Fred Zinnemann

Born in Austria in 1907, Zinnemann was the son of a Jewish physician. From 1925-1927, he attended the University of Vienna where he studied music and law, and then, he went on to study cinematography in Paris. He eventually moved to Hollywood where he served as an extra in Lewis Milestone's All Quiet on the Western Front, and he served as an assistant for Robert Flaherty, a documentary filmmaker who was very influential for Zinnemann. Zinnemann spent the next decade working on documentaries and went on to direct his first film The Wave, a film about a Mexican fishing community. 

Zinnemann signed with MGM in 1937, and his first work for them was installments in the Crime Does Not Pay series as well as short subjects. In particular, he directed That Mothers Might Live (1938) which won an Academy Award for best one-reel short subject. He then created a series of B-films and a couple comedic ones as well. He went on to direct The Search which told the story of an American soldier stationed in Berlin trying to adopt a concentration camp survivor. The film was the first shot in Germany following World War II. Zinnemann was nominated for the Academy Award for best director for the film.

In the 1950s, Zinnemann went on to direct The Men, which gave Marlon Brando his film debut. This film and his next, Teresa, also dealt with war veterans and their families. One of Zinnemann's most prominent films was High Noon starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. Gary Cooper's Will Kane is a marshal who is deserted in a time of need by the townspeople and his deputy, and this desertion is thought to represent the behavior of many people in Hollywood during the House Un-American Activities Committee's investigation of community activity. 

                                                       

Zinnemann goes on to make numerous other movies including but not limited to The Member of the Wedding, From Here to Eternity, Oklahoma!, A Hatful of Rain, The Nun's Story, The Sundowners, Behold a Pale Horse, A Man for All Seasons, and Five Days One Summer. Overall, Zinnemann had a very successful career and was nominated seven time for the Academy Awards as best director. Two of his films also won best picture.