John Huston (1906–1987) was an American filmmaker and actor. Praised as a "renaissance man" of American cinema, Huston directed 37 feature films over the course of more than four decades, working in several genres including film noir, adventure, war drama, and the Western, establishing him as one of the leading filmmakers of classical Hollywood. As an actor, Huston performed in over 30 roles. Many of his films were literary adaptations, often drawn from notable novels and stage works, and frequently engaged with what have been described as the "grand narratives" of the 20th century; author Ian Freer described him as "cinema’s Ernest Hemingway.
In the early 1930s, Huston began his career in the film industry as a screenwriter at the outset of Hollywood's Golden Age and the arrival of sound cinema. While working under Universal Studios, he wrote the dialogue for several pre-Code films, including the 1932 features Murders in the Rue Morgue, A House Divided, and Law and Order. His early writing career ended abruptly when he struck and killed actress Tosca Roulien in an automobile accident; after a four-year hiatus, he returned to Hollywood in 1937, working as a scriptwriter with Warner Brothers Studio. Over the following years, he co-wrote several major films, including Jezebel (1938), Juarez (1939), Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940), and Raoul Walsh's 1941 feature High Sierra, starring Humphrey Bogart in one of his earliest breakthrough roles. Huston received his first Academy Awards nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his work on Ehrlich, followed by two nominations the following year for his screenplays on his film The Maltese Falcon and Howard Hawks' critically acclaimed 1941 biopic Sergeant York.
Huston marked his film directorial debut with his 1941 film noir picture The Maltese Falcon, the third film adaption of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel after the 1931 version by Roy Del Ruth and a less faithful adaptation in 1936 under the name Satan Met a Lady by William Dieterle. Starring Mary Astor and Humphrey Bogart alongside Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, Falcon was a critical and commercial success, and is now regarded as an early touchstone of the film noir genre, as well as one of the greatest films of all time; it also helped establish Bogart's status as a major Hollywood leading man.
Following the success of Falcon, Huston soon emerged as one of Warner Bros.’ leading directors. In 1942, he reunited with Humphrey Bogart for the wartime thriller Across the Pacific, while also directing In This Our Life, starring Bette Davis. During World War II, Huston served in the United States Army, where he directed several films for the Army Signal Corps, including Report from the Aleutians (1943), The Battle of San Pietro (1945), and Let There Be Light (1946).
Returning to feature filmmaking after the war, Huston directed the neo-western adventure picture The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), adapted from the 1927 novel by B. Traven. Starring Humphrey Bogart alongside Huston’s father, Walter Huston, the film was both a critical and commercial success, with Huston receiving Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay and his father winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He followed this success with Key Largo (1948), a film noir crime drama that reunited Bogart with Lauren Bacall for the fourth and final time. Over the following decades, Huston remained one of Hollywood's most acclaimed directors, directing films such as The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), The Misfits (1961), and The Man Who Would Be King (1975), before concluding his career with The Dead (1987).
Films directed Feature films
+ +YearTitleFunctioned asNotesDirectorProducerWriterActor1941The Maltese FalconThe third film adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel, following the 1931 version directed by Roy Del Ruth and the 1936 film Satan Met a Lady directed by William Dieterle1942In This Our LifeBased on the 1941 novel of the same title by Ellen GlasgowAcross the PacificReplaced for the last two weeks of filming by Vincent Sherman; the screenplay by Richard Macauley was an adaptation of a 1941 Saturday Evening Post serial by Robert Carson1948The Treasure of the Sierra MadreUncreditedBased on B. Traven's 1927 novel of the same name; Huston makes an uncredited appearance as the "Man in White Suit"Key LargoCo-writer with Richard Brooks; based on Maxwell Anderson's 1939 play of the same nameKey Largo at the Internet_Broadway_DatabaseMeyers, Jeffrey. Bogart: A Life in Hollywood. London: Andre Deutsch Ltd., 1997. . p. 236On Our Merry WayUncreditedAt the time of its release, King Vidor and Leslie Fenton were credited as the film's directors. Later DVD releases also credited Huston and George Stevens, who assisted with one of the film's segments. 1949We Were Strangers UncreditedCo-writer with Peter Viertel; Huston has an uncredited appearance as Señor Muñoz1950The Asphalt JungleCo-writer with Ben Maddow; based on the 1949 novel by W. R. Burnett1951The Red Badge of CourageCo-writer with Albert Band; based on Stephen Crane's 1895 novel of the same nameThe African QueenCo-writer with James Agee; based on C. S. Forester's 1935 novel of the same name 1952Moulin RougeCo-writer with Anthony Veiller; based on Pierre La Mure's 1950 novel of the same name 1953Beat the DevilCo-writer with Truman Capote; loosely based upon the 1951 novel of the same name by British journalist Claud Cockburn writing under the pseudonym James Helvick. 1956Moby Dick UncreditedCo-writer with Ray Bradbury; Huston makes an uncredited appearance as the "Ship’s Lookout"1957Heaven Knows, Mr. AllisonCo-writer with John Lee Mahin; based on Charles Shaw's 1952 novel of the same name 1958The Barbarian and the GeishaScreenplay by Charles Grayson; story by Ellis St. JosephThe Roots of HeavenScreenplay by Romain Gary and Patrick Leigh Fermor; based on Romain Gary's 1956 novel of the same name1960The UnforgivenThe final production by Hecht-Hill-Lancaster (HHL); written by Ben Maddow and David Wolff; based on Alan Le May's 1957 novel of the same name1961The Misfits Screenplay by Arthur Miller, who adapted his own 1957 short story1962Freud: The Secret Passion UncreditedScreenplay by Charles Kaufman and Wolfgang Reinhardt; Huston appears as the uncredited narrator1963The List of Adrian Messenger UncreditedScreenplay by Anthony Veiller; based on Philip MacDonald's 1959 novel of the same name; Huston portrays the role of Lord Ashton1964The Night of the IguanaCo-writer with Anthony Veiller; based on Tennessee Williams' 1961 play of the same name1966The Bible: In the Beginning...Screenplay by Christopher Fry; includes additional material by Orson Welles, Ivo Perilli, Jonathan Griffin, Mario Soldati and Vittorio Bonicelli. Welles and Soldati are uncredited; based on the Book of Genesis; Huston appears in the dual roles of Noah and God, as well as a narrator1967Reflections in a Golden EyeScreenplay by Chapman Mortimer and Gladys Hill; based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Carson McCullersCasino RoyaleCo-director with Ken Hughes, Joseph McGrath, Robert Parrish, and Val Guest; screenplay by Wolf Mankowitz, John Law, and Michael Sayers; loosely based on the 1953 novel Casino Royale, the first novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond book series; Huston portrays the role of M, the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service for the agency known as MI61969Sinful DaveyScreenplay by James R. Webb; based on the novel The Life of David Haggart by David Haggart; featuring an early appearance of Fionnula Flanagan; Huston's daughter Anjelica Huston appears uncredited as an extraA Walk with Love and DeathScreenplay by Dale Wasserman; based on the 1961 novel of the same title by Hans Koningsberger; Huston appears in the role of Robert the Elder1970The Kremlin LetterCo-writer with Gladys Hill; adapted from Noel Behn's 1966 novel of the same title; Huston performs in the role of "Admiral"1972Fat CityAdapted by Leonard Gardner from his 1969 novel of the same titleThe Life and Times of Judge Roy BeanScreenplay by John Milius; loosely based on the life of Roy Bean, an American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas; Huston appears in the role of Grizzly Adams1973The Mackintosh ManScreenplay by Walter Hill; based on the novel The Freedom Trap by English author Desmond Bagley1975The Man Who Would Be KingCo-writer with Gladys Hill; adapted from Rudyard Kipling's 1888 novella. A longtime passion project for Huston, development originally began in the late-1950s. 1976IndependenceScreenplay by Tom McGrath, Joyce Ritter, and Lloyd Ritter1979Wise BloodScreenplay by Benedict Fitzgerald and Michael Fitzgerald; based on Flannery O'Connor's 1952 Southern Gothic novel of the same name; Huston performs in the role of "Grandfather"1980PhobiaScreenplay by Peter Bellwood, Lew Lehman and Jimmy Sangster; from a story by Ronald Shusett and Gary Sherman; the only horror film directed by Huston, and his only film produced in CanadaGerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 169-170.1981Escape to VictoryScreenplay by Evan Jones and Yabo Yablonsky; from a story by Yahoo Yablonsky, Djordje Milićević, and Jeff Maguire; based on the 1961 novel Two Half Times in Hell by Zoltán Fábri1982Annie UncreditedScreenplay by Carol Sobieski; based on the 1977 Broadway musical of the same name by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan, which in turn is based on the Little Orphan Annie comic strip created by Harold Gray; Huston is featured in the uncredited role of "Actor on Radio"1984Under the VolcanoAdapted by Guy Gallo from Malcolm Lowry's semi-autobiographical 1947 novel1985Prizzi's HonorThe screenplay co-written by Richard Condon is based on his 1982 novel of the same name1987The DeadScreenplay by Huston's son Tony Huston; an adaptation of the 1914 short story of the same name by James Joyce
Documentaries +YearTitleDirectorWriterOtherNotes1942Winning Your WingsCo-directed with Owen Crump (uncredited)1943Report from the AleutiansAlso writer (uncredited), producer, editor (uncredited), and co-narrator1944Tunisian VictoryCo-directed with Frank Capra, John Huston, Anthony Veiller, Hugh Stewart and Roy Boulting; due to much of the original combat footage from Operation Torch having been lost, Huston was tasked with recreating several battle sequences. Huston staged additional combat and liberation scenes, including aerial sequences filmed in the Mojave Desert and Orlando, Florida, to supplement the surviving footage.Turner Classic Movies interview with Mark Harris, September 2, 2015, 1:45 a.m. EST1945The Battle of San PietroAlso writer, narrator, and editor (uncredited); the film was released in the United States in 1945 but shown to military personnel earlier.Know Your Enemy: JapanThe film's completion was delayed by disputes between Hollywood and the U.S. military, and the end of the Pacific War shortly after its August 1945 release limited its intended impact. It was not publicly screened until 1977, when it aired as part of a PBS special; Huston was initially considered to direct the film before Frank Capra and Joris Ivens themselves took the role.1981Let There Be Light UncreditedCompleted 1946–48; co-writer with Charles Kaufman; featuring narration by Huston's father Walter Huston; the last in a series of four films directed by Huston while serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II.
Uncompleted films