ZINNEMANN, FRED

ZINNEMANN, FRED (1907–1997), U.S. film director and producer. Born in Vienna, Zinnemann went to Hollywood in 1929, worked as a script clerk, and in 1934 directed a full-length documentary, The Wave. Later he applied documentary techniques to feature films, and worked for M.G.M. until 1950, when he started on his own. Among his most important films are The Seventh Cross (1944); Act of Violence (1949); The Search (Oscar nomination for Best Director, 1949); The Men (1950); Benjy (produced; Oscar for Best Short Documentary, 1951); The Member of the Wedding (1952); High Noon (Oscar nomination for Best Director, 1952); From Here to Eternity (Oscar for Best Director, 1953); Oklahoma\! (1955); A Hatful of Rain (1957); The Nun's Story (Oscar nomination for Best Director, 1959); The Sundowners (produced; Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Best Director, 1960); Behold a Pale Horse (produced, 1964); A Man for All Seasons (produced; Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director, 1966); The Day of the Jackal (1973), Julia (Oscar nomination for Best Director, 1977); and Five Days One Summer (produced, 1982). Among his many awards, Zinnemann received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America in 1970. His autobiography, Fred Zinnemann: A Life in the Movies, was published in 1992. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. Nolletti (ed.), The Films of Fred Zinnemann: Critical Perspectives (1999); N. Sinyard, Fred Zinnemann: Films of Character and Conscience (2003). (Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)