Top ten Hollywood Director's if you made the list in 1960
Submitted by jgandcag on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 09:23
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- 1. Howard Hawks. Ok Do I really think Howard Hawks is the greatest director ever pre-1960? Maybe not but I looked at the list of movies this man made and I can say with some assurance I have enjoyed watching his works more than anyone elses and when all is said and done Movies should be enjoymnent first and foremost. . Also as the ever astute LBangs pointed out, he never gets the credit he deserves. I have read numerous lists and polls on great directors and I have never seen Hawks top the list. Many times you never even see him on the list. Now the evidence of his greatness- Remember Longevity and Versatilty are keys and no one did it better. "Scarface" the first great gangster Movie. An underrated "Road to Glory" one of the best early Anti-war films. "Bringing up Baby" arguably the greatest comedy of them all. "Only Angels have Wings" and "His Girl Friday" 2 great romantic comedies, "Sgt York" Gary Cooper was never better. Bogey and Bacall in "To have and Have Not" and "The Big Sleep" which rival Bogeys work with John Huston. "Red River" one of the great Westerns and the real first time we see that John Wayne can act. An uncredited contribution to "The Thing" one of the creepiest Plot number one movies. A sexy comedy "Gentleman Prefer Blondes". "Rio Bravo" one of the most underrated Westerns and pretty much the plot for the majority of movies made by Wayne for the rest of his career. I consider many of these movies some of my favorites. I am only listing the biggies if you are convinced and want to see more look up the list of movies he directed and you will find some more hiiden gems
- 2. Billy Wilder. Versality and longevity are 2 keys to a great directorial career. Please sign in Mr Wilder. Comedy, Drama, Film Noir he has done them all and many times his is the definitve choice in any category."Double Indemnity" in Film Noir for example. There ia great book by Wilder and Cameron Crowe (who I think will become this generations Wilder-if he isnt already) called "Conversations with Wilder". Read it to find out some fascinating stuff about some of the greatest movies ever made. The great works of Wilder include "Lost Weekend","Foreign Affair","Some like it Hot","Stalag 17", "Sunset Boulevard","Sabrina", "Seven Year itch". My personal favorites include "Lost Weekend", 56 years later still the definitive statement of the ravages of Alcohol, "Stalag 17" ,with the very underrated William Holden, and "The Apartment" I dare you not to laugh.
- 3. Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock was a very disturbed man. Serious issues with women, a macabre sense of humor, and demons that becomes very evident in his films. The amazing thing is he used these character traits to create great art. I propose that the restricted morals and studio control may have been good for him. Would he be Joe Estehevez or Zalman King if he was making movies today? A good analogy is a semi-clad women is always more alluring than a nude women. Morals code forced him to keep some of the clothes on and the viewers imagination is allowed to create their own illusions. I call that good moviemaking. I neither want or need to list his many great movies. People know them. My favorites of his include "39 Steps", "Rebecca","Lifeboat","Spellbound","North by Northwest","Vertigo" "Rear Window" "Rope" and on and on. A great understanding of the darkness of the human pysche has always been a source for great art and Hitchcock has been Films greatest example.
- 4. Frank Capra. His popularity and esteem has taken a bit of a hit lately. I credit it to "Its a Wonderful Life" over saturation. That movie is wonderful and unfairly categorized as a feel good flick. I agree that is how it ends but the rest of the movie is dark and comic at the same time. 2 traits difficult to produce successfully simultaneously . This is still not Capra's ultimate classic that title belongs to "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" Jimmy Stewart was never better and that is saying something. Some other great movies by Capra include "It Happened One Night", "Mr Deeds goes to Town", "Lady for the Day","Meet John Doe", and "State of the Union". Personal favorites include Mr. Smith, "Meet John Doe", a great screwball version of "Arsenic and Old Lace" plus a little forgotten treasure called "Bitter Tree of General Yen" a dark little movie.
- 5. Orson Welles. Welles is the toughest to place. Not a huge body of work, but what is lacking in quantity is made up in quality. I am of the school that "Citizen Kane" is a monumental and very influential film. Depending on my mood I consider it the greatest movie ever made. Obviously the filming has affected movie making ever since its release for how movies are made but I think this in some small way shortchanges the story, and what a story it is... ultimately what got Welles placed this high is the "Magnificent Ambersons" Another stunning movie that sometimes gets lost in the glow of "Kane". If you have not seen this movie, I can not recommend it enough. Joseph Cotton in a remarkable bravado performance. Others worth watching from Welles include "Lady From Shangai", "MacBeth", "Othello" and another classic "Touch Of Evil". Personal favorites include his big 3 "Kane", Amberson's" and "Evil". You could not go wrong investing a few hours in any of these flicks.
- 6. John Ford. "Hi I am John Ford, I make Westerns" As Bogey goes John Huston, John Wayne goes John Ford. At least that is the common thinking, but I disagree. They did do a lot of great Movies together. "Stagecoach", "The Searchers", "The Quiet Man" and the the great Cavalry trilogy 'She Wore A Yellow Ribbon"(my favorite), "Rio Grande" and "Fort Apache". All of these are stunning enjoyable movies that tackle the same themes. Honor, courage, loyalty and the strength of Humanity. (Personal observation, I always thought the John Wayne character was for little boys what Cinderella was for little girls, think about it for a second.) But Ford also made some other great movies. "The Informer","Young Mr.Lincoln", "Grapes of Wrath" "The Last Hurrah", "Mr. Roberts" and many more. A great body of work. Personal favorites. "The Informer(Has Ireland changed in the past 70 years?),Mr. Roberts (A very Funny Movie)and though this is cheating since it was made in 1962 "The Man who Shot Liberty Valance" one of the best westerns ever made. "When the legend becomes fact,print the legend".
- 7. John Huston. Remember this list is being written in 1960. If you look at his total career, He would rate much higher. The man who made Bogart a legend or was Bogart the man who made him a legend. Movies they made together "Maltese Falcon","African Queen", "Treasure of the Sierra Madre","Key Largo" and "Beat the Devil"-an underrated movie. He laso made "Moby Dick", "Heaven Knows Mr Allison" "Asphalt Jungle" and plenty more. Larger than life character who comes from one of the most important Families of 20th century Film. Suppossedly the inspiration for Clint Eastwood's "White Hunter Black Heart" a pretty good film from the best Actor turned Director going. Personal favorites are "...Falcon", "Beat the Devil", "Key Largo" and "Treasure of Sierra Madre". I lovey Bogey obviously.
- 8. Preston Sturges What a streak this guy had in the 40's. Some wonderful Comedies with a mixture of Slapstick, Sarcasm and Social commentary. Most people know "Sullivan's Travel" but you cant forget "The Great McGinty", "Lady Eve", "The Palm Beach Story" "Miracle of Morgan Creek". Sturges is often unfairly overlooked as one of the great directors but his movies are still relevant and fresh 50 plus years later. Personal Favorites. "Miracle of Morgan Creeek" and a nastly little movie called "Unfaithfully Yours" with Rex Harrison acting like the jerk he was supposed to be in real life.
- 9. Victor Fleming what a year he had in 1939. "Gone With the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz". Of course there are stories that say he had very little to do with the outcome of either of these movies. Probably why he is not higher on the list. Not a whole lot of other stuff. "Captain's Courageous, "Treasure Island" (pretty good adaptation actually)and an Ok "Dr. Jekyl and Mr Hyde" with Spencer Tracy. Personal favorites are "Wizard of Oz" and "Treasure Island". "Gone with the Wind" is obviously an important film but I find it to be long and a little too melodramatic for my taste.
- 10. Micheal Curtiz-If anyone should move up in this list this is the guy. I just looked up his movies in the IMDB and boy is there some quality. Of course there is "Casablanca","The Adventures of Robin Hood","Yankee Doodle Dandy", but we forget he did "Angels with Dirty Faces" "Captain Blood", "White Christmas" "Life With Father" "Young Man with a Horn" "Mildred Pierce" and one of Elvis' better flicks "King Creole". He meets my criteria of versatilty and longevity. My personal Favorites are "Casablanca", "Captain Blood" and a reworking of Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not" called "The Breaking Point"
- 10.(Tie) Stanley Donen- The greatest director of Musicals. He is on this list because of "Singin in the Rain","Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", "Kismet", "Damn Yankees", "Funny Face" and more. But mainly for "Singing.." which I believe is by far the best Musical ever made and one of the best movies ever made. If you have never seen it or you have not seen it in some time I highly recommend a viewing. Not a whole lot of versatility in his career but a whole lot of smiles have been caused by this man Movies. My Favorites by him are "Singing in the Rain" and "Damn Yankees" as a long time Red Sox fan anything that makes the New York Yankees look bad is ok with me.
Author Comments:
I know the title is a mouthful but I was thinking about directors recently and how I think it is easier in some ways to make the movie you want today, especially if you have a track record of success. The old studio era had its good points but that much control must have been very difficult for certain artists.
That being said, I thought it would be interesting to see the list of best Directors if the listology existed in say 1960. This seemed about the right time to seperate Modern Film in two. I also included the term Hollywood to eliminate all the great foreign directors who seem to me belong to the more modern world of filmaking or they belong to their own world.
I have started to list some reasoning for the choices. I will add more as time allows. Hope it make sense and please feel free to comment or disagree. I love a good debate
Fantastic list!
I'm awaiting the other write-ups, as the current ones are great. I'm especially glad to see a few less showy but brilliant directors such as Huston and Hawks make the list. I'm very glad you also included the often over-looked Curtiz.
If there is any name I am bit surprised not to find above, it is Elia Kazan who, despite any political misgivings, was a fantastic director. By 1960, he had already finished On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Face in the Crowd, Viva Zappata!, and East of Eden. Number 11, perhaps?
Again, great list!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Actually I was thinking of expanding the comments to explain who did not make the cut and yes Kazan would be on the list. Though he too seems a Modern director. I love A Face in the Crowd. Its too bad The Andy Griffith Show became so popular and pigeonholed the man. He might have had a great acting career.
Andy Griffith was great in a Face in the Crowd. It is a shame he became so stereotyped. He really could act.
Great job on the new entries. I could not agree more with your comments concerning Hitchcock. My wife and I have both discussed how much the content restraints he worked under seemed to improve his films. One viewing of one of his later works where he had no such restraints (say, Frenzy) shows how much his powers of suggestive suspense flowered under the code limiting how much violence and sex he could actually show on screen.
Again, great list!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
The book by Crowe on Wilder is wonderful. Crowe is a great interviewer while Wilder is amazing, his responses are witty and interesting even though he's 90 some years old!!! I got this one from my library and was planning on only reading a few pages, but it was so good and so informative I had to end up reading all of it.
Well, you said this list is underrated. Hope you don't mind a dissenting view.
Well, maybe not quite dissenting, but anyway, I've gradually come to the realization that versatility is actually a pretty bad trait for a director to have if he wants to become successful and acclaimed. Hawks, Wilder, and Curtiz are certainly great directors, but I'd say they're underappreciated nowadays. Compare them to directors like Alfred Hitchcock, "The Master of Suspense"; or John Ford, known for his westerns; or Stanley Kubrick, known for his cold, sterile, intense dramas ("heavyweights" as Jim would put it); or Martin Scorsese; or Charlie Chaplin... I could go on.
Hey, Billy Wilder is my favorite director, and he gets a good amount of love from critics and film historians, but it doesn't compare to Hitchcock's acclaim. I would certainly agree that versatility is a good trait for a director to have. But with the critics, it seems like you have to be known for something.
This is even more true for actors, so much so that they call it "playing against type" when an actor takes a part that's not in his same old character.