Add/Update Information: Josef von Sternberg - Director

An Austrian-American director, born on May 29, 1894, in Vienna. He traveled to America in 1914 and was one of the many European filmmakers who immigrated to Hollywood in the silent film era. He later joined the Paramount Film Company, for which he made 1927 the film Underworld. Sternberg is known for his distinctive filmmaking style that relies heavily on the use of chiaroscuro. In 1929, he was invited by Erich Pommer, who headed the German film production company UFA, in order to direct a talking picture, which turned out to be his masterpiece The Blue Angel (1930), starring Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings. His other notable films include Morocco (1930), for which Sternberg was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director, Blonde Venus (1932), and Shanghai Express (1932), for which he received a second nomination for an Oscar for Best Director. He died on December 22, 1969.