Biography
A stage performer since childhood, Daniel Mann attended New York's Professional Children's School and the Neighborhood Playhouse. He entered films in 1952 as a director, evincing very little flair for visual dynamics but an excellent ear for dialogue. Most of Mann's films were adaptations from the stage (Come Back Little Sheba,
Rose Tattoo, Teahouse of August Moon) and literature (
Butterfield 8,
Last Angry Man). While he himself never won an Academy Award, actresses
Elizabeth Taylor,
Shirley Booth and
Anna Magnani took home Oscars after appearing in Mann-directed films. In the 1960s, Mann rather surprisingly emerged as an adroit comedy director with such films as Who's Got the Action? (1962) and
Our Man Flint (1966). Daniel Mann also worked steadily on television, his most notable small-screen achievement being the Emmy-winning 1980 drama
Playing for Time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide