Most notable films: The Informer (1935), Stagecoach (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Quiet Man (1952)
Considered by many film enthusiasts to be Hollywood's greatest director of Westerns, John Ford brought more than the West to American cinema. His depiction of 'the common man' in times of conflict, from Welsh coalminers, to migrating Oklahoman farmers, to Revolutionary War newlyweds, has elevated Ford's films to a level achieved by a select few in filmmaking annals.
With 74 nominations and 21 Oscars, over 20 films, John Ford ranks 3rd on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born on February 1, 1894 (or 1895, according to conflicting sources) in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, John Martin Feeney (or Sean Aloysius Feeney, or O'Fearna, again, conflicting sources), was the eleventh child of Irish immigrants. He graduated from Portland High School, and, after just a few weeks of college, decided to join his older brother Francis in Hollywood. Francis Ford, thirteen years older than John, was a writer/actor/director at Universal Studios. Young John, or 'Jack', as he was known then, started out as a propman's assistant and stuntman, then began acting in action serials in 1914, directed by brother Francis. In 1915, young Ford co-wrote and co-starred in The Doorway of Destruction. By 1917, he had added a third hat, as he co-wrote, acted and directed The Tornado. He directed more than 60 silent films over the next ten years, until 1928, when Four Sons added a musical score and sound effects. In 1929, The Black Watch would become his first Sound feature, and older brother Francis would make one of more than 30 acting appearances in a John Ford-helmed vehicle. Also appearing, Victor McLaglen, who would be featured in nearly a dozen Ford films. Ford was a firm believer in using actors he was familiar with, and what became known as The John Ford Stock Company featured character actors such as Ward Bond (25 appearances), John Carradine (12), John Qualen (9), Harry Carey, Jr. (10), Francis Ford (32), Hank Worden (9), Carleton Young (8), Ken Curtis (12), Barry Fitzgerald (5) and Arthur Shields (6). Ford's 'leading men' were also employed repeatedly: John Wayne (21 times), Victor McLaglen (11), and Henry Fonda (7). Ford's familiarity with these men enabled him to bring out richer, more comfortable performances.
In 1931, Arrowsmith became the first of Ford's features to be nominated for an Academy Award, receiving four nominations, including Best Picture. In 1935, The Informer earned the first acting nod for a Ford picture, with Victor McLaglen earning the Best Actor Oscar, beating out a trio of stars (Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone) from Mutiny on the Bounty. Bounty won the Best Picture award, but Ford had the last laugh, as he earned his first Best Director Oscar over Frank Lloyd. McLaglen was the first of ten performers who would receive Acting nominations in Ford's movies. Four others would also win the Oscar: Thomas Mitchell (Stagecoach), Jane Darwell (The Grapes of Wrath), Donald Crisp (How Green Was My Valley), and Jack Lemmon (Mister Roberts). Here is a list of Ford's nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
Arrowsmith (1931) 4/-
The Lost Patrol (1934) 1/-
The Informer (1935) 6/4
Wee Willie Winkie (1937) 1/-
The Hurricane (1937) 3/1
Stagecoach (1939) 7/2
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) 1/-
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) 2/-
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 7/2
The Long Voyage Home (1940) 6/-
How Green Was My Valley (1941) 10/5
They Were Expendable (1945) 2/-
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) 1/1
When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950) 1/-
The Quiet Man (1952) 7/2
Mogambo (1953) 2/-
Mister Roberts (1955) 3/1
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) 1/-
How the West Was Won (1963) 8/3
Cheyenne Autumn (1964) 1/-
After directing three classic films, Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, and How Green Was My Valley (the latter two films earning him the distinction of being the first director to win back-to-back Oscars for Direction), John Ford assembled a film crew that became the Field Photographic Branch of the U. S. Office of Strategic Services. His World War II documentaries, The Battle of Midway (1942) and December 7th (1943) both were Oscar winners. He was present on Omaha Beach on D-Day, 1944, directing the Coast Guard cameramen who filmed the invasion from behind beach obstacles.
Upon returning to Hollywood after the war, he directed three films before turning his attention to his 'Cavalry Trilogy', Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and Rio Grande. His use of the natural splendor of Monument Valley, in Utah, became a favorite location for his films, with frequent scenes of the individual dwarfed by the landscape creating indelible images in the filmgoers mind. Ford's cinematic vision, throughout his career, has influenced more major filmmakers than any other director. Such luminaries as Orson Welles, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Francois Truffaut, Akira Kurasawa, Sergio Leone and Bernardo Bertolucci have called Ford their favorite, or among their favorite directors. It was Welles, who, after viewing Stagecoach 40 times before starting work on Citizen Kane, remarked that he was influenced by "the old guys, the classical film makers, John Ford, John Ford and John Ford".
The '50's saw Ford returning to his Irish roots, with The Quiet Man, in 1952, earning him his fourth Directing Oscar, the only filmmaker to win that many. The only time he was nominated and lost was in 1939, for Stagecoach. During the filming of The Quiet Man, one of the second-unit directors was Andrew McLaglen, son of Ford-favorite Victor McLaglen. Andrew recalls suggesting using an overhead bridge for an interesting camera angle for John Wayne's introductory shot. John Ford simply asked, "Do you stand on a step ladder when you meet someone?"
In 1956, Ford directed John Wayne in The Searchers, regarded by many to be Ford's greatest Western. Wayne's collaboration with him covered a span of 35 years, culminating with 1962's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
Some of his films that did not receive Oscar consideration: Prisoner of Shark Island, Mary of Scotland, Tobacco Road, My Darling Clementine, The Fugitive, Three Godfathers, Fort Apache, Rio Grande, What Price Glory, The Long Gray Line, The Searchers, The Wings of Eagles, The Last Hurrah, The Horse Soldiers, Donovan's Reef and Seven Women.
In 1973, John Ford became the first recipient of The American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award.
John Ford died of stomach cancer on August 31, 1973, in Palm Desert, California. He was 79.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
#4 - George Cukor - 72/18/24
Most notable films: Little Women (1933), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Born Yesterday (1950), A Star is Born (1954), My Fair Lady (1964)
In a film career spanning more than 50 years, George Cukor's movies range from romantic comedies to thrillers, from musicals to classic costume-novel adaptations. His 24 Oscar-nominated films are more than anyone on this list.
With 72 nominations and 18 Oscars covering 24 films, George Cukor ranks #4 on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born on July 7, 1899, in New York City, his parents were Jewish immigrants from Hungary. At an early age, George became infatuated with theater, and during his high school years, would often skip classes to attend afternoon matinees. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1916. After a year with the Students Army Training Corps, he landed a job as an assistant stage manager for a Chicago theater company. After gaining valuable experience, he returned to New York and continued to work in theater, eventually forming his own stock company in Rochester, New York. He came back to New York in the mid-'20's, and began directing, working with leading ladies Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish and Estelle Winwood. At the end of the decade, Hollywood began recruiting New York theater directors to come west and handle the transition from silent films to 'talkies'. Cukor moved to California and began working as a 'dialogue director' at Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures. Paramount gave Cukor his first co-directing opportunity in 1930, with Grumpy, followed by The Virtuous Sin and The Royal Family of Broadway. The latter film earned him the first of his 72 nominations, a Best Actor nod for Fredric March. March would be the first of 21 actors nominated for their performances in Cukor-helmed films. In 1931, Cukor received his first solo directing credit, Tarnished Lady, starring Tallulah Bankhead. The following year, he directed Katharine Hepburn's screen debut, A Bill of Divorcement. That would be the first of ten films that Cukor would direct Hepburn in, covering a span of 47 years. Here is a list of George Cukor's nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) 1/-
One Hour with You (1932) 1/-
What Price Hollywood (1932) 1/-
Little Women (1933) 3/1
David Copperfield (1935) 3/-
Romeo and Juliet (1936) 4/-
Camille (1937) 1/-
Holiday (1938) 1/-
The Philadelphia Story (1940) 6/2
Gaslight (1944) 7/2
A Double Life (1947) 4/2
Edward, My Son (1949) 1/-
Adam's Rib (1949) 1/-
Born Yesterday (1950) 5/1
The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951) 1/-
Pat and Mike (1952) 1/-
The Actress (1953) 1/-
It Should Happen to You (1954) 1/-
A Star is Born (1954) 6/-
Wild is the Wind (1957) 3/-
Les Girls (1957) 3/1
Let's Make Love (1960) 1/-
My Fair Lady (1964) 12/8
Travels with My Aunt (1972) 4/1
Through the 1930's, George Cukor continued directing Hollywood's top female stars: Katharine Hepburn (A Bill of Divorcement, Little Women, Sylvia Scarlett, Holiday), Greta Garbo (Camille), Norma Shearer (Romeo and Juliet) and Jean Harlow (Dinner at Eight). In 1939, his reputation as a 'ladies-director' was initially deemed the cause of his dismissal from helming Gone with the Wind, as, supposedly, Clark Gable was dissatisfied with Cukor's attention to Vivien Leigh. In actuality, Cukor had issues with producer David O. Selznick over the script and direction. Earlier that year, Cukor had been called in to help on the filming of The Wizard of Oz, being credited with changing Judy Garland's appearance by having her take off her blonde wig, and having her 'baby-doll' makeup removed. He also had the Scarecrow's makeup changed to how it now appears in the final print. The original director, Richard Thorpe, had been dismissed and Victor Fleming would take over for Cukor, who left to do GWTW. Ironically, Fleming would replace Cukor at the helm of GWTW, before leaving himself due to exhaustion, to be replaced by Sam Wood. Fleming would receive sole directing credits for both films. After Cukor left the set of Gone with the Wind, he was immediately hired to direct The Women.
In 1933, Cukor's direction of Little Women had earned him his first of five Oscar nominations for Best Director. His others: The Philadelphia Story, A Double Life, Born Yesterday, and his greatest success, My Fair Lady, his only win. He also directed Rex Harrison to an Oscar victory, along with James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story), Ingrid Bergman (Gaslight), Ronald Colman (A Double Life), and Judy Holiday (Born Yesterday). He also directed three films co-starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (Keeper of the Flame, Adam's Rib and Pat and Mike), and teamed up with screenwriters Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon on a half dozen projects, including A Double Life, Adam's Rib, Pat and Mike and The Marrying Kind.
In his mid-70's, George Cukor teamed with Katharine Hepburn again, on the TV-movie, Love Among the Ruins. He received his only Emmy Award for direction, and guided Hepburn and her co-star, Laurence Olivier to Emmy wins. Cukor would direct Hepburn one last time, in 1979, in the made-for-TV movie, A Corn is Green.
Some of his films that did not receive Oscar consideration: Dinner at Eight, The Women, Susan and God, Two-Faced Woman, Bhowani Junction, Heller in Pink Tights, The Chapman Reports and The Blue Bird.
George Cukor died on January 24, 1983, in Los Angeles, California, of heart failure, just 15 months after directing his final film, Rich and Famous. He was 83 years old.
In a film career spanning more than 50 years, George Cukor's movies range from romantic comedies to thrillers, from musicals to classic costume-novel adaptations. His 24 Oscar-nominated films are more than anyone on this list.
With 72 nominations and 18 Oscars covering 24 films, George Cukor ranks #4 on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born on July 7, 1899, in New York City, his parents were Jewish immigrants from Hungary. At an early age, George became infatuated with theater, and during his high school years, would often skip classes to attend afternoon matinees. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1916. After a year with the Students Army Training Corps, he landed a job as an assistant stage manager for a Chicago theater company. After gaining valuable experience, he returned to New York and continued to work in theater, eventually forming his own stock company in Rochester, New York. He came back to New York in the mid-'20's, and began directing, working with leading ladies Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish and Estelle Winwood. At the end of the decade, Hollywood began recruiting New York theater directors to come west and handle the transition from silent films to 'talkies'. Cukor moved to California and began working as a 'dialogue director' at Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures. Paramount gave Cukor his first co-directing opportunity in 1930, with Grumpy, followed by The Virtuous Sin and The Royal Family of Broadway. The latter film earned him the first of his 72 nominations, a Best Actor nod for Fredric March. March would be the first of 21 actors nominated for their performances in Cukor-helmed films. In 1931, Cukor received his first solo directing credit, Tarnished Lady, starring Tallulah Bankhead. The following year, he directed Katharine Hepburn's screen debut, A Bill of Divorcement. That would be the first of ten films that Cukor would direct Hepburn in, covering a span of 47 years. Here is a list of George Cukor's nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) 1/-
One Hour with You (1932) 1/-
What Price Hollywood (1932) 1/-
Little Women (1933) 3/1
David Copperfield (1935) 3/-
Romeo and Juliet (1936) 4/-
Camille (1937) 1/-
Holiday (1938) 1/-
The Philadelphia Story (1940) 6/2
Gaslight (1944) 7/2
A Double Life (1947) 4/2
Edward, My Son (1949) 1/-
Adam's Rib (1949) 1/-
Born Yesterday (1950) 5/1
The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951) 1/-
Pat and Mike (1952) 1/-
The Actress (1953) 1/-
It Should Happen to You (1954) 1/-
A Star is Born (1954) 6/-
Wild is the Wind (1957) 3/-
Les Girls (1957) 3/1
Let's Make Love (1960) 1/-
My Fair Lady (1964) 12/8
Travels with My Aunt (1972) 4/1
Through the 1930's, George Cukor continued directing Hollywood's top female stars: Katharine Hepburn (A Bill of Divorcement, Little Women, Sylvia Scarlett, Holiday), Greta Garbo (Camille), Norma Shearer (Romeo and Juliet) and Jean Harlow (Dinner at Eight). In 1939, his reputation as a 'ladies-director' was initially deemed the cause of his dismissal from helming Gone with the Wind, as, supposedly, Clark Gable was dissatisfied with Cukor's attention to Vivien Leigh. In actuality, Cukor had issues with producer David O. Selznick over the script and direction. Earlier that year, Cukor had been called in to help on the filming of The Wizard of Oz, being credited with changing Judy Garland's appearance by having her take off her blonde wig, and having her 'baby-doll' makeup removed. He also had the Scarecrow's makeup changed to how it now appears in the final print. The original director, Richard Thorpe, had been dismissed and Victor Fleming would take over for Cukor, who left to do GWTW. Ironically, Fleming would replace Cukor at the helm of GWTW, before leaving himself due to exhaustion, to be replaced by Sam Wood. Fleming would receive sole directing credits for both films. After Cukor left the set of Gone with the Wind, he was immediately hired to direct The Women.
In 1933, Cukor's direction of Little Women had earned him his first of five Oscar nominations for Best Director. His others: The Philadelphia Story, A Double Life, Born Yesterday, and his greatest success, My Fair Lady, his only win. He also directed Rex Harrison to an Oscar victory, along with James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story), Ingrid Bergman (Gaslight), Ronald Colman (A Double Life), and Judy Holiday (Born Yesterday). He also directed three films co-starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (Keeper of the Flame, Adam's Rib and Pat and Mike), and teamed up with screenwriters Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon on a half dozen projects, including A Double Life, Adam's Rib, Pat and Mike and The Marrying Kind.
In his mid-70's, George Cukor teamed with Katharine Hepburn again, on the TV-movie, Love Among the Ruins. He received his only Emmy Award for direction, and guided Hepburn and her co-star, Laurence Olivier to Emmy wins. Cukor would direct Hepburn one last time, in 1979, in the made-for-TV movie, A Corn is Green.
Some of his films that did not receive Oscar consideration: Dinner at Eight, The Women, Susan and God, Two-Faced Woman, Bhowani Junction, Heller in Pink Tights, The Chapman Reports and The Blue Bird.
George Cukor died on January 24, 1983, in Los Angeles, California, of heart failure, just 15 months after directing his final film, Rich and Famous. He was 83 years old.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
#5 - Billy Wilder - 72/17/15
Most notable films: Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Some Like it Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960)
In a career spanning the late '20's until the early '80's, Billy Wilder achieved success as a writer/director/producer that very few film notables have attained. His screenplays were replete with crackling dialogue, and, even in his most dramatic works, there existed an underlying sense of humor that made his efforts memorable.
With 72 nominations and 17 Oscars covering 15 films, Billy Wilder ranks 5th on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born on June 22, 1906, in Austria-Hungary (what is now Poland), he was named Samuel Wilder, but, affectionately, his mother called him "Billie". His family moved to Vienna when Billie was young, and he attended school there. He spent time at the University of Vienna, eyeing a career as a lawyer, but dropped out to begin work as a journalist. To further his career, he moved to Berlin in 1926, and wrote crime and sports stories for local newspapers until he was offered a position with the city's largest tabloid. As his interest in films increased, he began writing screenplays, and his first film credit was in 1929, as the writer of Der Teufelsreporter. In 1930, he collaborated with future Hollywood notables Fred Zinnemann, Robert and Kurt Siodmak, and Edgar G. Ulmer on Menschen am Sonntag. In 1933, with the rise of Adolph Hitler to power, Wilder, of Jewish heritage, moved to Paris, where he would co-direct Mauvaise graine. Later that year, he would emigrate to Hollywood, change his name to 'Billy', and co-write his first American script, Adorable, for the Fox Film Corporation. He wrote stories and scripts for Columbia and Universal Studios over the next few years. Hired by Paramount Pictures in 1937, he began collaborating the following year with Charles Brackett on Bluebeard's Eighth Wife. It would be the first of 15 films they would work on together, among them Midnight, Ninotchka, Arise My Love, Hold Back the Dawn and Ball of Fire, from 1939 to 1941. In 1942, Billy Wilder directed his first Hollywood feature, The Major and the Minor. The next year, Five Graves to Cairo would earn three Oscar nominations, and, in 1944, Barbara Stanwyck would receive the first acting nomination for a Billy Wilder-directed film, Double Indemnity. Thirteen other actors would subsequently receive nominations for his films. Here is a list of his nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
Five Graves to Cairo (1943) 3/-
Double Indemnity (1944) 7/-
The Lost Weekend (1945) 7/4
The Emperor Waltz (1948) 2/-
A Foreign Affair (1948) 2/-
Sunset Boulevard (1950) 11/3
The Big Carnival (aka Ace in the Hole) (1951) 1/-
Stalag 17 (1953) 3/1
Sabrina (1954) 6/1
Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 6/-
Some Like it Hot (1959) 6/1
The Apartment (1960) 10/5
One, Two, Three (1961) 1/-
Irma La Douce (1963) 3/1
The Fortune Cookie (1966) 4/1
Wilder proved himself equally adept directing (and writing) dramas (Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, The Big Carnival, Witness for the Prosecution) or comedies (A Foreign Affair, Sabrina, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, The Fortune Cookie). His cynical approach to many subjects did not sit well with those who felt his barbed-tongue. Congress was stung by A Foreign Affair, Hollywood took it on the chin with Sunset Boulevard, as did journalism in The Big Carnival. Big business felt Wilder's wrath in Sabrina, One, Two, Three and The Apartment. Five of Wilder's films were nominated for Best Picture, with The Lost Weekend and The Apartment winning the coveted Oscar, while Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard and Witness for the Prosecution fell short. Three of his nominated actors won Oscars for their performances in his films: Ray Milland (The Lost Weekend), William Holden (Stalag 17), and Walter Matthau (The Fortune Cookie).
Billy Wilder received eight Best Director Oscar nominations during his career, winning twice, for The Lost Weekend and The Apartment. His other nominations: Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Sabrina, Witness for the Prosecution and Some Like it Hot. From 1951 through the end of his career, he produced 16 of his last 18 directorial efforts. He also was nominated a dozen times for his screenwriting, winning three Oscars: The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, and The Apartment. His twelve nominations were a record until 1997, when it was surpassed by Woody Allen.
Four of Billy Wilder's films were ranked by the American Film Institute in their poll of The 100 Greatest American Films: Sunset Boulevard (#12), Some Like it Hot (#14), Double Indemnity (#38) and The Apartment (#93).
Some of his other films that did not receive Oscar consideration: The Seven Year Itch, The Spirit of St. Louis, Love in the Afternoon, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and The Front Page.
My favorite scene from a Billy Wilder film comes from Some Like it Hot. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, posing as women to escape gangsters, are in a Florida hotel room. Lemmon has just come from a date with Joe E. Brown.
Lemmon: Have I got things to tell you!
Curtis: What happened?
Lemmon: I'm engaged!
Curtis: Congratulations! Who's the lucky girl?
Lemmon: I am!
Of course, the most famous of all of Wilder's lines, written for the same film, is spoken by Joe E. Brown, as a reply to a dejected Jack Lemmon's explanation why he can't marry Brown.
Lemmon: Oh, you don't understand, Osgood! (he pulls off his wig) Ehhh...I'm a man!
Brown: Well, nobody's perfect.
In 2000, the American Film Institute named Some Like it Hot Number One in their poll of the 100 Best American film comedies.
Billy Wilder, writer/director extraordinaire, died of pneumonia on March 27, 2002, in West Los Angeles, California. He was 95 years old.
In a career spanning the late '20's until the early '80's, Billy Wilder achieved success as a writer/director/producer that very few film notables have attained. His screenplays were replete with crackling dialogue, and, even in his most dramatic works, there existed an underlying sense of humor that made his efforts memorable.
With 72 nominations and 17 Oscars covering 15 films, Billy Wilder ranks 5th on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born on June 22, 1906, in Austria-Hungary (what is now Poland), he was named Samuel Wilder, but, affectionately, his mother called him "Billie". His family moved to Vienna when Billie was young, and he attended school there. He spent time at the University of Vienna, eyeing a career as a lawyer, but dropped out to begin work as a journalist. To further his career, he moved to Berlin in 1926, and wrote crime and sports stories for local newspapers until he was offered a position with the city's largest tabloid. As his interest in films increased, he began writing screenplays, and his first film credit was in 1929, as the writer of Der Teufelsreporter. In 1930, he collaborated with future Hollywood notables Fred Zinnemann, Robert and Kurt Siodmak, and Edgar G. Ulmer on Menschen am Sonntag. In 1933, with the rise of Adolph Hitler to power, Wilder, of Jewish heritage, moved to Paris, where he would co-direct Mauvaise graine. Later that year, he would emigrate to Hollywood, change his name to 'Billy', and co-write his first American script, Adorable, for the Fox Film Corporation. He wrote stories and scripts for Columbia and Universal Studios over the next few years. Hired by Paramount Pictures in 1937, he began collaborating the following year with Charles Brackett on Bluebeard's Eighth Wife. It would be the first of 15 films they would work on together, among them Midnight, Ninotchka, Arise My Love, Hold Back the Dawn and Ball of Fire, from 1939 to 1941. In 1942, Billy Wilder directed his first Hollywood feature, The Major and the Minor. The next year, Five Graves to Cairo would earn three Oscar nominations, and, in 1944, Barbara Stanwyck would receive the first acting nomination for a Billy Wilder-directed film, Double Indemnity. Thirteen other actors would subsequently receive nominations for his films. Here is a list of his nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
Five Graves to Cairo (1943) 3/-
Double Indemnity (1944) 7/-
The Lost Weekend (1945) 7/4
The Emperor Waltz (1948) 2/-
A Foreign Affair (1948) 2/-
Sunset Boulevard (1950) 11/3
The Big Carnival (aka Ace in the Hole) (1951) 1/-
Stalag 17 (1953) 3/1
Sabrina (1954) 6/1
Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 6/-
Some Like it Hot (1959) 6/1
The Apartment (1960) 10/5
One, Two, Three (1961) 1/-
Irma La Douce (1963) 3/1
The Fortune Cookie (1966) 4/1
Wilder proved himself equally adept directing (and writing) dramas (Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, The Big Carnival, Witness for the Prosecution) or comedies (A Foreign Affair, Sabrina, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, The Fortune Cookie). His cynical approach to many subjects did not sit well with those who felt his barbed-tongue. Congress was stung by A Foreign Affair, Hollywood took it on the chin with Sunset Boulevard, as did journalism in The Big Carnival. Big business felt Wilder's wrath in Sabrina, One, Two, Three and The Apartment. Five of Wilder's films were nominated for Best Picture, with The Lost Weekend and The Apartment winning the coveted Oscar, while Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard and Witness for the Prosecution fell short. Three of his nominated actors won Oscars for their performances in his films: Ray Milland (The Lost Weekend), William Holden (Stalag 17), and Walter Matthau (The Fortune Cookie).
Billy Wilder received eight Best Director Oscar nominations during his career, winning twice, for The Lost Weekend and The Apartment. His other nominations: Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Sabrina, Witness for the Prosecution and Some Like it Hot. From 1951 through the end of his career, he produced 16 of his last 18 directorial efforts. He also was nominated a dozen times for his screenwriting, winning three Oscars: The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, and The Apartment. His twelve nominations were a record until 1997, when it was surpassed by Woody Allen.
Four of Billy Wilder's films were ranked by the American Film Institute in their poll of The 100 Greatest American Films: Sunset Boulevard (#12), Some Like it Hot (#14), Double Indemnity (#38) and The Apartment (#93).
Some of his other films that did not receive Oscar consideration: The Seven Year Itch, The Spirit of St. Louis, Love in the Afternoon, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and The Front Page.
My favorite scene from a Billy Wilder film comes from Some Like it Hot. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, posing as women to escape gangsters, are in a Florida hotel room. Lemmon has just come from a date with Joe E. Brown.
Lemmon: Have I got things to tell you!
Curtis: What happened?
Lemmon: I'm engaged!
Curtis: Congratulations! Who's the lucky girl?
Lemmon: I am!
Of course, the most famous of all of Wilder's lines, written for the same film, is spoken by Joe E. Brown, as a reply to a dejected Jack Lemmon's explanation why he can't marry Brown.
Lemmon: Oh, you don't understand, Osgood! (he pulls off his wig) Ehhh...I'm a man!
Brown: Well, nobody's perfect.
In 2000, the American Film Institute named Some Like it Hot Number One in their poll of the 100 Best American film comedies.
Billy Wilder, writer/director extraordinaire, died of pneumonia on March 27, 2002, in West Los Angeles, California. He was 95 years old.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Still to come - the 'Oscar Director-y' Top 5
Over the past few weeks, I've published articles on five of Hollywood's most prolific filmmakers. They are Martin Scorsese, Fred Zinnemann, Michael Curtiz, Henry King and George Stevens, who rank 10th through 6th, respectively, in the 'Oscar Director-y'. In the next few weeks, I'll unveil the Top 5. Alphabetically, they are:
George Cukor
John Ford
Steven Spielberg
Billy Wilder
William Wyler
Three of these legendary directors are closely bunched, with 72 to 74 nominations apiece. The other two have achieved more than 100 Oscar nominations each. Since the average number of nominated films for each of the Top 5 is 20, that would mean the top two had to average 5 nominations for every film.
I'll start the countdown next Wednesday, with Number 5 on the list. See you then.
George Cukor
John Ford
Steven Spielberg
Billy Wilder
William Wyler
Three of these legendary directors are closely bunched, with 72 to 74 nominations apiece. The other two have achieved more than 100 Oscar nominations each. Since the average number of nominated films for each of the Top 5 is 20, that would mean the top two had to average 5 nominations for every film.
I'll start the countdown next Wednesday, with Number 5 on the list. See you then.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
#6 - George Stevens - 69/15/16
Most notable films: Gunga Din (1939), Woman of the Year (1942), A Place in the Sun (1951), Shane (1953), Giant (1956)
A true 'child of Show Business', George Stevens literally spent his entire life in the entertainment field. In a career that touched eight decades, he became one of the most meticulous and painstaking directors in Hollywood history.
With 69 nominations and 15 Oscars covering 16 movies, George Stevens ranks 6th on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born into a performing family on December 18, 1904, in Oakland, California, George's parents were actors who ran their own theatrical playhouse. His grandmother (on his mother's side) was also an actor, so it was no surprise that young George made his stage debut at the age of 5. When he was 17, his family moved to Glendale, hoping to gain entry into the film industry, which was increasing in popularity. Although his parents appeared in quite a few films into the 1940's, they never achieved the acclaim their son George would eventually acquire. He had developed an interest in photography as a hobby, and shortly after arriving in Hollywood, he got a job as an assistant cameraman at the Hal Roach Studio. After a few years, he became a director of photography, and filmed many of Laurel and Hardy's two-reel comedy classics, including Roughest Africa and Two Tars. Eventually, he became a director of short-subjects, and, finally, in 1933, he directed his first feature film, The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble. In 1935, he was chosen to direct Katherine Hepburn in Alice Adams, and received his first two Oscar nominations, for Best Picture and Best Actress. Fifteen other actors would subsequently receive nominations in films by George Stevens. Here is a list of his nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
Alice Adams (1935) 2/-
Swing Time (1936) 2/1
Quality Street (1937) 1/-
A Damsel in Distress (1937) 2/1
Vivacious Lady (1938) 2/-
Gunga Din (1939) 1/-
Penny Serenade (1941) 1/-
Woman of the Year (1942) 2/1
Talk of the Town (1942) 7/-
The More the Merrier (1943) 6/1
I Remember Mama (1948) 5/-
A Place in the Sun (1951) 9/6
Shane (1953) 6/1
Giant (1956) 10/1
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) 8/3
The Greatest Story Ever Told ((1965) 5/-
George Stevens seems to have had two contrasting directing careers. In his first decade. his films, although sometimes touching on serious subjects, tended to be warm and humorous, with two Fred Astaire musicals, two Jean Arthur comedies, and the classic adventure Gunga Din among his hits. After World War II, his movies grew more intense. In 1944, Stevens headed up a combat motion picture company, and was on the beach, filming the D-Day invasion at Normandy. He also filmed the liberation of Dachau, the German prison camp where mass exterminations had taken place. Returning after the war to Hollywood, he helmed I Remember Mama in 1948, which continued his family-type fare. His next film, though, broke new ground for him. Based on Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy", A Place in the Sun (1951) cast a sobering view of a young man's drive to attain the 'American Dream', no matter what the cost. Stevens' abundant use of extreme close-ups magnified the intensity of his characters, and, with a deliberate editing technique using slow dissolves, the filmgoer could empathize with their difficulties.
George Stevens would continue to make serious and often moving films over the next two decades. His films Shane, Giant and The Diary of Anne Frank, were all nominated for Best Picture. Two of his nominated actors won Oscars for performances in Stevens' films: Charles Coburn (The More the Merrier) and Shelley Winters (The Diary of Anne Frank). Unlike many great directors who worked predominantly at one studio for most of their careers, Stevens produced the majority of his best known films, including all the movies he received Best Director nominations for.
George Stevens was nominated five times for Best Director, winning for A Place in the Sun and Giant. His other nominations: The More the Merrier, Shane, and The Diary of Anne Frank.
Some of his other films that did not receive Oscar consideration: Annie Oakley, Vigil in the Night, Something to Live For, and The Only Game in Town.
George Stevens died on March 8, 1975, of a heart attack, in Lancaster, California. He was 70 years old.
A true 'child of Show Business', George Stevens literally spent his entire life in the entertainment field. In a career that touched eight decades, he became one of the most meticulous and painstaking directors in Hollywood history.
With 69 nominations and 15 Oscars covering 16 movies, George Stevens ranks 6th on the 'Oscar Director-y'.
Born into a performing family on December 18, 1904, in Oakland, California, George's parents were actors who ran their own theatrical playhouse. His grandmother (on his mother's side) was also an actor, so it was no surprise that young George made his stage debut at the age of 5. When he was 17, his family moved to Glendale, hoping to gain entry into the film industry, which was increasing in popularity. Although his parents appeared in quite a few films into the 1940's, they never achieved the acclaim their son George would eventually acquire. He had developed an interest in photography as a hobby, and shortly after arriving in Hollywood, he got a job as an assistant cameraman at the Hal Roach Studio. After a few years, he became a director of photography, and filmed many of Laurel and Hardy's two-reel comedy classics, including Roughest Africa and Two Tars. Eventually, he became a director of short-subjects, and, finally, in 1933, he directed his first feature film, The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble. In 1935, he was chosen to direct Katherine Hepburn in Alice Adams, and received his first two Oscar nominations, for Best Picture and Best Actress. Fifteen other actors would subsequently receive nominations in films by George Stevens. Here is a list of his nominated films, with the number of nominations and Oscars won:
Alice Adams (1935) 2/-
Swing Time (1936) 2/1
Quality Street (1937) 1/-
A Damsel in Distress (1937) 2/1
Vivacious Lady (1938) 2/-
Gunga Din (1939) 1/-
Penny Serenade (1941) 1/-
Woman of the Year (1942) 2/1
Talk of the Town (1942) 7/-
The More the Merrier (1943) 6/1
I Remember Mama (1948) 5/-
A Place in the Sun (1951) 9/6
Shane (1953) 6/1
Giant (1956) 10/1
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) 8/3
The Greatest Story Ever Told ((1965) 5/-
George Stevens seems to have had two contrasting directing careers. In his first decade. his films, although sometimes touching on serious subjects, tended to be warm and humorous, with two Fred Astaire musicals, two Jean Arthur comedies, and the classic adventure Gunga Din among his hits. After World War II, his movies grew more intense. In 1944, Stevens headed up a combat motion picture company, and was on the beach, filming the D-Day invasion at Normandy. He also filmed the liberation of Dachau, the German prison camp where mass exterminations had taken place. Returning after the war to Hollywood, he helmed I Remember Mama in 1948, which continued his family-type fare. His next film, though, broke new ground for him. Based on Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy", A Place in the Sun (1951) cast a sobering view of a young man's drive to attain the 'American Dream', no matter what the cost. Stevens' abundant use of extreme close-ups magnified the intensity of his characters, and, with a deliberate editing technique using slow dissolves, the filmgoer could empathize with their difficulties.
George Stevens would continue to make serious and often moving films over the next two decades. His films Shane, Giant and The Diary of Anne Frank, were all nominated for Best Picture. Two of his nominated actors won Oscars for performances in Stevens' films: Charles Coburn (The More the Merrier) and Shelley Winters (The Diary of Anne Frank). Unlike many great directors who worked predominantly at one studio for most of their careers, Stevens produced the majority of his best known films, including all the movies he received Best Director nominations for.
George Stevens was nominated five times for Best Director, winning for A Place in the Sun and Giant. His other nominations: The More the Merrier, Shane, and The Diary of Anne Frank.
Some of his other films that did not receive Oscar consideration: Annie Oakley, Vigil in the Night, Something to Live For, and The Only Game in Town.
George Stevens died on March 8, 1975, of a heart attack, in Lancaster, California. He was 70 years old.
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