Director of the Month: George Stevens

One of the great, if often unheralded American directors, it is astounding when you look at the breadth of George Stevens work. His catalogue of films rivals those of the other American greats such as John Ford, Howard Hawks, Frank Capra, and William Wyler. His films also evolved over time as he changed with the times.

Stevens got his start working at the company of Hal Roach as an assistant cameraman where he worked on B-westerns and the comedy productions of Laurel & Hardy. This training with the camera would influence him later as a director because he would also pay close attention to details. The mise-en-scene and the relationships between his characters were of the utmost importance to him. Despite, these aesthetic aspects he never lost sight of the humanity in his films.

Soon Stevens had moved on to directing and his credits include the quintessential Astaire-Rogers vehicle Swing Time (1936), along with the swash-buckling thriller Gunga Din (1939). Then during the early years of the war he had a string of solid films including the comedies Women of the Year (1942), The Talk of the Town (1943), and More the Merrier (1943). In the waning years of WWII he would begin to shoot footage of the war and concentration camps as well. This reality would deeply impact Stevens and as a result his post-war films were also impacted. His so-called "American Trilogy" included the tragic drama A Place in the Sun (1951), the western Shane (1953), and the epic Giant (1956). In these three films we see signs of a man disillusioned who turned away from the comedy and crafted films with a heavier tones and more complex themes.

With these films Stevens solidified his legacy as an American Film Legend and despite what anyone might say it would be difficult to take that away from him. Other notable films of his include: Vivacious Lady (1948), I Remember Mama (1938), and the Diary of Anne Frank (1959).