Alexander Paal

Hungarian film writer, director

Eva Bartok

(m. 1948; div. 1950)

Alexander Paal (May 18, 1910 – November 8, 1972)^[1] was a Hungarian film writer, director^[2] and producer. He considered one of the directors who were strongly influenced by the medieval European era.^[3]

Early life and education

Paal was born in Budapest on May 18, 1910.

He was once married to Hungarian-British actress Eva Bartok from 1948 to 1950.^[4] According to the sources, Paal helped Bartok in escaping from communist-ruled Hungary by arranging a "passport marriage". Later, he arranged Bartok's travel to London and gave her the leading role in his film A Tale of Five Cities (1951).^[5] The marriage was dissolved in the year 1951.

Filmography

Screenwriter

A Tale of Five Cities (1951)
Stolen Face (1952)

Director

Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel (1954)

Producer

Cloudburst (1951)
A Tale of Five Cities (1951)
Mantrap (1953)
Four Sided Triangle (1953)^[6]
Three Cases of Murder (1955)
The Golden Head (1964)^[7]
The Heroine (1967) – An incomplete film by Orson Welles, considered to be lost
Countess Dracula (1971),^[8] this film is supposed to be his last one.^[9]

Actor

Budai cukrászda (1935)^[10]

External links

Alexander Paal at IMDb

References

^ "Alexander Paal – National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
^ "Famous Film Directors from Hungary". Ranker. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
^ Williams, David (1990). "Medieval Movies". The Yearbook of English Studies. 20: 1–32. doi:10.2307/3507517. ISSN 0306-2473. JSTOR 3507517.
^ "Eva Bartok, 72, Actress in Films of 50's and 60's". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1998-08-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
^ "Obituary: Eva Bartok". The Independent. 1998-08-04. Archived from the original on 2009-11-08. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
^ Hunter, I. Q. (1999). British Science Fiction Cinema. Psychology Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-415-16868-7.
^ "Information about the 70mm Cinerama movie "The Golden Head" – aka "Milly goes to Budapest" An International Comedy Mystery". www.in70mm.com. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
^ Thorne, Tony (2012-06-01). Countess Dracula: The Life and Times of Elisabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4088-3365-0.
^ Fryer, Ian (2017-11-07). The British Horror Film: From the Silent to the Multiplex. Fonthill Media.
^ "Alexander Paal". IMDb. Retrieved 2022-06-23.