Skip to content
MovieCove
Curtis Bernhardt

Curtis Bernhardt

Director and writer, also producer · Died February 22, 1981, aged 81 · Worms, Germany

Curtis Bernhardt (Kurt Bernhardt) (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a German film director born in Worms, Germany. Some of his American films were called "woman's films" including the Joan Crawford film Possessed (1947). Bernhardt trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1926. Other films include A Stolen Life (1946) starring Bette Davis and Sirocco (1951) starringHumphrey Bogart. Bernhardt directed films in France and England before moving on to Hollywood to work for Warner Brothers in 1940. Bernhardt produced and directed his last Hollywood picture Kisses for My President (1964) about the nation's first female Chief Executive starring Polly Bergen and Fred MacMurray. Description above from the Wikipedia article Curtis Bernhardt, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 15, 1899
Died
February 22, 1981 (aged 81)
From
Worms, Germany
Works as
Director and writer, also producer
Titles
14 on MovieCove · 44 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Up 2% in 30 days

What are Curtis Bernhardt's films like?

Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Drama6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 79th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Biography3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 57th percentile
: browse their Biography movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 38th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
35%
Morality
22%
Self
20%
Power
11%
Survival
10%
Society
2%
Romantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage2 titles, browse their movies with this themeObsession2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 4 · Dark 5

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 8 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 3 · Charged 7 · Intense 4

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 9 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 2

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 7 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 4 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 6

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 11 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
7
Melancholic
11
Romantic
5
Joyful
3
Warm
3
Other
9

How their films linger

Bittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet6
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Curtis Bernhardt's films?

As of October 24, 2026, none of Curtis Bernhardt's 14 MovieCove titles is streaming on a subscription or free service.

Subscription and free streaming for Curtis Bernhardt's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted.

Filmography

44 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Kisses for My President(1964)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Damon and Pythias (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Director

  • Stefanie in Rio (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Director

  • Gaby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Director

  • Interrupted Melody(1955)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Beau Brummell(1954)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Miss Sadie Thompson(1953)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • The Merry Widow(1952)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • The Blue Veil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Director

  • Sirocco(1951)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Payment on Demand(1951)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • The Doctor and the Girl(1949)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • High Wall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Director

  • Possessed(1947)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • A Stolen Life(1946)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Devotion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    Director

  • My Reputation(1946)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Conflict(1945)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Happy Go Lucky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    Director

  • Juke Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Director

  • Million Dollar Baby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Director

  • Night in December (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Director

  • Lady with Red Hair(1940)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • My Love Came Back(1940)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Crossroads (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Director · Writer

  • The Girl in the Taxi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Producer

  • The Beloved Vagabond (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    Director

  • The Beloved Vagabond (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    Director · Writer

  • The Dictator (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Producer

  • L'Or dans la rue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Director

  • Le Tunnel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Der Tunnel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    Director · Screenplay

  • The Rebel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Director

  • The Man Who Committed the Murder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Director

  • The Man Who Killed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Director

  • The Last Company (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Director

  • Das letzte Fort (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Director

  • The Woman One Longs For (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Director

  • Schinderhannes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Director · Writer

  • Das Mädchen mit den fünf Nullen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Director

  • Children's Souls Accuse You (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Director

  • Orphan of Lowood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director

  • Qualen der Nacht (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director · Writer

  • Namenlose Helden (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    Director · Writer

Career shape

A full career of 44 titles from 1925 to 1964.

Biggest box office

The Merry Widow (1952)

$9.8M worldwide

Highest rated

Conflict (1945)

Midcredits 87th

Most popular right now

Sirocco (1951)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing42 of 44: 33 only directing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score62ndWriting8 of 44: 0 only writing, 8 with another roleProducing3 of 44: 2 only producing, 1 with another role

44 titles, 9 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 8 of them.

By decade

1920s8 · crew1930s12 · crew1940s13 · crew1950s8 · crew1960s3 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Curtis Bernhardt's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 62nd percentile, the median of all 14; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 63rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 14 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th5

Shape of the crowd

None of their 14 titles divides audiences: 8 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed3

Most loved · director

Conflict (1945)

Midcredits 87th · 78% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 70/100 and the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Curtis Bernhardt work with?

People who share at least 2 of Curtis Bernhardt's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jack L. Warner shares the most, 5.

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers