Auer was born in Budapest on August 3, 1906. he was a child actor in Vienna from the age of 12. After he grew up, he had some business experience in Europe, but decided to emigrate to the United States in 1928. He first sought work as a director in
Hollywood but luck did not seem to favour him. Next, he tried his hand at directing some Mexican films, which did quite well as they not only brought him critical acclaim but also fared well in box office receipts; some even brought him awards from the Mexican government. His success in Mexico helped Auer to make a re-entry into Hollywood and direct films. Although he worked mostly for the
Republic Pictures who specialized in
Westerns and
B films, he stuck to crime thrillers and musicals. Besides directing, he also produced most of his directed films. The year 1934 saw Auer's Hollywood directorial venture, Frankie and Johnny, filmed at the Mascot Studios. His later years were spent mostly with the
Republic Pictures. It was in the late 1940s and early 1950s when some of his B-rated movies such as
Angel on the Amazon,
Thunderbirds, and ''Hell's Half Acre'' were well accepted by the film lovers. He also did a film with
RKO Pictures's
Gangway for Tomorrow and
Universal Studios's
Johnny Doughboy. and John H. Auer on the set of
Pan-Americana (1945) After the adventure comedy Johnny Trooper (1943), Auer directed several forgettable films, and a year later, at RKO Pictures, he directed the propaganda melodrama Bridge to Tomorrow (1943), which tells the story of five people, each of whom experiences wartime in their own way. The film starred famous actors such as Margo,
John Carradine, and
Robert Ryan. In 1944–1945, Auer worked mainly in the musical comedy genre, directing the films Seven Days in Heaven (1944), Music in Manhattan (1944), and Pan-Americana (1945). After another musical, Very Cool (1947), Auer directed his first film noir,
The Flame (1947 film). The film tells the story of George McCallister (John Carroll), who persuades his girlfriend, nurse Charlotte Duval (Vera Ralston), to marry his wealthy, terminally ill brother Barry (Robert Page), hoping to inherit his fortune. However, Charlotte falls truly in love with Barry and does everything she can to help him recover. Meanwhile, a blackmailer (Broderick Crawford) stands in the way of their happiness, extorting money from George and threatening to expose his relationship with Charlotte. After the film's release, New York Times film critic
Howard Thompson gave it a low rating, writing that "the only distinguishing feature of this incoherent, clumsy nonsense is the sadly amusing fact that most of the actors seem to be either bored or amused by it all. And that's not surprising, because the film has a gloomy, simplistic plot about ‘which brother do I love’, which is built around Vera Ralston." On the other hand, contemporary film critic Hal Erickson noted that "both in terms of budget and drama, this is one of the richest films produced by Republic Pictures in the late 1940s" and, according to Michael Keaney, it is "a decent drama with a lot of atmosphere, including organ music and ocean waves crashing against the rocks, as well as a couple of murders." In 1948, Auer released the war melodrama I, Jane Doe (1948) starring Ruth Hussey and the adventure melodrama Angel of the Amazon (1948) starring George Brent and Vera Ralston. After the adventure melodrama The Avengers (1949) with John Carroll and Adele Mara and the war melodrama Far Blue Sky (1951) starring Wendell Corey, Vera Ralston, and Forrest Tucker, the director made a military action drama about American pilots on the Italian front during World War II, The Stormbirds (1952). The film starred actors such as
John Derek,
John Drew Barrymore, and
Mona Freeman. Auer retired from filmmaking after 1960 and died on March 15, 1975 in
North Hollywood, Los Angeles. ==Filmography==