Henry Koster

Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cinema around the year 1910 when his uncle opened a movie theater in Berlin. Koster's mother played the piano to accompany the films, leaving the young boy to occupy himself by watching the films. After working initially as a short story writer, Kosterlitz was hired by a Berlin movie company as scenarist, becoming an assistant to director Curtis Bernhardt. Bernhardt became sick one day and asked Kosterlitz to take over as director. Career In 1932, Koster directed his first film in Berlin, the comedy Thea Roland. Koster, who was in the midst of directing his second film Das häßliche Mädchen, had been the subject of antisemitism, and knew he had to leave. He lost his temper at an SA officer at his bank during lunch hour and knocked the officer out. When the film, written by Koster with Felix Joachimson, had its premiere in autumn 1933 their names were deleted and both went into exile. Koster left Germany for France, where he was rehired by Bernhardt (who had left earlier). Eventually Koster went to Budapest and met and married Kató Király in 1934. In Budapest he met Joe Pasternak again, who represented Universal in Europe, and directed three films for him. One of those films was Catherine the Last after a script by Joachimson and Károly Nóti that was remade in 1938 by Norman Taurog as The Girl Downstairs, both versions starring Franciska Gaal. In 1935 Koster received a letter from his friend Gabriel Levy, who asked him to direct a Dutch picture. Unwilling to move to the Netherlands, Koster cabled him "I'm sorry, I'm terribly busy. Besides, I'm now charging a salary which is too much for your small production. If you want to know what my salary is, I make 25.000 dollars for a picture." To his great surprise, Levy cabled him back agreeing to pay him the amount. Thus Koster ended up directing De Kribbebijter, released internationally as The Cross-Patch.