Preminger, Otto Ludwig

Preminger, Otto Ludwig (1906-1986), American stage and film producer, director, and actor born in Vienna. He received a law degree in 1928, but had by that time become an actor, director, and producer at the theatre of Max Reinhardt. His earliest work was on Die Grosse Liebe (1931). He emigrated to the United States in 1935, directing such hits on Broadway as Outward Bound (1938) and Margin for Error (1939). He played many German roles in films during World War II. As an independent producer in the early 1950s his controversial works pushed back the bounds of censorship.

He is best known, however, as a film director, specializing in screenplays with sensitive social themes. His many films include Under Your Spell (1936), Danger—Love at Work (1937), Laura (1944), The Moon Is Blue (1953), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Exodus (1960), Such Good Friends (1971), and The Human Factor (1979). Preminger: An Autobiography appeared in 1977.