George Stevens

For other people named George Stevens, see George Stevens (disambiguation).

George Stevens
Born	(1904-12-18)December 18, 1904 Oakland, California, United States
Died	March 8, 1975(1975-03-08) (aged 70) Lancaster, California, United States
Cause of death	Heart attack
Occupation	director, cinematographer, actor, writer, producer
Years active	1915–1970
Spouse(s)	Yvonne Howell (1930–1947) Joan McTavish (1968–1975)
Children	George Stevens, Jr.
Awards	Academy Award for Best Director nominated in 1943 for The More the Merrier awarded in 1951 for A Place in the Sun nominated in 1954 for Shane awarded in 1956 for Giant nominated in 1959 for The Diary of Anne Frank Legion of Merit star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1954) National Board of Review Award for Best Director New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director

George Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.

Among his most notable films are A Place in the Sun (1951; winner of six Academy Awards including Best Director), Shane (1953; Oscar nominated), Giant (1956; Oscar for Best Director), and Diary of Anne Frank (1959; nominated for Best Director).

Biography

Film career

He was born in Oakland, California, and his family included his father Landers Stevens and his mother Georgie Cooper, both stage actors. His uncle was drama critic Ashton Stevens. He also had two brothers, Jack and writer Aston Stevens. He learned about the stage from his parents and worked and toured with them, on his way to filmmaking. He broke into the movie business as a cameraman, working on many Laurel and Hardy short films, such as Night Owls (1930). His first feature film was The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble in 1933.

In 1934 he got his first directing job, the slapstick Kentucky Kernels. His big break came when he directed Katharine Hepburn in Alice Adams in 1935. He went on in the late 1930s to direct several Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire movies, not only with the two actors together, but on their own. In 1940, he directed Carole Lombard in Vigil in the Night, and the film has an alternate ending for European audiences in recognition of World War II, which the US had not yet entered.

During World War II, Stevens joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and headed a film unit from 1943 to 1946, under General Eisenhower. His unit shot footage documenting D-Day—including the only Allied European Front color film of the war—the liberation of Paris and the meeting of American and Soviet forces at the Elbe River, as well as 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. In 2008, his footage 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 World War II experiences was that his subsequent films became more dramatic. I Remember Mama in 1948 was the last movie that he made with comic scenes. He was responsible for such classic films as A Place in the Sun, Shane, The Diary of Anne Frank, Giant and The Greatest Story Ever Told. He ended his directing career with the 1970 film The Only Game in Town with Warren Beatty and Elizabeth Taylor. In the same year, he 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.

Personal life

Stevens was the father of television and film writer-producer-director George Stevens, Jr., the first CEO and director of the American Film Institute, He produced and directed the documentary George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey in 1984 and is the father of Stevens' grandson Michael Stevens, also a television and film producer-director.

Death

Stevens died following a heart attack on March 8, 1975 on his ranch in Lancaster, California, north of Los Angeles.

Awards

As a lieutenant colonel in the United States 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.

Stevens has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1701 Vine Street. He won the Academy Award for Best Director twice, in 1951 for A Place in the Sun and in 1956 for Giant. He was also nominated in 1943 for The More the Merrier, in 1954 for Shane, and in 1959 for The Diary of Anne Frank.

Filmography

Year	Title	Production Co.	Cast	Notes
1930	Ladies Last	Hal Roach Studios		3rd episode from the "Boy Friends" series
1931	Blood and Thunder	Hal Roach Studios		4th episode from the "Boy Friends" series
1931	High Gear	Hal Roach Studios		5th episode from the "Boy Friends" series
1931	Air-Tight	Hal Roach Studios		7th episode from the "Boy Friends" series
1931	Call a Cop!	Hal Roach Studios		8th episode from the "Boy Friends" series
1931	Mama Loves Papa	Hal Roach Studios		9th episode from the "Boy Friends" series
1931	The Kick-Off!	Hal Roach Studios		10th episode from the "Boy Friends" series
1932	Who, Me?	Universal		Short film
1932	The Finishing Touch	Universal		Short film
1932	Boys Will Be Boys	Universal		Short film
1933	A Divorce Courtship	Universal		Short film
1933	Family Troubles	Universal		Short film
1933	Rock-a-Bye Cowboy	Universal		Short film
1933	Should Crooners Marry	Universal		Short film
1933	The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble	Universal	George Sidney/ Charles Murray	Part of "The Cohens and Kellys" comedy series
1933	Room Mates	Universal		Short film
1933	Quiet Please!	RKO		Short film
1933	Flirting in the Park	RKO	June Brewster/ Carol Tevis	Part of "The Blonde and The Redhead" comedy series
1933	What Fur	RKO		Short film
1933	Grin and Bear It	RKO		Short film
1934	Ocean Swells	RKO		Short film
1934	The Undie-World	RKO	June Brewster/ Carol Tevis	Part of "The Blonde and The Redhead" comedy series
1934	Cracked Shots	RKO		Short film
1934	Hollywood Party	MGM	Hollywood Revue	In an attempt to salvage the film Harry Rapf hired Stevens, and 8 other directors, to direct a sequence for the film.
1934	Bachelor Bait	RKO	Stuart Erwin/ Rochelle Hudson
1934	Kentucky Kernels	RKO	Robert Woolsey/ Bert Wheeler/ George McFarland
1935	Bridal Bail	RKO	June Brewster/ Carol Tevis	Part of "The Blonde and The Redhead" comedy series
1935	Hunger Pains	RKO	June Brewster/ Carol Tevis	Part of "The Blonde and The Redhead" comedy series
1935	Laddie	RKO
1935	The Nitwits	RKO	Robert Woolsey/ Bert Wheeler/ Betty Grable
1935	Alice Adams	RKO	Katharine Hepburn/ Fred MacMurray
1935	Annie Oakley	RKO	Barbara Stanwyck
1936	Swing Time	RKO	Fred Astaire/ Ginger Rogers
1937	Quality Street	RKO	Katharine Hepburn/ Franchot Tone
1937	A Damsel in Distress	RKO	Fred Astaire/ Joan Fontaine/ George Burns/ Gracie Allen
1938	Vivacious Lady	RKO	Ginger Rogers/ Jimmy Stewart
1939	Gunga Din	RKO	Cary Grant/ Douglas Fairbanks Jr./ Victor McLaglen/ Joan Fontaine
1940	Vigil in the Night	RKO	Carole Lombard/ Brian Aherne/ Anne Shirley
1941	Penny Serenade	Columbia	Cary Grant/ Irene Dunne
1942	Woman of the Year	MGM	Spencer Tracy/ Katharine Hepburn
1942	The Talk of the Town	Columbia	Cary Grant/ Jean Arthur/ Ronald Colman
1943	The More the Merrier	Columbia	Jean Arthur/ Charles Coburn/ Joel McCrea
1945	That Justice Be Done	War Activities Committee		Documentary/ Short film
1945	Nazi Concentration Camps			Documentary
1945	The Nazi Plan	U.S. Council for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality		Documentary
1948	On Our Merry Way	Miracle Productions		Anthology story/ Co-directed a sequence
1948	I Remember Mama	RKO	Irene Dunne
1951	A Place in the Sun	Paramount	Montgomery Clift/ Elizabeth Taylor/ Shelley Winters
1952	Something to Live For	MGM	Joan Fontaine/ Ray Milland/
1953	Shane	Paramount	Alan Ladd	Technicolor film
1956	Giant	Warner Bros.	Elizabeth Taylor/ Rock Hudson/ James Dean	Warnercolor film
1959	The Diary of Anne Frank	20th Century Fox	Millie Perkins/ Joseph Schildkraut/ Shelley Winters
1965	The Greatest Story Ever Told	George Stevens Prod.	Max von Sydow	Ultra Panavision 70 Technicolor film
1970	The Only Game in Town	20th Century Fox	Elizabeth Taylor/ Warren Beatty	Color film

Academy Awards

Year	Award	Film	Result
1942	Outstanding Motion Picture	The Talk of the Town	Sidney Franklin – Mrs. Miniver
1943	Outstanding Motion Picture	The More the Merrier	Hal B. Wallis – Casablanca
	Best Director		Michael Curtiz – Casablanca
1951	Best Motion Picture	A Place in the Sun	Arthur Freed – An American in Paris
	Best Director		Won
1953	Best Motion Picture	Shane	Buddy Adler – From Here to Eternity
	Best Director		Fred Zinnemann – From Here to Eternity
	Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award		Won
1956	Best Motion Picture	Giant	Mike Todd – Around the World in 80 Days
	Best Director		Won
1959	Best Motion Picture	The Diary of Anne Frank	Sam Zimbalist – Ben-Hur (Posthumous)
	Best Director		William Wyler – Ben-Hur

Directed Academy Award performances

Year	Performer	Film	Result
Academy Award for Best Actor
1941	Cary Grant	Penny Serenade	Nominated
1951	Montgomery Clift	A Place in the Sun	Nominated
1956	James Dean	Giant	Nominated
1956	Rock Hudson	Giant	Nominated
Academy Award for Best Actress
1935	Katharine Hepburn	Alice Adams	Nominated
1942	Katharine Hepburn	Woman of the Year	Nominated
1943	Jean Arthur	The More the Merrier	Nominated
1948	Irene Dunne	I Remember Mama	Nominated
1951	Shelley Winters	A Place in the Sun	Nominated
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1943	Charles Coburn	The More the Merrier	Won
1948	Oskar Homolka	I Remember Mama	Nominated
1953	Brandon deWilde	Shane	Nominated
1953	Jack Palance	Shane	Nominated
1959	Ed Wynn	The Diary of Anne Frank	Nominated
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1948	Barbara Bel Geddes	I Remember Mama	Nominated
1948	Ellen Corby	I Remember Mama	Nominated
1956	Mercedes McCambridge	Giant	Nominated
1959	Shelley Winters	The Diary of Anne Frank	Won

Academy Awards in George Stevens Films

Year	Film	Academy Award Nominations	Academy Award Wins
1935	Alice Adams	2	0
1936	Swing Time	2	1
1937	Quality Street	1	0
	A Damsel in Distress	2	1
1938	Vivacious Lady	2	0
1939	Gunga Din	1	0
1941	Penny Serenade	1	0
1942	Woman of the Year	2	1
	The Talk of the Town	7	0
1943	The More the Merrier	6	1
1948	I Remember Mama	5	0
1951	A Place in the Sun	9	6
1953	Shane	6	1
1956	Giant	10	1
1959	The Diary of Anne Frank	8	3
1965	The Greatest Story Ever Told	5	0

Bibliography

• Cronin, Paul: George Stevens: Interviews. Jackson, MI, University Press of Mississippi, 2004. ISBN 1-57806-639-5
• Moss, Marilyn Ann: Giant: George Stevens, a Life on Film. Madison, WI, University of Wisconsin Press, 2004. ISBN 0-299-20430-8
• Petri, Bruce: A Theory of American Film: The Films and Techniques of George Stevens. New York, Taylor & Francis, 1987. ISBN 0-8240-0070-6
• Richie, Donald: George Stevens: An American Romantic. New York, Taylor & Francis, 1984 (reprint of 1970 original). ISBN 0-8240-5773-2

External links

• George Stevens at the Internet Movie Database
• George Stevens: Movie Movie