Delbert Mann
![Delbert Mann](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/DelbertMann.121102.jpg)
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Biography
Working in TV from 1947, Mann directed over 100 live plays, the best known of which was Paddy Chayefsky's "Marty" (1953). The following year he directed a big-screen version, starring Ernest Borgnine as the lonely Bronx butcher in search of love. The success of the film--it took the Palme d'Or at Cannes--paved the way for a number of low-budget films on "small" subjects that flourished in the mid-1950s.
Mann's other successes include the finely acted "The Bachelor Party" (1956), also scripted by Chayefsky, and "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" (1960). He made some deft comedies in the 1960s and later directed several competent TV adaptations, such as "Jane Eyre" (1972) and "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1979).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Production Companies (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Cast (Special)
Producer (Special)
Cast (Short)
Director (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1941
Worked for General Shoe Corporation
1949
Invited by Coe to NYC to direct TV dramas
1949
Helmed live programs for "Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse"
1953
Helmed the well-received TV drama "Marty", starring Rod Steiger and Nancy Marchand
1954
Made feature film debut as director with "Marty", starring Ernest Borgnine; won Best Director Academy Award
1956
Earned Emmy nomination for directing "Our Town" (NBC)
1958
Guided David Niven and Wendy Hiller to Oscars in "Separate Tables"
1960
Helmed "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs"
1961
First teaming with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, "Lover Come Back"
1962
Reunited with Day and Hudson for the comedy "That Touch of Mink"
1964
Helmed the effective romance "Dear Heart", pairing Glenn Ford and Geraldine Page
1968
Was director of the notorious TV production of "Heidi" (NBC), which caused controversy when the network cut away from a football game in progress to air the movie
1970
Helmed a well-received TV adaptation of "David Copperfield" (NBC)
1973
Won acclaim for direction of "The Man Without a Country" (ABC)
1975
First of four TV-movies featuring actress Lee Remick, "A Girl Named Sooner" (ABC)
1976
Was director of the NBC drama "Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident"
1976
Returned to feature filmmaking with "Birch Interval", about a young girl sent to live with the Amish
1978
Helmed the well-acted drama about a crumbling marriage, "Breaking Up" (NBC), starring Remick; received Emmy nomination
1979
Reunited with Remick for "Torn Between Two Lovers" (CBS)
1979
Garnered good critical notices for direction of the CBS movie remake "All Quiet on the Western Front"; received third career Emmy nomination
1981
Directed a live NBC telecast of the play "All the Way Home", starring Sally Field and William Hurt
1982
Helmed the NBC live telecast of the small screen remake of "The Member of the Wedding", starring Pearl Bailey
1983
Last collaboration with Lee Remick, "The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story" (CBS)
1983
Last feature film, "Bronte", a one-woman show about Charlotte Bronte starring Julie Harris
1985
Helmed the ABC miniseries "A Death in California"
1986
Was director of the NBC biopic "The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story"
1987
Directed the documentary "Grace Kelly -- The American Princess" for Cinemax's "Crazy About the Movies"
1988
Produced and directed the TV adaptation of Howard Fast's novel "April Morning"
1991
Was director of the TNT period drama "Ironclads"
1992
Produced and directed the CBS sequel "Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore", with Walter Matthau reprising his role as laywer Horace Cobb
1994
Directed and produced the second sequel, "An Incident in a Small Town" (CBS), with Matthau again playing Cobb
1994
Last TV film (to date), "Lily in Winter", a USA Network drama that marked the acting debut of singer Natalie Cole
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
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Trailer
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Promo
Family
Companions
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