George Cukor: Top Oscar Directors for Actors

Known as a refined “woman’s director,” George Cukor has had his considerable output either relegated to the sidelines or simply dismissed by those who like their directors macho and their films male-centered. Not helping matters is the general perception that Cukor was merely a hired hand for the likes of David O. Selznick at RKO and Louis B. Mayer at MGM, not an auteur following a clear professional path. Except, of course, for the (assumed) fact that he was a woman’s director — and we’re back to square one.
In truth, George Cukor was one of the most remarkable directors of the studio era. Like Elia Kazan, Cukor served his apprenticeship in the theater, thus developing into an excellent actor’s director. [...]

Best Films – 1949

Spencer Tracy, Judy Holliday, Katharine Hepburn in Adam’s Rib
FILM
Adam’s Rib
d: George Cukor; scr: Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
The Heiress
d: William Wyler; scr: Ruth Goetz, Augustus Goetz
I Was a Male War Bride
d: Howard Hawks; scr: Charles Lederer, Hagar Wilde, Leonard Spiegelglass
On the Town
d: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly; scr: Betty Comden, Adolph Green
The Passionate Friends
d: David Lean; scr: Eric Ambler
Passport to Pimlico
d: Henry Cornelius; scr: T. E. B. Clarke
A Run for Your Money
d: Charles Frend; scr: Richard Hughes, Charles Frend, Leslie Norman
The Set-Up
d: Robert Wise; scr: Art Cohn
Whisky Galore
d: Alexander Mackendrick; scr: Compton Mackenzie, Angus Macphail
White Heat
d: Raoul Walsh; scr: Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts
 

Rudy Vallee, Olga San Juan, Betty Grable in The Beautiful [...]