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S.Z. Sakall is a Actor and Scriptwriter Hongrois born on 1 february 1883 at Budapest (Hongrie)

S.Z. Sakall

S.Z. Sakall
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Birth name Gerő Jenő
Nationality Hongrie
Birth 1 february 1883 at Budapest (Hongrie)
Death 12 february 1955 (at 72 years) at Hollywood (USA)

Szőke Szakáll (2 February 1883 – 12 February 1955), known as S.Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian film character actor. He was in many films including In the Good Old Summertime, Lullaby of Broadway, Christmas in Connecticut and Casablanca in which he played Carl, the head waiter.
Chubby-jowled Sakall played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood musicals and comedies in the 1940s and 1950s. His rotund cuteness caused studio head Jack Warner to bestow on Sakall the nickname "Cuddles". Warner asked that he be billed as S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall in his later films, though he was never happy with the name. He became well known for using the phrase "everything is hunky dunky.

Biography

Il débute au cinéma en 1917, dans sa Hongrie natale, avant de tourner plusieurs films en Allemagne, de 1926 à 1933, année de l'arrivée au pouvoir des nazis. De confession juive, il est contraint de retourner en Hongrie. Il joue alors, jusqu'en 1937, dans des films hongrois, autrichiens, une co-production austro-italienne et même un film britannique. Lorsque les troupes d'Adolf Hitler envahissent la Hongrie en 1940, lui et sa femme parviennent à quitter le pays pour les États-Unis (plusieurs membres de sa famille périront, eux, dans les camps de concentration).

Il participe à son premier film américain en 1940 et à son dernier en 1954. Dans l'intervalle, désormais établi aux États-Unis, on le verra surtout dans des comédies et films musicaux, à quelques exceptions près, dont le mythique Casablanca (1942) qui lui offrira un de ses rôles les plus connus.

Il est diversement crédité aux génériques de ses films (notamment : « Szöke Szakall » en Europe, « S.K. Sakall », « S.Z. 'Cuddles' Sakall »…).

Best films

San Antonio (1945)
(Actor)
Wonder Man (1945)
(Actor)

Usually with

Perc Westmore
Perc Westmore
(15 films)
Bess Flowers
Bess Flowers
(12 films)
Jack Warner
Jack Warner
(10 films)
David Butler
David Butler
(10 films)
Milo Anderson
Milo Anderson
(9 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of S.Z. Sakall (56 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

The Student Prince, 1h47
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical theatre, Musical, Romance
Themes Monde imaginaire, Films about music and musicians, Théâtre, Musical films, Political films, Films based on plays, Operetta films, Films about royalty
Actors Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, John Ericson, Louis Calhern, Edmund Gwenn, S.Z. Sakall
Roles Joseph Ruder
Rating64% 3.245963.245963.245963.245963.24596
Young Prince Karl, of a small sub-kingdom of the German Empire, is sent off near the turn of the 20th century to get a university education in Heidelberg, Baden-Wuerttemberg. His grandfather was one of a handful of petty kings within German-speaking central Europe. Fictional Karlsburg is small, but fiercely proud of its history and traditions.
Small Town Girl, 1h32
Origin USA
Genres Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Jane Powell, Farley Granger, Ann Miller, S.Z. Sakall, Billie Burke, Robert Keith
Roles Papa Schlemmer
Rating62% 3.146793.146793.146793.146793.14679
Rick Belrow Livingston (Farley Granger), in love with self-obsessed Broadway star Lisa (Ann Miller), is sentenced to 30 days in jail for speeding through a small town. Quite by accident, he meets the daughter of the judge, Cindy Kimbell (Jane Powell). He persuades her to let him out for one night, so that he can visit Lisa on the premise he is seeing his "poor sick mother" (Billie Burke) on her birthday. After tracking him down and bringing him back to town, Cindy starts to fall for Livingston, but Dr. Schlemmer (S.Z. Sakall) wants her to marry his son (Bobby Van) even though he desperately wants a career on Broadway.
Lullaby of Broadway, 1h32
Directed by David Butler
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Doris Day, Gene Nelson, S.Z. Sakall, Billy De Wolfe, Gladys George, Florence Bates
Roles Adolph Hubbell
Rating66% 3.343233.343233.343233.343233.34323
Melinda Howard is an entertainer traveling from England to pay a surprise visit to her mother, Broadway singer Jessica Howard, who lives in New York City. Melinda believes that her mother lives in a mansion, however, Jessica's alcoholism has reduced her to singing in a Greenwich Village saloon, and the mansion actually belongs to Adolph Hubbell and his wife.
It's a Big Country, 1h29
Directed by Don Hartman, John Sturges, Richard Thorpe, William A. Wellman, Charles Vidor, Clarence Brown, Don Weis
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Anthology film
Actors Gary Cooper, Ethel Barrymore, Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Janet Leigh, Fredric March
Roles Stefan Szabo
Rating59% 2.999262.999262.999262.999262.99926
A professor traveling on a train overhears a fellow passenger make a comment about "America". The professor then asks: "Which America?" This provides a lead-in for multiple tales of American life. There is the tale of Mrs. Riordan, an elderly lady from Boston. She is upset about not having been counted in the 1950 census. She asks a newspaper editor named Callaghan to intervene on her behalf, and he makes the mistake of not taking her seriously.
Painting The Clouds With Sunshine, 1h27
Directed by David Butler
Origin USA
Genres Musical
Themes Musical films
Actors Dennis Morgan, Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, Lucille Norman, S.Z. Sakall, Virginia Gibson
Roles Uncle Felix
Rating58% 2.905512.905512.905512.905512.90551
Three smart Las Vegas theatrical girls decide to look for husbands; - Carol, (Virginia Mayo), who thinks a millionaire would be good, Abby (Lucille Norman), who is in love with baritone Vince Nichols (Dennis Morgan), but is perturbed because he gambles, and June (Virginia Gibson), who has a crush on Ted Lansing, a dancer, (Gene Nelson). Ted, however, is in love with Abby.
Tea for Two, 1h38
Directed by David Butler
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Films based on plays, Films based on musicals
Actors Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Eve Arden, S.Z. Sakall, Billy De Wolfe
Roles J. Maxwell Bloomhaus
Rating64% 3.246183.246183.246183.246183.24618
Set in the Roaring Twenties, the story centers on Nanette Carter (Doris Day), a Westchester socialite with show business aspirations. She offers to invest $25,000 in a Broadway show if her boyfriend, producer Larry Blair (Billy De Wolfe), casts her in the starring role. What she doesn't realize is Larry is two-timing her with ingenue Beatrice Darcy (Patrice Wymore), whom he envisions as the lead. When he accepts Nanette's offer, she imposes upon her wealthy, penny-pinching uncle, J. Maxwell Bloomhaus (S.Z. Sakall), to lend her the money.
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady, 1h44
Directed by David Butler
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors June Haver, Gordon MacRae, James Barton, James Barton, Gene Nelson, S.Z. Sakall
Roles Miklos Teretzky
Rating64% 3.2457853.2457853.2457853.2457853.245785
At the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898, grumpy and overprotective Irish widower Dennis O'Grady (James Barton) has three daughters. The oldest, Katie (Marcia Mae Jones), welcomes her husband James Moore (Sean McClory), whom she has married in secret, home from the army, The youngest two Patricia (June Haver) and Maureen (Debbie Reynolds) pass a vaudeville theater owned by Tony Pastor (Gordon MacRae). Patricia recognizes the man from earlier that afternoon when he mocked her father, and she scolds him for his actions.
Montana
Montana (1950)
, 1h16
Directed by Raoul Walsh, Ray Enright
Origin USA
Genres Action, Adventure, Romance, Western
Actors Errol Flynn, Stanley Tucci, Alexis Smith, S.Z. Sakall, Robin Tunney, Douglas Kennedy
Roles Papa Otto Schultz
Rating61% 3.09743.09743.09743.09743.0974
A narrator tells of the great wars that raged in Montana territory over the grazing of cattle versus sheep. Men on both sides of the battle died, but eventually it was the sheep herders who were driven out. Morgan Lane (Flynn), an Australian sheepman, rides to Montana territory in 1871. He and his men come across a sign declaring that any sheep herders crossing the line into the area will be shot on sight as the surrounding plains are strictly for cattle grazing. The men set up camp for the night just before the boarder. During the night their young unarmed Mexican watchman is shot dead by a local gang of cattle raisers.
In the Good Old Summertime, 1h42
Directed by Buster Keaton, Robert Z. Leonard
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Films based on plays
Actors Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S.Z. Sakall, Spring Byington, Clinton Sundberg, Buster Keaton
Roles Otto Oberkugen
Rating70% 3.546073.546073.546073.546073.54607
Veronica Fisher (Judy Garland) enters Oberkugen's music shop, looking for work. Although Otto Oberkugen (S. Z. Sakall) is reluctant to take on more staff, she wins a job by persuading a wealthy matron, through her singing and musical expertise, to buy a harp at almost $25 over Oberkugen's list price. Neither she nor Andrew Larkin (Van Johnson), the shop's senior salesman, suspects that they are each other's anonymous pen pal. They bicker constantly at work although becoming increasingly attracted to each other.
My Dream Is Yours, 1h41
Directed by Michael Curtiz, Friz Freleng
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Children's films
Actors Jack Carson, Doris Day, Lee Bowman, Adolphe Menjou, Eve Arden, S.Z. Sakall
Roles Felix Hofer
Rating65% 3.296633.296633.296633.296633.29663
The film opens in Los Angeles, where Doug Blake (Carson) is dumped as a manager by Gary Mitchell (Bowman). He goes to New York City to find a new singer to replace Gary on the Hour of Enchantment radio show. While in New York, he discovers Martha Gibson (Day) turning records in a jukebox factory. He takes her to Los Angeles and tries to introduce her to Felix Hofer (Sakall). His efforts lead to a series of communication failures.
Oh, You Beautiful Doll, 1h33
Directed by John M. Stahl
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Mark Stevens, June Haver, Edward Clark, John Davidson, S.Z. Sakall, James Griffith
Roles Alfred Breitenbach
Rating59% 2.9539252.9539252.9539252.9539252.953925
The film is a fictionalized biography of Fred Fisher, a German-born American writer of Tin Pan Alley songs. Tin Pan Alley promoter (Mark Stevens) turns serious composer Fred Breitenbach (S.Z. Sakall) into songwriter Fred Fisher. Fred Fisher is his assumed name in real life and Breitenbach is his birth surname. In the film, many Fisher songs were given a symphonic arrangement that was performed at Aeolian Hall. Among the Fisher songs heard were:
Romance on the High Seas, 1h39
Directed by Michael Curtiz, Busby Berkeley
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Doris Day, Oscar Levant, S.Z. Sakall
Roles Uncle Lazlo Lazlo
Rating69% 3.4963853.4963853.4963853.4963853.496385
Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) and her husband Michael (Don DeFore) suspect each other of cheating. For their wedding anniversary, Elvira books an ocean cruise to Rio de Janeiro but her husband claims that unexpected business will prevent him from going. Seeing an opportunity, Elvira pretends to take the trip alone, but in fact sends singer Georgia Garrett (Doris Day), a woman she'd met at the travel agency, in her place and under her name. By secretly staying behind, Elvira hopes to find out if Michael is indeed sneaking around behind her back. Michael, however, is suspicious over Elvira's supposed willingness to go on the trip alone, and so hires private detective Peter Virgil (Jack Carson) to see if she is sneaking around behind his back.
Embraceable You, 1h20
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime, Romance
Actors Dane Clark, S.Z. Sakall, Geraldine Brooks, Wallace Ford, Richard Steven Rauber, Douglas Kennedy
Roles Sammy
Rating65% 3.288693.288693.288693.288693.28869
A getaway car, leaving the scene of a murder, strikes and injures a woman. Afterward, the driver visits her in the hospital.