Michael Curtiz' life is fascinating

I remark on Michael Curtiz' interesting life. He pioneered camera movement and effects in the very early days of Hollywood sound. His still differed very much from the static reaction shots from the Silents.

So, I like Michael Curtiz as a director, but I never really understood why. One of the reasons (and I will, of course, talk about others) was his transition from Silents to Talkies. Silent movies seem histrionic now. However, the silents had their own language of looks, set-ups, and situations that the audience had grown to understand.

A scoundrel turns a lady into a fallen woman.
You can tell she is a lady by the fact she cries as lipstick is applied.

A fallen woman reflects on her sadness of her life 
This is Sadie Thompson - a prostitute in the Tropics

A delusional matron is suckered by low-lifes.

After the talkies, most directors continued static direction and interspersed talking head sound dialogs, which were merely an expansion of the old title cards. Curtiz made extensive use of dollies and camera angles to describe a new lexicon and break the habits of the first talkies. 

He is most famous for movies like The Adventures of Robin Hood, or Casablanca or Mildred Pierce. But his unique path through the transitions here is fascinating. And I am only up to 1939 so far. :-).

One of my favorite old murder mysteries is "The Case of the Curious Bride," with Warner William as Perry Mason. It is head and shoulders above the previous Warner William Perry Mason movie, "The Case of the Howling Dog." It is only to read Curtiz's story and then rewatch parts of both films (I have them both) to see why the Curtiz version is more engaging.

Action is shown, not discussed, in The Case of the Curious Bride

I love this book.