Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Tuesday 20 July 1954, page 4


\Manv ia lase a j \ caal£7millianl

* By a London correspondent <

i ÇILVER HAIRED, silver ;' d tongued Sir Alexander ¡JKorda, 61 - Britain's "epic"

¡¡ film-maker - has found another u backer with a hefty bankroll.

¡| His latest: £5 million from the

¡; City Investing Corporation of New |; York, to finance his next nine films.

Studios . . . and, overnight, the name ¡>

Korda meant kudos. <¡

He hit the jackpot with "The Private ¡> Life of Henry Vin," whîch Bent critics <! searching for superlatives. ¡;

But although Korda's films were BIG, ¡> many lost small fortunes at the box (¡ office. ¡'

Money dwindled . . . until in 1939 ?! Korda's sponsored companies owed the ¡;

Prudential £2 million. «.

£ And he has clinched the Ù deal despite the fact that ¡¡ in thirty years of movie<> making he has been closely I associated with ventures

J that have lost £7 million, <! mostly of other people's ¡¡ money.

¡> But this Hungarian-born <! thrice-married knight has ¡¡ had the unfailing flair in

<> his career of always bob

¡¡ bing up again . . . with ¡' new bankrolls.

II His success gimmick is ¡¡ CHARM - enough to meit

11 the heart of the shrewdest

¡; financial mogul. ©nee ¡> an associate said in awe: i| "He could charm money

SIR ALEXANDER KORDA

In 1941 Korda went ? to Hollywood to make ¡¡ "Lady Hamilton" with j« Vivien Leigh. Sir Winston i¡ Churchill saw it eight ¡;

times - with tears in his <« eyes each time. <

Next year the Hungarian- ¡ ¡ born movie mogul was ¡ < knighted. <!

Sir Alexander Korda ¡¡ returned to Britain In 1943 ¡> as production chief of the <¡ Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer- ¡» London Films, with a £35 Ù million,. 10-year pro- ¡; gramme. The scheme ¡> folded up after one year, <¡ one film, and a £1 million ¡> loss to M.G.M. i

7 out oi an empty sate."

? ! At twenty-five he was .Hungary's top ¡¡ producer and later he left for Holly¡i wood with a contract in hi« pocket. But i[ here his career took a temporary nose¡» dive. California and Korda didn't mix, s his. savings went in the Wall street \> crash, and he returned to Europe with <> twenty dollars between him and starva¡I tion.

¡» Korda reached Britain in 1931 and 11 despite the depression charmed hard¡' headed London business men into backing <! his new company, London Films.

¡; He launched one of the biggest spendh ing sprees that had ever hit the British !; film industry. The Prudential flnancied ¡' the building of the opulent I>enham Film

Sir Alexander. put his Í charm to work again, and lost another ¡» £l£ million of other people's money«; on "Bonnie Prince Charlie," "Anna j» Karenina," "Gone to Earth," and "The s Elusive Pimpernel." ¡;

Six years ago, Korda became pro- ¡ ; auction adviser to JBritish Lion Films, ¡ ; which, since then, has had a blood trans- \< fusion .of £ 3 million of public money 11 from the National Film Finance Cor- ¡; poration. <>

But Sir Alexander has sometimes de- ' ! livered the goods. Filmgoers will always ¡; thank him for such treats as "The Third ' > Man," "The Sound Barrier," and "The.; Fallen Idol." ¡¡