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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.
Curtis Bernhardt was a German-born film director who rose to prominence in the mid-20th century Hollywood studio system after establishing his career in Europe.
He is recognized for directing refined melodramas, noir-tinged thrillers, and classic "women's pictures" such as Possessed (1947), A Stolen Life (1946), and My Reputation (1946).
His body of work features polished, emotionally complex dramas and suspense films that frequently centered on strong female protagonists within the constraints of the studio era.