Kingdom. Connor O’Hare in 1951, Only When You’re Dead in 1952, and then the biggie: The Eyes of the Night in 1953. That won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director and Screenplay, and also Best Actor for Glen Cramer. What makes that win extra special is that Hosterlitz was just twenty-eight at the time. Incredible when you consider how good it is. Have you seen any of his early films?’
‘ The Eyes of the Night – but a while ago.’
‘Well, you can get them all on Netflix, so they’re easy to find. The original negatives are in our LA vault, and we maintain a pristine distribution print of all three here in London. We obviously don’t own the rights to My Evil Heart , but in terms of style you can lump that in with the other three. They’re all of the same ilk and explore the same classic noir themes. My personal favourite is Only When You’re Dead , but the Oscar wins obviously made The Eyes of the Night the most notable. Anyway, given all of that, Hosterlitz should be up there with the biggest names in movie history. Instead, he’s barely a blip on most people’s radars.’
‘Because of the HUAC hearings?’
‘Right, ja . I don’t know how much you know about it, but the House of Un-American Activities was a committee that was set up to investigate allegations of communism among US citizens during the Cold War. In the late forties, it started targeting Hollywood professionals. Its power began to wane by the sixties – that was why Hosterlitz felt safe coming back to the US in ’62 – but the damage was already done for him. Instead of staying and clearing his name – or attempting to – he packed his bags and headed to the UK.’
‘So was he a communist?’
‘Never proved one way or another, as far as I know.’ Grant shrugged. ‘You can understand why he decided to leave the States, though. You didn’t even have to be a confirmed member of the American Communist Party to be subpoenaed to appear before the committee, or to face potential blacklisting – or even a prison term if it really went south for you. It was little better than Nazi Germany. Just a witch hunt, all based on rumour and counter-rumour.’
Grant continued: ‘So, anyway, he fled to the UK in 1954 and made one film here, but it was all downhill after that. He went to Germany for a while and then returned to the US in ’62 and ended up directing episodes of TV shows like Bonanza , Petticoat Junction and The Defenders . His TV stuff’s not bad, actually. Some of it, anyway. But he always loved movies – TV just paid the bills. Unfortunately, his comeback, The Ghost of the Plains , was a bit of a disaster. People are sniffy about it because it bombed at the box office, but it has its moments. Have you seen it?’
‘No. It’s a western, right?’
‘Right. It’s not The Searchers , but it’s pretty good. Anyway, that’s the point at which it gets a bit cloudier for me, as hedid some more TV stuff for a couple of years after The Ghost of the Plains bombed, then returned to the UK to make some budget horror movies, then ended up in Spain making even lower- budget horror movies. They were basically like production lines. He made fourteen in seven years.’
‘That’s where he met Lynda Korin.’
‘Correct. Have you seen the Ursula films?’
‘No. I was going to ask you about those Spanish films, actually. I’ve been trying to find some copies for reference, but they’re pretty hard to get hold of.’
‘You should be able to find the Ursula films on DVD somewhere, but I agree: the ones he made after that are much harder to track down.’ He stopped, his fingers drumming on the arm of his seat. ‘There’s a place called Rough Print, just off Charing Cross Road. The owner is a kind of collector of rare films and books. He might have something. I know he’s a big fan of Hosterlitz.’
Grant found the number in his phone and gave it to me.
‘What are the Ursula films like?’ I asked.
‘Garbage,
‘ The Eyes of the Night – but a while ago.’
‘Well, you can get them all on Netflix, so they’re easy to find. The original negatives are in our LA vault, and we maintain a pristine distribution print of all three here in London. We obviously don’t own the rights to My Evil Heart , but in terms of style you can lump that in with the other three. They’re all of the same ilk and explore the same classic noir themes. My personal favourite is Only When You’re Dead , but the Oscar wins obviously made The Eyes of the Night the most notable. Anyway, given all of that, Hosterlitz should be up there with the biggest names in movie history. Instead, he’s barely a blip on most people’s radars.’
‘Because of the HUAC hearings?’
‘Right, ja . I don’t know how much you know about it, but the House of Un-American Activities was a committee that was set up to investigate allegations of communism among US citizens during the Cold War. In the late forties, it started targeting Hollywood professionals. Its power began to wane by the sixties – that was why Hosterlitz felt safe coming back to the US in ’62 – but the damage was already done for him. Instead of staying and clearing his name – or attempting to – he packed his bags and headed to the UK.’
‘So was he a communist?’
‘Never proved one way or another, as far as I know.’ Grant shrugged. ‘You can understand why he decided to leave the States, though. You didn’t even have to be a confirmed member of the American Communist Party to be subpoenaed to appear before the committee, or to face potential blacklisting – or even a prison term if it really went south for you. It was little better than Nazi Germany. Just a witch hunt, all based on rumour and counter-rumour.’
Grant continued: ‘So, anyway, he fled to the UK in 1954 and made one film here, but it was all downhill after that. He went to Germany for a while and then returned to the US in ’62 and ended up directing episodes of TV shows like Bonanza , Petticoat Junction and The Defenders . His TV stuff’s not bad, actually. Some of it, anyway. But he always loved movies – TV just paid the bills. Unfortunately, his comeback, The Ghost of the Plains , was a bit of a disaster. People are sniffy about it because it bombed at the box office, but it has its moments. Have you seen it?’
‘No. It’s a western, right?’
‘Right. It’s not The Searchers , but it’s pretty good. Anyway, that’s the point at which it gets a bit cloudier for me, as hedid some more TV stuff for a couple of years after The Ghost of the Plains bombed, then returned to the UK to make some budget horror movies, then ended up in Spain making even lower- budget horror movies. They were basically like production lines. He made fourteen in seven years.’
‘That’s where he met Lynda Korin.’
‘Correct. Have you seen the Ursula films?’
‘No. I was going to ask you about those Spanish films, actually. I’ve been trying to find some copies for reference, but they’re pretty hard to get hold of.’
‘You should be able to find the Ursula films on DVD somewhere, but I agree: the ones he made after that are much harder to track down.’ He stopped, his fingers drumming on the arm of his seat. ‘There’s a place called Rough Print, just off Charing Cross Road. The owner is a kind of collector of rare films and books. He might have something. I know he’s a big fan of Hosterlitz.’
Grant found the number in his phone and gave it to me.
‘What are the Ursula films like?’ I asked.
‘Garbage,
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