continued, Douglas felt Mann had lost control of the film, writing in particular: "He let
Peter Ustinov direct his own scenes by taking every suggestion Peter made. The suggestions were good—for Peter, but not necessarily for the film." With the studio's approval, Douglas was permitted to fire Mann. According to Douglas's account, Mann graciously exited the production on February 13, to which Douglas promised he "owe[d]" a film to him. In 1967, Mann stated: "Kirk Douglas was the producer of
Spartacus: he wanted to insist on the message angle. I thought the message would go over more easily by showing physically all the horrors of slavery. A film must be visual, too much dialogue kills it ... From then, we disagreed: I left." On February 17, 1959,
Stanley Kubrick was hired to direct. Shortly after, Mann went to MGM to direct
Glenn Ford in a remake of
Cimarron (1960). During production, Mann had filmed on location for twelve days, but the shoot had experienced troublesome storms. In response, studio executives at MGM decided to relocate the production indoors. Mann disagreed, remarking the production had become "an economic disaster and a fiasco and the whole project was destroyed." Mann left the production, and was replaced by
Charles Walters. In July 1960, Mann was hired to direct
El Cid (1961) for
Samuel Bronston. The film starred
Charlton Heston and
Sophia Loren. In November 1960, before filming was to begin, Loren was displeased with her dialogue in the script, and requested for blacklisted screenwriter
Ben Barzman to rewrite it. On an airplane trip to
Rome, Mann retrieved Barzman and handed him the latest shooting script, to which Barzman agreed to rewrite from scratch. Filming began on November 14, 1960, and lasted until April 1961. Released in December 1961,
El Cid was released to critical acclaim, with praise towards Mann's direction, the cast and the cinematography. At the box office, the film earned $12 million in distributor rentals from the United States and Canada. Mann next directed
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). The project's genesis began when Mann, who had recently finished filming
El Cid (1961), had spotted an Oxford concise edition of
Edward Gibbon's six-volume series
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire near the front window at the
Hatchards bookshop. Mann then read the book, and after a flight trip to
Madrid, he pitched a film adaptation of the book to Bronston, to which the producer agreed. The film was intended to reunite Heston and Loren, but Heston departed the project to star in
55 Days at Peking (1963), another Bronston production. His role was subsequently assumed by
Stephen Boyd. Filming began on January 14, 1963, and wrapped in July 1963. Released in March 1964, the film earned $1.9 million in box office rentals in the United States and Canada, against an estimated production budget of $16 million. That same year, in July, Mann served as the head of the jury at the
14th Berlin International Film Festival.
1965–1967: Later films In March 1963, Mann and producer
S. Benjamin Fisz had reportedly begun development on
The Unknown Battle, a historic re-telling of
Norwegian resistance soldier
Knut Haukelid's sabotage mission to prevent
Nazi Germany from developing an atomic bomb during
World War II. Barzman had been hired to write the script, with Allied Artists as a distributor. By February 1964, Boyd and
Elke Sommer had been hired to portray the leading roles. However, in July, Kirk Douglas was hired to portray the lead role. In his memoir, Douglas accepted the role after receiving an unexpected phone call from Mann, fulfilling his earlier promise that he "owed" him a film. The film was then re-titled
The Heroes of Telemark (1965). In October 1966, Mann was announced to direct and produce the spy thriller
A Dandy in Aspic (1968) for Columbia Pictures. By December, filming was set to begin in February 1967 where it would film on location in
Austria,
Germany, and
London. At the time of his death, Mann was developing three projects: a Western film titled
The King, which was loosely adapted from
King Lear, with sons replacing the daughters;
The Donner Pass, a film about pioneers trekking to the
Donner Pass; and
The Canyon, a film about a young Native American becoming a
Brave. ==Personal life==