Born in Constantinople, now Istanbul, Turkey, to Greek parents in 1909, Elia Kazan emigrated with his parents to America as a child. An actor before he became a director, he was a co-founder of the Group Theatre in 1932 and the founder of the Actor’s Studio in 1947.

As an actor he was best known for his supporting roles in 1940’s City for Conquest and 1941’s Blues in the Night.

The first film Kazan directed was 1945’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, from Betty Smith’s beloved novel, which won a Juvenile Oscar for child star Peggy Ann Garner and a Supporting Actor for James Dunn. Although filmed on studio sets, the film was so rich in detail of city life at the turn of the 20th Century that it had the feel of having been filmed on the actual streets. He would later make all his films on location, adding realism to his films that became an inspiration for younger directors in the 1960s and 70s.

His directed two of 1947’s most acclaimed films, the thriller, Boomerang! about the murder of a priest, and the film version of Laura Hobson’s expose of anti-Semitism in America, Gentleman’s Agreement, which won a slew of Oscars including Best Picture and Kazan’s first for Best Director.

His 1949 film, Pinky earned Oscar nominations for Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters. His 1950 film, Panic in the Streets won an Oscar for Best Original Story.

Kazan directed Marlon Brando to his first Oscar nomination in 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden and Kim Hunter to Oscars and himself to his second Oscar nomination. He directed Brando to another nomination and Anthony Quinn to a win for 1952’s Viva Zapata!  His 1954 film, On the Waterfront earned twelve Oscar nominations and won Kazan his second for directing as well as Brando his first for acting.

1955’s East of Eden earned Kazan his fourth Oscar nomination and a posthumous one for star James Dean and an Oscar for Jo Van Fleet.  1957’s A Face in the Crowd made a star of Andy Griffith and 1960’s Wild River won acclaim but no Oscar recognition.

Natalie Wood received an Oscar nomination, Warren Beatty became a star, and Kazan found his second wife (Barbara Loden) in 1961’s Splendor in the Grass. Kazan’s 1963 adaptation of his immigration novel, America America, won him nominations for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay. His subsequent films were not successful either artistically or commercially, and he retired after 1976’s The Last Tycoon.

Kazan was given an honorary Oscar at the 1999 Academy Awards when he was 90 years old. It was presented by Martin Scorsese, one of the younger directors heavily influenced by Kazan’s work, and Robert De Niro who starred in Kazan’s last film. The honor was one of the most controversial in Oscar history as many in the entertainment industry still felt wounded by his HUAC testimony nearly fifty years earlier. Several attendees sat on their hands and refused to applaud, but others such as Gregory Peck believed a man’s work should be considered separate from his life.

Elia Kazan died in 2003 at 94.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (1945)

Kazan’s sensitive handling of actors, as well as his command of the medium, was apparent from the first frame of his first film as a director. Oscar winner Peggy Ann Garner’s portrayal of the bright girl struggling to overcome her humble surroundings was the most realistic portrait of a real child the screen had yet seen. She was torn between emulating her serious, realistic mother, Dorothy McGuire, and her carefree daydreaming father, Oscar winner James Dunn. There were memorable turns as well by Joan Blondell, Lloyd Nolan, James Gleason, Ruth Nelson and Ted Donaldson as her devoted little brother.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)

Vivien Leigh won her second Oscar as Blanche DuBois, the faded Southern belle who could almost be an older version of Leigh’s Scarlet O’Hara from Gone with the Wind. No stranger to the material, she had played the part on the London stage while co-stars Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden had played their roles in the original Broadway production under Kazan’s direction. Leigh, Hunter and Malden all won Oscars for their performances, but Brando, lost to Humphrey Bogart in The African Queen. Numerous stage revivals and TV remakes have failed to completely capture the magic of the film.

ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)

Kazan’s film of corruption on the New Jersey docks was an enormous critical and commercial success. Marlon Brando’s portrayal of the ex-prizefighter turned longshoreman is generally considered his best screen performance. He and Eva Marie Saint, as his girl, won two of the film’s eight Oscars out of twelve nominations. Lee J. Cobb as the waterfront boss, Rod Steiger as Brando’s mob-connected brother and Karl Malden as the compassionate waterfront priest were all nominated, and Kazan won his second Oscar for directing.  Budd Schulberg’s screenplay isbBased on the 1949 Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper articles by Malcolm Johnson.

EAST OF EDEN (1955)

Based on the second half of John Steinbeck’s novel, James Dean and Richard Davalos are Cain and Abel to their father Adam, played by Raymond Massey, their mother Eve (Jo Van Fleet) having abandoned them as babies.  Though Dean’s Oscar nominated performance was the centerpiece of the film, he was not the whole show.  Kazan’s direction and Paul Osborn’s screenplay were also nominated for Oscars, and Jo Van Fleet as the estranged mother he discovered running a bordello in the next town won for her performance.  There is also strong support from Julie Harris, Burl Ives, Albert Dekker, and Lois Smith.

AMERICA AMERICA (1963)

Based on the experiences of an uncle who emigrated from Constantinople in the late 19th Century, Kazan’s America America is a moving portrait of a young man’s determination to seek a better life in a new land. The struggles of the young dreamer, played by Stathis Giallelis, are heart-rending. Giallelis, whose good looks and smoldering intensity were compared to the young Marlon Brando, seemed to be on the brink of major stardom. Alas, although he won a Golden Globe for Best Newcomer, his fame did not last. The film, despite its four Oscar nominations and win for Art Direction, was not a commercial success.

ELIA KAZAN AND OSCAR

Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) – Oscar – Best Director

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) – nominated – Best Director

On the Waterfront (1954) – Oscar – Best Director

East of Eden (1955) – nominated – Best Director

America America (1961) – nominated – Best Screenplay

America America (1961) – nominated – Best Director

American America (1961) – nominated – Best Picture

Honorary Award (1998) – Oscar – distinguished career