German cinematographer
Prolific German cinematographer of Jewish ancestry, a soft focus specialist. In films from 1916, he was forced to leave Germany after the Nazis took power in 1933. He then worked in Britain and France, where he did his best work on La bte humaine and Le jour se lve . After the fall of France in 1940, he moved to Hollywood, but found little work.
When Germany also took over the power in France Curt Courant emigrated to the USA. There he was not able to continue his work in the film business because they refused the membership at the ASC. It was none other than the great Charles Chaplin who engaged him as a camera assistant for his movie "Monsieur Verdoux".
With the National Socialists coming to power he went to France and in the next years he worked for French and British productions.
Courant worked in several European countries, collaborating with figures such as Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang.
He is the father of Willy Kurant who also became a cinematographer.
As he was of Jewish ancestry, Courant was forced to leave Germany in 1933 and go into exile following the Nazi takeover of power.
