Léonide Moguy


Léonide Moguy was a Russian-born French film director, screenwriter and film editor.
Moguy was born Leonid Mogilevsky in Russia in 1899. He lived in Russia until 1928, in the United States in the 1940s, and in Italy from 1949 until his death. He was active in film between 1936 and 1961. His work has influenced American director Quentin Tarantino, who discovered him while writing the script for Inglourious Basterds, and named a character after him in Django Unchained.

Career

He was born in Leningrad and worked on technical films for the Soviet government. In 1928 he organised the Scientific and Experimental Film Laboratory in which many Soviet directors took part.

France

He moved to France and developed a reputation as a "play doctor" of films. He started directing and had a hit with 40 Little Mothers.

Hollywood

Moguy moved to Hollywood in 1940. He made the film The Night is Ending at 20th Century Fox. He stayed at Fox to make Paris After Dark then went to RKO to make Action in Arabia.
He was meant to follow Arabia with Experiment Perilous with Paul Henreid at RKO but the film was not made. Instead he made Whistle Stop for United Artists.
"I didn't do the pictures I wanted to", he later said of this time.

Europe

Moguy returned to France where he made Bethsabee. In 1947 he announced he would direct the first Belgian-Hollywood co production, New York's Origin, a story of the Belgian refugees who established New York. The film was not made.
Instead he made Tomorrow Is Too Late which introduced Pier Angeli. They were reunited in Tomorrow Is Another Day.
He went on to make 100 Little Mothers, Children of Love, The Width of the Pavement, Give Me My Chance and Man Wants To Live''.

Personal life

One of Moguy's early companions was the fashion designer Jacques Fath, a sometime actor who appeared in an early Moguy film.

Selected filmography