Henry Koster
Known for
The name here belongs off camera: Henry Koster is a German director whose credit is the kind that scrolls past at the end. Comedy has been the most frequent territory. The work is split between film and television rather than confined to either. The film 'Harvey' is the credit that gets cited first. 'The Robe' is the other project most often mentioned.
Henry Koster
69 Directed
The name here belongs off camera: Henry Koster is a German director whose credit is the kind that scrolls past at the end. Comedy has been the most frequent territory. The work is split between film and television rather than confined to either. The film 'Harvey' is the credit that gets cited first. 'The Robe' is the other project most often mentioned.
Movies
Director
The Robe
1953
Director
Harvey
1950
Director
Three Smart Girls
1936
Director
The Bishop's Wife
1947
Director
O. Henry's Full House
1952
Director
Désirée
1954
Director
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation
1962
Director
The Naked Maja
1958
Director
The Story of Ruth
1960
Director
Take Her, She's Mine
1963
Director
The Inspector General
1949
Director
My Man Godfrey
1957
Director
D-Day the Sixth of June
1956
Director
My Cousin Rachel
1952
Director
No Highway in the Sky
1951
Director
The Singing Nun
1966
Director
Dear Brigitte
1965
Director
One Hundred Men and a Girl
1937
Director
The Virgin Queen
1955
Director
Stars and Stripes Forever
1952
Director
My Blue Heaven
1950
Director
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
1951
Director
Flower Drum Song
1961
Director
The Luck of the Irish
1948
Director
Two Sisters from Boston
1946
Director
The Rage of Paris
1938
Director
First Love
1939
Director
Come to the Stable
1949
Director
It Started with Eve
1941
Director
The Power and the Prize
1956
Director
Three Smart Girls Grow Up
1939
Director
Elopement
1951
Director
Little Mother
1935
Director
Music for Millions
1944
Director
Wabash Avenue
1950
Director
A Man Called Peter
1955
Director
Catherine the Last
1936
Director
The Unfinished Dance
1947
Director
Spring Parade
1940
Director
The Crosspatch
1935
Full Filmography
Eine Handvoll Helden
Writer
1967
Film
The Singing Nun
Director
1966
Film
Dear Brigitte
Director
1965
Film
Take Her, She's Mine
Director
1963
Film
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation
Director
1962
Film
Flower Drum Song
Director
1961
Film
The Story of Ruth
Director
1960
Film
The Naked Maja
Director
1958
Film
Fraulein
Director
1958
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Henry Koster still alive?
Henry Koster passed away on September 21, 1988 at age 83.
What are the most famous roles of Henry Koster?
Henry Koster is best known for directing Harvey, The Robe, The Bishop's Wife.
How many movies has Henry Koster directed?
Over a 62-year career (since 1926), Henry Koster has directed or written 69 films and worked on 0 TV shows.
What was Henry Koster's first movie?
The career of Henry Koster began with Il diario di una donna amata ().
What is Henry Koster's most recent movie or series?
Henry Koster's most recent release is Eine Handvoll Helden, which premiered on November 16, 1967.
Henry Koster
1905-05-01 · Berlin, Germany
Henry Koster (May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988), born Hermann Kosterlitz, was a German-born film director, who worked in Europe as well as in Hollywood. Although he never won an Oscar, Koster directed six different actors in Oscar-nominated performances.
In 1932, Koster directed his first film in Berlin, the comedy Thea Roland. In the midst of directing his second film Das häßliche Mädchen, Jewish Koster had been the subject of antisemitism, and knew he had to leave the country. He left Germany for France, where he was rehired by director Curtis Bernhardt, who had also fled. Eventually Koster went to Budapest, where he met and married Kató Király in 1934. There he also met Joe Pasternak, who represented Universal in Europe, and directed three films for him. Through his friend Gabriel Levy he ended up directing Dutch sound film De Kribbebijter, released internationally as The Cross-Patch, which proved a success both in the Netherlands - where it played in cinemas for no less than seven years - and in the UK. Soon after, Koster signed a deal with Universal Pictures in Hollywood and moved to the United States.
Although Koster did not speak English, he convinced the studio to let him make Three Smart Girls, for which he personally coached to-be star Deanna Durbin. This picture, a big success, pulled Universal out of bankruptcy. Koster's second Universal film, One Hundred Men and a Girl, also was successful. After this, Koster discovered Abbott and Costello at a nightclub in New York. He returned to Hollywood and convinced Universal to hire them. Their first picture was One Night in the Tropics; the female lead, Peggy Moran, became Koster's second wife in 1942.
Ironically, despite Koster's escape from Nazi Germany, when the United States entered World War II Koster was considered an enemy alien and had to stay in his house in the evening. Actor Charles Laughton would visit Koster and play chess with him. Nonetheless, Koster's postwar career proved equally successful. He was nominated for an Academy Award for The Bishop's Wife (1947). In 1950, he directed his biggest success: the James Stewart comedy Harvey. He directed Richard Burton's first U.S. film, My Cousin Rachel, and then in 1953, he was given The Robe, the first CinemaScope film. His last picture was The Singing Nun in 1965. Koster retired to Leisure Village in Camarillo, California, where he painted a series of portraits of the movie stars with whom he worked.