orig. Mihály Kertész
born Dec. 24, 1888, Budapest, Hung.
died April 10, 1962, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.
Hungarian-U.S. film director.
He directed films in Hungary and elsewhere in Europe before he was invited to Hollywood by Warner Brothers in 1926. He directed more than 100 Warner Brothers films, including adventure movies with Errol Flynn such as Captain Blood (1935), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and The Sea Hawk (1940). His many other notable films include Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), the hugely successful Casablanca (1942, Academy Award), Mildred Pierce (1945), and White Christmas (1954).