Anton Grot was profoundly influenced by European modernism and
expressionist art in both film and painting by the time he left Poland
for the United States in 1909. Having studied illustration and design
at Cracow and Koenigsberg, majoring in interior decoration, he was
quick to embrace the burgeoning art deco movement and the low key,
stylised design prevalent in early German cinema. His first film work
was with Lubin in Philadelphia, as set painter and designer in 1913. He
remained on the East Coast until 1922, and was then hired by
Douglas Fairbanks and
Cecil B. DeMille to work on the high
profile Fairbanks swashbuckler
Robin Hood (1922). During the next
five years, Grot established his credentials at United Artists, leaving
in 1927 to join First National. When that company was absorbed into
Warner Brothers, Grot was appointed Head of the Art Department and held
that position until his retirement in 1948.
His first major assignment was the biblical disaster epic
Das Drama der Sintflut (1928) for which Grot
designed the set for massive Temple of Moloch and created the
all-consuming torrent at the climax. This was the first of sixteen
collaborations with top Warner's director
Michael Curtiz. Grot excelled at creating
the prevailing mood of a film, often enhancing the work of the
cinematographer. Point in case,
Svengali (1931) - with its stylised,
expressionist-inspired Parisian buildings and labyrinthine streets -
for which both he and Barney McGill
garnered Oscar nominations. After 'Svengali', Grot was almost
exclusively in charge of the studio's prestige output, including
Unter Piratenflagge (1935),
Ein rastloses Leben (1936) and
Das Leben des Emile Zola (1937).
He was at his best, creating a sinister or foreboding atmosphere
through sharply angled shadows, dramatic lighting and clever use of
chiaroscuro. His many detailed and highly accomplished sketches for his
sets are now housed at the UCLA library.
While his work contributed to the gritty, realistic look typical of
Warner Brothers films during this period, Grot was adaptable enough to
handle glamorous subjects and musicals
(Goldgräber von 1933 (1933),
Zaubernächte in Rio (1948))
with equal aplomb. Some of his most impressive sets involved water, or,
rather, prodigious amounts of water. For the studio-bound
Errol Flynn swashbuckler
Der Herr der sieben Meere (1940), he created a 12
ft. deep lake on a brand new sound stage, which contributed greatly to
the overall $1.7 million budget (as did the two full-scale sailing
vessels used for the battle scenes). Grot subsequently won a special
Academy Award for his creation of a 'ripple machine' which simulated
weather effects on water. No less impressive were his interior sets,
notably the spectacular giant map at the Spanish court on which the
downfall of England is plotted, and the vast up and down stairwells
which serve as the backdrop for the climactic duel between Flynn's
Geoffrey Thorpe and arch villain Lord Wolfingham
(Henry Daniell).
After his retirement, Grot devoted much of his time to painting. He
died in March 1974 at the age of 90 and was inducted into the Art
Directors Hall of Fame in 2004.
