Lenartowicz, Stanisław

(1921-)

   Director and scriptwriter, a 1953 graduate of the Łódź Film School who started his career working for the Educational Film Studio (WFO). In 1957 he released his first feature film, the psychological drama Winter Twilight (Zimowy żmierżch, 1957), which portrays a small provincial town somewhere in the eastern part of Poland. Its episodic narrative structure (Tadeusz Konwicki's script) relies on stylized, expressionistic flashbacks and the observation of local customs. Lenartowicz's best-known films were made during the Polish School period: World War II suspense drama Pills for Aurelia (Pigułki dla Aurelii, 1958), the psychological portrait of social advancement The Oil (Nafta, 1961), and the almost farcical presentation of the war Giuseppe in Warsaw (Giuseppe w Warszawie, 1964), with Elżbieta Czyżewska and Zbigniew Cybulski. Lenartowicz worked within different genres, with different results. He made marital dramas, The Diary of Mrs. Hanka (Pamiętnik pani Hanki, 1963) with Lucyna Winnnicka and Obsession (Opętanie, 1972); comedy, Full Ahead (Cała naprzód, 1967); a crime film, I Did Kill (To ja zabiłem, 1975); and a romantic drama consisting of four novellas, Encounters (Spotkania, 1957). Lenartowicz was praised for his series of historical television films set in tsarist Russia, such as The Postmaster (Pocżmistrż, 1967), The Nose (Nos, 1971), and Actress (Aktorka, 1971). Toward the end of his career, he produced a remake of the 1938 classic film The Ghosts (Strachy), first as a popular television series in 1979, then as a feature film under the title Tears Won't Help (Sżkoda twoich łeż, 1983).

   Other films: See You on Sunday (Zobacżymy się w niedżielę, 1960), The Fatalist (Fatalista, TV, 1967), Monster (Upiór, TV, 1967), The Red and the Gold (Cżerwone i żłote, 1969), Dead Wave (Martwa fala, 1971), In a Year, in a Day, in a Moment. . . (Za rok, ża dżień ża chwilę . . . , 1976).

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof