Happy Birthday, George Stevens! Born today in 1904 as George Cooper Stevens, this American cinematographer, screenwriter, producer and film director was a leading Hollywood craftsman, responsible for some fine films of the 1930s and 1940s, but whose later output tended toward the over-ambitious and excessive.
His films have also exhibited intelligence, great humanism, and brilliant camera techniques.
Born in Oakland, California, Stevens was the son of Landers Stevens and Georgie Cooper, both American stage actors.
American journalist and drama critic (and regarded as the dean of American drama critics) Ashton P. Stevens and early American actor, screenwriter and film director James W. Horne were his uncles.
Stevens also had two brothers, Jack, a cinematographer, and writer Aston Stevens. George later learned about the stage from his parents and worked and toured with them on his path to filmmaking.
Stevens later broke into the film business as a cameraman, working on many of short films starring Laurel and Hardy.
In the mid-1930s, Steven's big break came when he directed Katharine Hepburn in the 1935 American black and white romance/drama film 'Alice Adams'.
The following year, Stevens directed the first film of which he is best known. This was the 1936 American black and white musical/comedy film 'Swing Time' for RKO, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
The film had been based on the screen story "Portrait of John Garnett" by Erwin S. Gelsey.
Three years later, Stevens produced and directed the second film of which he is best known. This was the 1939 American black and white adventure/war film 'Gunga Din', another feature for RKO.
The film starred Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sam Jaffe, Victor McLaglen and Joan Fontaine.
The story for the film was c-conceived by American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist Ben Hecht and based on Rudyard Kipling's 1890 poem of the same name.
Three years later, Stevens directed his second film starring Hepburn, being the 1942 American black and white comedy/romance drama film 'Woman of the Year'. It also co-starred Spencer Tracy.
During World War II, Stevens joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and headed a film unit from 1943-46, under General Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower.
Stevens was later made an officer, as his unit shot in vivid color film stock of such historical milestones: footage documenting D-Day—including the only Allied European Front color film of the war—the liberation of Paris, France and the meeting of American and Soviet forces at the Elbe River.
This also included the horrific scenes from the Duben labor camp and the Dachau concentration camp. Stevens also helped prepare the Duben and Dachau footage and other material for presentation during the Nuremberg Trials.
During this time, Stevens was nominated an Oscar for his 1943 American black and white comedy/romance film 'The More the Merrier'. However, he didn't win. This occurred at the 16th Academy Awards in early March 1944.
One result of his World War II experiences was that Stevens' subsequent films became more dramatic.
In the early 1950s, Stevens produced and directed the third film of which he is best known. This was the 1951 American black and white drama/romance film 'A Place in the Sun'. Upon release, it was a critical and commercial success.
The film was based on American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school Theodore Dreiser's 1925 romance tragedy crime legal story fiction novel An American Tragedy.
The following year, 'A Place in the Sun' won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. It was the first-ever Golden Globe award for a film in this category. This occurred at the 9th Golden Globe awards in later February 1952.
One month later, the film won six Oscars for Best Directing, Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Best Music (Original Score), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Film Editing and Best Costume Design. This occurred at the 24th Academy Awards in late March 1952.
One year later, Stevens produced and directed the fourth film of which he is best known. This was the 1953 American Technicolor Western/drama film 'Shane', starring Alan Ladd as the eponymous lead.
The following year, 'Shane' won an Oscar for Best Cinematography. The film was the only Best Picture Oscar nominee that year not to be nominated in either of the lead acting categories. This occurred at the 26th Academy Awards in late March 1954.
Two years later, Stevens co-produced and directed his fifth and final film of which he is best known. This was the epic three-hour 1956 American WarnerColor drama/Western film 'Giant'.
On a budget of $5.4 million, the film grossed $39 million at the box office.
The film stars Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean and features Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Rod Taylor, Elsa Cárdenas and Earl Holliman.
'Giant' was based on American novelist, short story writer and playwright Edna Ferber's 1952 western domestic fiction novel of the same name.
'Giant' was the last of James Dean's three films as a leading actor, and earned him his second and last Academy Award nomination – he was killed in a car crash before the film was released.
Because of this, American film and television actor and screenwriter Nick Adams was called in to do some voice dubbing for Dean's role.
One year later, 'Giant' received nine Oscar nominations but won one for Best Directing. This occurred at the 29th Academy Awards in late march 1957.
On February 8, 1960, Stevens was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located at 1701 Vine Street.
Two months later, Stevens was nominated an Oscar for his three-hour 1959 American black and white war/drama film 'The Diary of Anne Frank', based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1955 play of the same name. However, he didn't win.
Despite this, the film won three Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Shelly Winters), Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-andWhite. This occurred at the 32nd Academy Awards in early April 1960.
Five years later, Stevens produced and directed the epic four-hour 1965 American dram film 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'.
David Lean and Romanian-American film director and screenwriter Jean Negulesco had directed some scenes, but went uncredited.
The epic is a retelling of the Biblical account about Jesus of Nazareth, from the Nativity through to the Ascension.
Along with the ensemble cast, (starring Max von Sydow as Jesus), it is Claude Rains's final film role (as King Herod).
The following year, 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' received five Oscar nominations. However, it didn't win. This occurred at the 38th Academy Awards in mid-April 1966.
Stevens ended his directing career with the 1970 American drama/romance film 'The Only Game in Town', starring Warren Beatty and Elizabeth Taylor.
Later that same year, Stevens was head of the jury at the 20th Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1973, he was a member of the jury at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival in July.
Two years later, Stevens passed following a heart attack on March 8, 1975 on his ranch in Lancaster, California. He was 70. Stevens is interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles.
According to his personal life, Stevens was the father of American writer, author, playwright, director and producer George Stevens, Jr.
Stevens was also the founder of the American Film Institute, creator of the AFI Life Achievement Award and instigator/producer of the Kennedy Center Honors.
In the mid-1980s, Stevens, Jr. produced and directed a biographical feature about his father.
This was with the 1984 American documentary film 'George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey'. Much of the footage that his father had captured during World War II was incorporated into the film.
In 1991, 'A Place in the Sun' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 1993, 'Shane' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 1999, 'Swing Time' was one of Entertainment Weekly's top 100 films.
Also in 1999, 'Gunga Din' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Still in 1999, 'Woman of the Year’ was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 2004, 'Swing Time' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In the new AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) it has been added at #90.
In 2005, 'Giant' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 2006, 'The Diary of Anne Frank' was honored as the eighteenth most inspiring American film on the list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers.
On AFI's 100 Years... 100 Quotes list, the line "Shane. Shane. Come back!" ranked in at #47.
In the 2007 edition of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list, and No. 3 on AFI's 10 Top 10 in the 'Western' category, 'Shane' was listed No. 45.
In 2008, Stevens' footage of D-Day amongst his other film stock was entered into the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as an "essential visual record" of World War II.
One result of his experiences while in combat was that his subsequent films became more dramatic afterwards.
As a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, Stevens headed the U.S. Army Signal Corps unit that filmed the Normandy landings and the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. For these contributions, he was awarded the Legion of Merit.
The moving image collection of Stevens is held at the Academy Film Archive. The film material at the Academy Film Archive is complemented by material in the Stevens papers at the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library.
At first glance, Stevens appeared to be the quintessential Hollywood director.
However, a closer look at his achievements showed him much more than just the creator of some of the smartest melodramas and screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, and several of the most important and enduring studio dramas of postwar American cinema.
As a leading producer/director of his era, Stevens repeatedly pushed against the Hollywood grain, and nearly twenty-five years after his death, his achievements remain largely unexplored.
Many of Hollywood's then most popular actors – including Irene Dunne, Katharine Hepburn, Alan Ladd, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Montgomery Clift and Ginger Rogers – all give some of their finest performances in Stevens' films.
Said John Ford: "George Stevens can take an ordinary performance and edit it into a brilliant one, the way a good newspaperman trims a reporter's story to make it read better."
As Rock Hudson, the star of 'Giant', explains, "I asked a lot of people 'What's it like to work with George Stevens?' They all said, 'Just make yourself a piece of putty, put yourself in his hands, and he'll do it all."
Stevens also commanded great respect from many of his fellow filmmakers, who elected him twice as President of the Screen Director's Guild.
It also speaks volumes that in the midst of problems during the filming of 'The Greatest Story Ever Told,' the directors Lean (fresh from international success 'Lawrence of Arabia') and Negulesco volunteered to shoot second-unit to help pull the production back on its feet.
Stevens' body of work seems more coherent and impressive than if the films are taken individually. To look at the thirty-four features as a whole allows audiences to become aware of the themes that so pre-occupied Stevens throughout his career.
Stevens was known as a meticulous craftsman, for possessing a brilliant eye for composition and displaying a sensitive touch with actors.
He is one of the great American filmmakers, ranking with American film director John Ford, William Wyler and Howard Hawks as a creator of classic Hollywood cinema, bringing to the screen mytho-poetic worlds that were also mass entertainment.
One of the most honored and respected directors in Hollywood history, Stevens enjoyed a great degree of independence from studios, producing most of his own films after coming into his own as a director in the late 1930s.
Though his work ranged across all genres, including comedies, musicals and dramas, whatever he did carried the hallmark of his personal vision, which is predicated upon humanism.
Nicknamed The Indian and The Super Chief, Stevens had been active from 1915–1970.
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