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Joseph Losey

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Filmmaker

The Resume

    (January 14, 1909-June 22, 1984)
    Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin
    American stage and film director
    Blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) (1951)
    Directed the films 'The Boy With the Green Hair' (1948), 'The Lawless' (1950), 'M' (1951), 'The Criminal' (1960), 'The Damned' (1963), 'The Servant' (1963), 'King & Country' (1964), 'Modesty Blaise' (1966), 'Boom!' (1968), 'The Go-Betweens' (1970), 'The Assassination of Trotsky' (1972), 'Galileo' (1975) and 'Don Giovanni' (1979)
    Directed the Broadway plays 'Little Ol' Boy' (1933), 'Jayhawker' (1934), 'Conjur Man Dies' (1936), 'Sunup to Sundown' (1938) and 'Galileo' (1947)
    Used the pseudonym 'Joseph Walton' for many later films

Why he might be annoying:

    He married four times and divorced three.
    In the late 30s, he participated in 'political cabaret' (whatever the hell that is).
    He only directed five films in the US before fleeing with his first wife to England to avoid testifying before HUAC.
    He had the hubris to remakeFritz Lang's classic thriller, 'M' in 1951.
    He's only remembered by Horror and Sci Fi buffs for the unconventional films made later in his career.
    He was accused of being a communist agent by the FBI as early as 1945.
    He joined the Communist Party in 1946, around the same time that many Americans were leaving the Party.
    He claimed that his career was ruined over his turning down an RKO film called 'I Married a Communist' (which was never made).
    He referred to Ginger Rogers as one of the worst, Red-baiting, terrifying reactionaries in Hollywood.
    He unsuccessfully tried selling Maria Callas on a deluded Norma Desmond-style role.
    His first film, in 1948, had a silly title ('The Boy with the Green Hair' - now who would choose a name like that).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was blacklisted.
    His early films were rare indictments of American capitalism ('The Prowler'), bigotry ('The Lawless'), and militarism ('Boy With the Green Hair').
    He released 'The Lawless' over the objections of the Breen Office that the film's subject matter was 'too critical of America and its people.'
    He had to put up with the red baiting Howard Hughes during his time at RKO. (Predictably, Hughes found Losey's work to be anti-American.)
    He was mentored by Bertolt Brecht, while studying in Germany.
    He was railroaded by Brecht and Charles Laughton when directing 'Galileo' for the stage.
    He chose not to be bitter about being blacklisted, stating 'A good shaking up never did anyone any harm.'
    'The Boy With the Green Hair' marked the debut of Eden Ahbez's jazz staple, 'Nature Boy.'
    He died before finishing his last film, 'The Steaming.' (It would also be the last film for British sex symbol Diana Dors.)
    Edward Fox & James Fox, Raymond Burr, Margaret Leighton, Joanna Shimkus, Dean Stockwell, and Lalo Rios all became stars acting in his films.
    He received Honorary Degrees from both University of Wisconsin and Dartmouth College.
    His career was an odd mix of high-and-low culture, with later films like 'Galileo' and 'Don Giovanni' drawing critical praise while failing at the box office.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 12 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 103 Votes: 61.17% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 44 Votes: 61.36% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 15 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying