Harry Horner

Harry Horner ( born July 24, 1910 Holitz, Austria - Hungary, † December 5, 1994, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles ) was an Austrian stage and Designer, but practiced throughout his career from other professions in the film business. He also worked as an art director, director and producer. As a production designer, he won two Oscars.

Harry Horner was married twice. Of his three sons, James, Christopher and Antony James also managed a successful Hollywood career as a film composer with two Oscars and seven other Oscar nominations.

Life and work

Harry Horner grew up in Vienna, where he passed the state examination for architecture at the Technische Hochschule at the renowned architect and stage designer Oskar Strnad. Strnad was also the Horner introduced her to Max Reinhardt and advised him to go to the theater instead of the architecture. Horner continued his studies, therefore, at the Max -Reinhardt-Seminar, where he could be further addressed as a set designer. Letter he had, however, as directed student, stage designer was not available as a field of study. However, Reinhardt recognized in Horner also acting talent, so he helped him in 1934 to an engagement at the Theater in der Josefstadt in Otto Preminger and 1935 at the Salzburg Festival. For the 1935/36 season he accompanied Max Reinhardt as a set designer for "The Eternal Road " to New York. Up to the Anschluss he commuted between New York and Salzburg, where he worked in the summer of 1937 at the last Austrian Salzburg Festival before the time of National Socialism as a stage designer.

Horner was able to stay in the U.S., he found employment at New York's theater and musical stages and was hired in 1938 by the Metropolitan Opera. He equipped the stage for Lee Strasberg's "All the Living" and Sydney Kingsley and Ben Hecht's " Jeremiah " and " Lily of the Valley " and designed for opera at the Metropolitan Opera and the San Francisco Opera Company in addition also the costumes.

Horner's style was a stage decoration on theatrical effects, tailored to the stage play, reduced realism. He thus distanced himself from both impressionist and expressionist tendencies of his Vienna and Salzburg period.

1940 Horner also received an engagement with the film for the first time - in Hollywood. His style of heavily symbolized realism he was able to implement a limited extent. The then still dominant in Hollywood realistic scene features he could simplify, in which he ruled as decoration and items that drew attention in a scene on the dramatic essential elements. Horner thus creating a sort of compromise between a naturalistic and symbolic features, with which he was able to hold in Hollywood. Horner worked almost exclusively with the most important directors in Hollywood together this time, mostly due to him essential freedoms at the scene features. As a " production designer " and " art director " he convinced Sydney Pollack even cause for They Shoot Horses, Do not They? ( Horses, Do it the coup de grace ) to spin the most exterior shots of gambling on Santa Catalina Iceland scene with corresponding scenes in the studio. Horner concede as much decision-making authority proved not only for this film to be beneficial for the entire production, he received but next to an Oscar nomination for this film, ultimately, two Academy Awards.

In the 1940s, Horner was also repeatedly worked between his film work in musicals in New York: For example in " Lady in the Dark " with Gertrude Lawrence, "Let's Face It " with Danny Kaye, " Star and Garter " with Gypsy Rose Lee and " Banjo Eyes" with Eddie Cantor. In 1941 he let himself be used by the Air Force during the Entertainment, turned training films and designed the later filmed AAF show " Winged Victory".

From 1940 Harry Horner was able to lead his wish, Director, initially realize the theater. In the following decades, he staged at various theaters in Canada and the United States. About " Joan at the Stake ", " Salome ", " The Flying Dutchman " and " Turandot " at the San Francisco Opera, the musical version of " Tovaritch " at New York City Center, " The Magic Flute" at the Metropolitan Opera and " A Midsummer Night's Dream" in Vancouver. In 1952, Horner first time film director, but although his films often was able to muster big stars like Anthony Quinn, Ida Lupino, Anne Bancroft and Lee Marvin, he never came to such great successes like as a production designer and production designer.

To work at the upcoming film activities came from the 1950s added while watching TV. Somewhat more successful than in film directing, he could stage shows for the DuPont Theatre and NBC as well as several episodes of the TV series and anthologies Curtain Call, Reader 's Digest, On Trial, Schlitz Playhouse and Shirley Temple's Storybook. As a producer he created in 1959 for the Canadian television series, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

1980 Horner ended his career and retired to his home in Santa Monica, near the Will Rogers State Park, in retirement. He died on 5 December 1994 from pneumonia.

Filmography (selection)

Movies:

Television series, as director of episodes:

Awards

• Academy Awards: 1950: The Heiress - Best Art Direction (black and white )
• 1962: The Hustler ( Hustler ) - Best Art Direction (black and white )
• 1970: They Shoot Horses, Do not They? ( Horses, Do it the coup de grace ) - nomination for Best Production Design