An American Investor in the Theatre Industry of Budapest

In the interwar period, an American theatre and film entrepreneur had a determinantimpact on the private theatre sector of Budapest. Ben Blumenthal (1883–1967) ran the Vígszínház(Comedy Theatre) in 1920–1926 and owned its building in 1920–1949. In addition, Blumenthalfinanced the operation of the Fővárosi Operettszínház (Budapest Operetta Theatre) in 1922–1926.Although from a global perspective, Blumenthal does not belong to the group of legendaryUS theatre or movie producers, in the context of Hungarian theatre culture, he was the mostinfluential mediator in Hungarian–American cultural relations. The study aims to piece together theundiscovered elements of Blumenthal’s personal and professional biography and to discuss how hisactivities were evaluated from the American and the Hungarian perspectives.Special emphasis will be given to the US and Hungarian entertainment press: Blumenthal’sinterviews on his Hungarian theatres, articles on Blumenthal’s position in the transnationalproducers’ hierarchy, and representation of the Vígszínház in the US entertainment press. The aim isto assess the significance of Blumenthal’s Budapest business activities within his entire career.