Comedy actress Alice Howell on the cover of film historian Anthony Slide’s latest book: Pioneering funky-haired performer “could have been Chaplin” – or at the very least another Louise Fazenda. Rediscovering comedy actress Alice Howell: Female performer in movie field dominated by men Early comedy…
George Stevens: one of the most well-regarded filmmakers of studio era and the winner of two Best Director Academy Awards (A Place in the Sun, 1951; Giant, 1956).Two-time Best Director Oscar winner George Stevens was one of most respected filmmakers of the studio era
Filmmaker George Stevens was born on Dec. 18, 1904, in Oakland, California, into a family of theatrical performers.
The director of about two dozen narrative features, Stevens was one of the most widely admired filmmakers of the studio era. (See Alt Film Guide’s George Stevens-related posts further below.)
Over the course of 35 years, his credits encompassed all types of genres: comedies (Bachelor Bait, The Nitwits), Westerns (Annie Oakley, Shane), musicals (Swing Time, A Damsel in Distress), adventure/action (Gunga Din), romantic dramas (Laddie, Alice Adams, Vigil in the Night), romantic comedies (Vivacious Lady, The More the Merrier), family dramas (Penny Serenade, I Remember Mama, Giant), social commentaries (The Talk of the Town, A Place in the Sun, Something to Live For, The Diary of Anne Frank), and religious spectacles (The Greatest Story Ever Told).
George Stevens won two Best Director Academy Awards: for A Place in the Sun (1951) and Giant (1956). Neither film won Best Picture.
George Stevens movies
Key George Stevens movies include:
- Alice Adams (1935).
Cast: Katharine Hepburn. Fred MacMurray. - Gunga Din (1939).
Cast: Cary Grant. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Victor McLaglen. Sam Jaffe. Joan Fontaine. - The Talk of the Town (1942).
Cast: Jean Arthur. Cary Grant. Ronald Colman. Glenda Farrell. - The More the Merrier (1943).
Cast: Jean Arthur. Joel McCrea. Charles Coburn. - I Remember Mama (1948).
Cast: Irene Dunne. Barbara Bel Geddes. Philip Dorn. Oskar Homolka. Ellen Corby. - A Place in the Sun (1951).
Cast: Montgomery Clift. Elizabeth Taylor. Shelley Winters. - Shane (1953).
Cast: Alan Ladd. Jean Arthur. Van Heflin. Brandon De Wilde. Jack Palance. - Giant (1956).
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor. Rock Hudson. James Dean. Mercedes McCambridge. Carroll Baker. Dennis Hopper. - The Diary of Anne Frank (1959).
Cast: Millie Perkins. Shelley Winters. Ed Wynn. Richard Beymer. Diane Baker. - The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).
Cast: Max Von Sydow. Dorothy McGuire. Charlton Heston. José Ferrer. Roddy McDowall. Claude Rains. Telly Savalas.
His final effort was the critical and box office misfire The Only Game in Town (1970), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Warren Beatty.
George Stevens died at age 70 on March 8, 1975, in Lancaster, in northern Los Angeles County.
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Mother roles: Teresa Wright in The Actress, with daughter Jean Simmons and husband Spencer Tracy. Teresa Wright in the 1950s: From Marlon Brando leading lady to spinsters and mother roles in less than five years (See preceding post: “Teresa Wright vs. Samuel Goldwyn: Nasty Falling…
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Jean Arthur. Jean Arthur films on TCM includes three Frank Capra classics of the 1930s Five Jean Arthur films will be shown this evening, Monday, Jan. 5, ’15, on Turner Classic Movies. Among these are three titles directed by Frank Capra, the man who helped…
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Shane with Alan Ladd. ‘Shane’: Alan Ladd stars in classic Western to be screened at the Academy The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a 60th anniversary screening of George Stevens’ classic Western Shane, starring Alan Ladd as a lone and mysterious…
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Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea in The More the Merrier. The delightful actress Jean Arthur is Turner Classic Movies’ star of the evening tonight. Beginning at 5 p.m. PT, TCM will show five Jean Arthur movies: The Talk of the Town (1942), History Is Made…
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I Remember Mama with Irene Dunne, Philip Dorn, Barbara Bel Geddes, Steve Brown: George Stevens immigrant family drama. George Stevens’ film series on Turner Classic Movies continues tonight with a potpourri of films: the romantic drama Alice Adams (1935), the period comedy Quality Street (1937),…
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Swing Time movie: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (top); choreographer Hermes Pan, Fred Astaire, and director George Stevens on the set of Swing Time (bottom). The George Stevens-directed Ginger Rogers-Fred Astaire musical Swing Time will be presented as part of the Academy of Motion Picture…
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Cary Grant and Jean Arthur in The Talk of the Town (top); Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in Woman of the Year (bottom). Actor Cary Grant collaborated with director George Stevens on three films: the 1939 pro-colonialism adventure Gunga Din; the 1941 family melodrama Penny…
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James Dean Giant: George Stevens sprawling Texas-set family drama. George Stevens will be the star attraction of Turner Classic Movies’ Monday evenings in April. The series begins tonight at 5 p.m. PDT with a showing of Giant (1956), one of Stevens’ best-known films. Some find…
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Gunga Din movie: Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. George Stevens’ proudly “politically incorrect” – and for the most part much admired – action-adventure tale Gunga Din will have a special screening on Friday, June 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of…
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George Stevens. George Stevens’ ‘The More the Merrier’ movie screening: Oscar-Nominated romantic comedy stars Jean Arthur & Joel McCrea + Charles Coburn As part of its George Stevens Lecture on Directing series, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a special screening…
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The Hard Way with Joan Leslie and Ida Lupino. ‘The Hard Way’ movie at the American Cinematheque: Director Vincent Sherman homage On Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 7:30 p.m., the American Cinematheque in Hollywood will honor director Vincent Sherman, who died this past June 18, with…
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Director George Stevens with James Dean on the set of Giant (1956), which earned Stevens his second Academy Award. The previous one had been for the socially conscious romantic drama A Place in the Sun (1951). Curiously, neither film topped the Best Picture category.[1] Studio…