The bombastic Austrian-born film director and producer Otto Preminger (1906-1986) had a long Hollywood career making movies that defied conventions of the time.

Nicknamed "Otto the Terrible" for his legendary tantrums on Hollywood sets, Otto Preminger cajoled countless stars in dozens of films from the 1930s through the 1970s. His movies ranged from the delicately crafted suspense classic Laura, to the colossal epic Exodus, and included many commercial and critical successes as well as failures. Preminger had no single specialty, but his films ranged over a wide variety of styles and subject matters. His trademarks were his staunch independence and fierce control over all aspects of his films.

Early Years

Preminger's father, Marc, was a lawyer and onetime attorney general of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Otto and his brother Ingo both earned law degrees in Vienna, the latter of whom ended up as a Hollywood agent. Otto was a...