One of the most colourful figures in British films, Korda was also
the most ambitious and at one time appeared to be single handily saving
the industry. A man of persuasive charm and excellent taste, he arrived
in the early thirties by way of Paris and Hollywood and instantly began
making quota quickies. In 1933 he produced and directed The
Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) which was a resounding success
on both sides of the Atlantic, and inspired the grandiose plans for
his London Films. In the years following.
The vast Denham Studios were built by Korda on money borrowed from
the Prudential Insurance company. Among the films he produced in the
pre-war period were The
Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), The Ghost Goes West (1935), Sanders of
the River (1935), Things
to Come (1936), Rembrandt
(1936), Knight Without Armour (1937), Elephant
Boy (1937), The
Drum (1938), The
Thief of Bagdad (1940)and many more. The bubble burst and the studios
were sold up, but after the war Korda renewed his energies, producing
such post-war successes as The
Third Man (1949). His brother Zoltan was an able director in his
own right of such films as The
Four Feathers (1939), and another brother, Vincent, an excellent
art director.
