John H. Auer (August 3, 1906 in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

– March 15, 1975 in

North Hollywood, Los Angeles North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ...

) was a Hungarian-born child actor who, on coming to the Americas in 1928, became a movie director and producer, initially in Mexico but, from the early 1930s, in Hollywood.

Career

Auer was a child actor in Vienna from the age of 12. After he grew up, he had some business experience in Europe, but decided to emigrate to the United States in 1928. He first sought work as a director in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

but luck did not seem to favour him. Next, he tried his hand at directing some Mexican films, which did quite well as they not only brought him critical acclaim but also fared well in box office receipts; some even brought him awards from the Mexican government. His success in Mexico helped Auer to make a re-entry into Hollywood and direct films. Although he worked mostly for the

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

who specialized in Westerns and B films, he stuck to crime thrillers and musicals. Besides directing, he also produced most of his directed films. The year 1934 saw Auer's Hollywood directorial venture, Frankie and Johnny, filmed at the Mascot Studios. His later years were spent mostly with the

. It was in the late 1940s and early 1950s when some of his B-rated movies such as ''Angel on the Amazon'', ''Thunderbirds'', and ''Hell's Half Acre'' were well accepted by the film lovers. He also did a film with

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

's ''Gangway for Tomorrow'' and

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

's ''Johnny Doughboy''.

Filmography

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auer, John H. 1906 births 1975 deaths Film directors from Los Angeles Film producers from Los Angeles American male screenwriters Male actors from Budapest Hungarian emigrants to Mexico 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Hungarian emigrants to the United States