Michael Curtiz (born
Manó Kaminer, December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a
Hungarian American film director. He had early credits as
Mihály Kertész and
Michael Kertész. He directed more than 50 films in Europe and more than 100 in the United States, many of them cinema classics, including
The Adventures of Robin Hood,
Captain Blood,
Dodge City,
The Sea Hawk,
The Sea Wolf,
Angels with Dirty Faces,
Casablanca (for which he won the
Academy Award for Best Director),
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
Mildred Pierce, and
White Christmas.