John Huston Movies
An American film director who told stories about independent and adventurous men struggling for their individuality, John Huston led such a life, himself. His hyper-masculine protagonists seemed to stem from his own youthful pursuits as a boxer, competitive horseman, Calvary officer, and major in the U.S. Army. Married five times and divorced four (fourth wife Ricki Soma died in 1969), his reportedly bitter attitude toward women informed his female characters as either weak-willed prizes or seductive threats to manhood. Nevertheless, Huston's unconventional and rambling lifestyle led to some of the most celebrated American cinema, as well as the hub of three generations of Oscar winners.Born in Missouri to noted actor Walter Huston, his family traveled extensively on the vaudeville circuit. After riding horses in Mexico and magazine reporting in New York, the younger Huston secured a job writing dialogue in Hollywood. He started acting and published his first play, Frankie and Johnny, before wandering around London and Paris working as a street performer and artist. Upon his return, he worked as an editor and writer before convincing his employers at Warner Bros. to let him direct his first movie, The Maltese Falcon, in 1941. The popular source novel by mystery author Dashiell Hammett had been filmed twice before, but only Huston's adaptation would be remembered as a prime example of the classic film noir-detective story. It also made a star out of leading man Humphrey Bogart, whom Huston would cast in his next few films: Across the Pacific, Key Largo, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. An adventure drama shot in Mexico examining the nature of man's greed, Sierra Madre won him his first Oscar for Best Director and earned his father, Walter Huston, his first for Best Supporting Actor.
Continuing to write Hollywood screenplays and make military documentaries for the U.S. War Department, Huston's next big directorial success was in 1950 with the gritty caper film The Asphalt Jungle, another cinematic innovation in the crime genre. This was quickly followed by The African Queen, earning leading man Bogart his first and only Academy award for his role as drunken boat captain Charlie Allnut. Huston's next production, an adaptation of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, had a notorious history of production difficulties with MGM. In 1952, his biographical drama of painter Henri de Toulouse-Latrec, Moulin Rogue, won Oscars for art direction and costume design. In 1956, he and co-screenwriter Ray Bradbury conquered a major literary adaptation with Moby Dick, starring Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab. During this time, Huston had found a home for himself in Ireland with his wife and newborn daughter, Anjelica. After he quit during production of A Farewell to Arms, he then tried the African Queen romantic formula again with Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. In 1961, he directed The Misfits, the tragic last film of both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, co-starring Montgomery Clift (whom Huston would cast in the psychoanalyst title role of his next feature, Freud). Two more adaptations would follow: The List of Adrian Messenger from the mystery novel by Philip MacDonald and The Night of the Iguana from a play by Tennessee Williams.
After winning a Golden Globe for his supporting role in Otto Preminger's The Cardinal, Huston did odd acting projects for the next decade and directed A Walk With Love and Death, marking the film debut of daughter Anjelica. In 1974, he gave one of his most notable performances as the villainous Noah Cross in Roman Polanski's Chinatown. Huston made a brief comeback the following year as writer/director of the witty action-adventure saga The Man Who Would Be King, the black comedy Wise Blood, and the Broadway musical adaptation Annie. But his major comeback would be in 1985 with the crime comedy Prizzi's Honor, which earned Anjelica Huston her first Oscar for the supporting role of Maerose. She also starred in her father's last film, The Dead (1987), which was inspired by the James Joyce short story collection Dubliners. Huston died of pneumonia later that year in Newport, RI. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Farewell to Arms is the second film version of Ernest Hemingway's World War One novel--and also the last film produced by David O. Selznick (Gone with the Wind). Rock Hudson plays an American serving in the Italian Army during the "War to End All Wars". Jennifer Jones is his lover, a Red cross nurse. They have a torrid affair, which results in Jones' pregnancy. As the months pass, Hudson and Jones lose contact with one another, and Jones believes that Hudson has forgotten her. But a battle-weary Hudson finally makes it to Switzerland, where Jones is hospitalized. The baby is stillborn, and Jones dies shortly afterward, murmuring that her death is "a dirty trick." Filmed on a simpler scale in 1932 (with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes starring), A Farewell to Arms was blown all out of proportion to "epic" stature for the 1957 remake--so much so that its original director, John Huston, quit the film in disgust. Still, the basic love story is touchingly enacted by Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Jennifer Jones, (more)
- 1931
"A house divided against itself cannot stand" declared Abraham Lincoln; proof that a house divided can be repaired is provided in this early talkie effort from director William Wyler. Walter Huston plays alcoholic fisherman Seth Law, who, recently widowed, signs up for a mail-order bride. Ruth Evans (Helen Chandler), Seth's wife-to-be, is instantly attracted...to Seth's ne'er-do- well son, Matt (Kent Douglass). Father and son duke it out, leaving Seth crippled. Though he now despises Ruth, Seth aligns with his son to save the girl when a sudden storm blows up. Seth is killed, but he is satisfied that Ruth is happy and that his son is not the wastrel he thought he was. Interestingly enough, the dialogue for A House Divided was penned by Walter Huston's own son, John. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Huston, Kent Douglass, (more)
- 1983
The orphans of St. Francis School for Boys are about to be evicted from their home by a crooked town commission. With their guardian, a priest (John Huston), the group must unite to save themselves and the home. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- PG
Heron of Foix (Assaf Dayan) hears the call of the ocean and leaves his school in Paris to walk to the sea. He meets the fair Claudia (Anjelica Huston) and the two fall in love and journey together to escape the ongoing Hundred Years War. They witness the brutal and bloody murder of a peasant who is drawn and quartered by the sadistic Sir Meles (John Hallam), the unforgiving tax collector who hates the poor. The couple seeks refuge in a monastery where the Father Superior (Anthony Nicholis) refuses their request to be married. This slow-paced but beautifully lensed feature marks the screen debut for Anjelica Huston. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Assaf Dayan, Anjelica Huston, (more)
- 1942
- NR
A lively espionage drama that reunited the stars and director of the previous year's The Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific was originally envisioned as the story of a Japanese invasion of Hawaii. Real-life events of December of 1941, however, precluded such a scenario and the location was changed to the Panama Canal. For reasons known only to Warner Bros., the title was retained despite the fact that none of the action takes place in the Pacific. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick Leland, a disgraced ex-army man, who, after being turned down by the Canadian military, jumps a Japanese steamer bound for the Panama Canal Zone. Also onboard are Alberta Marlow (Mary Astor), a small-town girl claiming to be en route to Los Angeles; Dr. Lorenz (Sydney Greenstreet), a corpulent sociologist with a suspiciously friendly regard for all things Japanese; and Joe Totsuiko (Victor Sen Yung), a happy-go-lucky second generation Japanese-American on his way to visit the old country. But no one is exactly who he or she claims to be and the voyage from Halifax via New York City to Panama becomes a matter of life and death for the passengers in general, and for the future of the United States in particular. Director John Huston was forced to leave the film three weeks into the four-week shooting schedule when summoned to report to the Department of Special Services. According to Huston, he purposefully placed Humphrey Bogart's character in a highly precarious situation and left it up to his replacement, Vincent Sherman, to come up with the solution -- which Sherman did in an especially fiery climax. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, (more)
- 1985
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is the portmanteau pilot film for the subsequent TV revival of Hitchcock's celebrated anthology series of the 1950s and '60s. Four short tales are presented, each of them remakes of earlier Alfred Hitchcock programs. "Incident in a Small Jail," originally presented in 1961 with John Fiedler in the lead, stars Ned Beatty as a traveling salesman who finds himself sharing a jail cell with an accused rapist -- the target of an angry, indiscriminate lynch mob. "Man from the South," based on an oft-adapted Roald Dahl piece, stars John Huston as a cagey gambler who makes a grisly wager with novice Steven Bauer. The original 1959 Hitchcock version of this tale starred Peter Lorre and Steve McQueen; featured in the cast of the remake are former Hitchcock movie leading ladies Kim Novak and Tippi Hedren, as well as Hedren's daughter Melanie Griffith. "Bang, You're Dead" is a taut, tension-filled tale of a child who wanders around town with a loaded gun. The child is a little girl (Bianca Rose), but in the initial 1961 version the protagonist was a boy, played by Billy Mumy (who appears in this remake in a small role). The final playlet, "The Unlocked Window," is an abbreviated version of a story first shown on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1965. Bruce Davidson is featured in a virtual reprise of that beloved old Hitchcock protagonist Norman Bates. Each of the four stories in Alfred Hitchcock Presents had its own director -- in order of appearance, they are Joel Oliansky, Steve De Jarnatt, Randa Haines, and Fred Walton -- and all were narrated by co-star John Huston. The late Alfred Hitchcock opens and closes each playlet via colorized footage from the original series -- a bizarre touch that "The Master" might have approved of. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This series is based on the book of the same name by William Manchester. Douglas MacArthur was probably the most controversial American general of World War II and the decades that followed it. His presence shaped the modern American military, and his clashes with civilian authority shaped the relationship between presidents and generals forever after. This particular episode of the series chronicles the early days of World War II for MacArthur as he was forced to accept the bitter pill of retreat from the Philippines. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This series is based on the book of the same name by William Manchester. Douglas MacArthur was probably the most controversial American general of World War II and the decades that followed it. His presence shaped the modern American military and his clashes with civilian authority shaped the relationship between presidents and generals forever after. This episode chronicles the early battle of World War II against the Japanese as MacArthur and a green American army faced the Rising Sun in the steaming jungles of New Guinea. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This series is based on the book of the same name by William Manchester. Douglas MacArthur was probably the most controversial American general of World War II and the decades that followed it. His presence shaped the modern American military, and his clashes with civilian authority shaped the relationship between presidents and generals forever after. This episode chronicles the final days of the Empire of the Rising Sun as America neared the end of its inexorable march across the Pacific towards the Japan. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This series is based on the book of the same name by William Manchester. Douglas MacArthur was probably the most controversial American general of World War II and the decades that followed it. His presence shaped the modern American military, and his clashes with civilian authority shaped the relationship between presidents and generals forever after. This episode chronicles the tenure of MacArthur as the de facto ruler of Japan after the war. The program investigates MacArthur's personal agenda in the reconstruction of his former enemy. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In this subpar Canadian film, Sophia Loren is Angela, a prostitute who has decided to become a waitress after she gets pregnant by Ben Kincaid (John Vernon) and needs a better way to support her baby. When Ben gets back from service in the Korean War, he does not believe Angela's little boy is his, and after he starts working for his old mob boss, he says he cannot continue as long as the boy is in the house. So his boss Hogan (John Huston) has the child kidnapped, which triggers Angela to seek revenge, and she informs the police about Ben's planned robbery. He is caught and goes to jail for more than two decades, and when he gets out, his only goal is to get even. Meanwhile, Angela has worked her way up to the ownership of an elegant restaurant and has fallen in love with handsome young Jean Labrecque (Steve Railsback), who delivers meat to the kitchen -- without either knowing at the time that they are mother and son. With dim lighting, a dim script, and dim chances, this turkey was quickly made into dim-sum and shelved in video cassettes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Steve Railsback, (more)
This family classic is adapted from the Broadway musical, which was based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie. During the Great Depression in New York City, a plucky red-haired scrapper named Annie (Aileen Quinn) is the voice of hope for her fellow orphans who live under the supervision of drunken floozy Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett). Annie's spirit is fueled by the belief that her real parents dropped her off at the orphanage with a half of a locket, promising to return for her with the other half. One day, the dingy orphanage is visited by the sophisticated Grace Farrell (Ann Reinking), personal secretary to conservative politician Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney). In order to improve his image, Grace brings Annie to the Warbucks estate for a weeklong visit. Annie quickly wins the hearts of servants and politicians alike, eventually even bringing her song of hope, "Tomorrow," to President Roosevelt in Washington. Warbucks and Grace even go so far as to perform a public search for Annie's parents, creating an opportunity for Miss Hannigan, Rooster (Tim Curry), and Lily (Bernadette Peters) to scam their way to the reward money. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, (more)
- 1973
- G
- Add Battle for the Planet of the Apes to QueueAdd Battle for the Planet of the Apes to top of Queue
The fifth and last of the original series of motion pictures based upon author Pierre Boulle's imaginative novel Monkey Planet, this science fiction film was the least-liked by the series' legion of fans. Roddy McDowall returns as Caesar, the rebellious intelligent chimp of the previous film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). Caesar led his brethren in a revolution against their human masters earlier, but humanity has since nearly destroyed itself in a nuclear apocalypse, and survivors are second-class citizens within ape society. Now a beneficent ruler of his people, Caesar encourages a fragile, peaceful coexistence with humans, despite the protests of militaristic gorilla leader General Aldo (Claude Akins). When Caesar learns that recordings of his murdered parents may exist in the Forbidden City, he journeys to the irradiated wasteland with the human MacDonald (Austin Stoker) and the wise orangutan Virgil (Paul Williams). Although Caesar finds what he's looking for, he also attracts unwanted attention: mutant humans who still dwell underground in the devastated war zone follow the search party back home, leading to a climactic battle and Aldo's tragic challenge of Caesar's authority. Suffering greatly due to penny-pinching studio 20th Century Fox's low budget, Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) is most notable for a cameo by director John Huston as an ape named "The Lawgiver," who appears in a wraparound segment. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, (more)
Humphrey Bogart stars as one of five disreputable adventurers who are trying to get uranium out of East Africa. Bogart's associates include pompous fraud Robert Morley, and Peter Lorre as the German-accented "O'Hara", whose wartime record is forever a source of speculation and suspicion. Becoming involved in Bogart's machinations are a prim British married couple (Edward Underdown and blonde-wigged Jennifer Jones). As a climax to their many misadventures and double-crosses, the uranium seekers end up facing extermination by an Arab firing squad. The satirical nature of Beat the Devil eluded many moviegoers in 1953, and the film was a failure. The fact that the picture attained cult status in lesser years failed to impress its star Humphrey Bogart, who could only remember that he lost a considerable chunk of his own money when he became involved in the project. Peter Viernick worked on the script on an uncredited basis. Beat the Devil eventually fell into public domain, leading to numerous inferior editions by second and third-tiered labels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, (more)
The star-director team of Charles Bronson and Tom Gries (Breakheart Pass) combine their efforts again on Breakout. Bronson plays Nick Colton, a reckless pilot who heads to an unnamed South American country, in hopes of rescuing imprisoned Jay Wagner (Robert Duvall). Villain Harris Wagner (John Huston), who has framed Jay, has an unlimited supply of henchmen at his disposal, but they're no match for the dauntless Colton. Jill Ireland, Bronson's real-life wife, costars as Duvall's missus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, (more)
- 1968
- Add Candy to Queue
In this big-budget adaptation of Terry Southern's satiric sex farce (the sort of project that could get an immediate green light in the late 1960's and at practically no other time before or since), Ewa Aulin is Candy, a sweet young woman who doesn't seem entirely aware of the powerful sexual desire she brings out in men. While her father (John Astin) and mother (Elsa Martinelli) try to keep Candy in line, the task proves to be all but impossible, as she's seduced by a remarkable variety of men in her journeys, including a booze-addled poet (Richard Burton), a mystical guru who lives on a truck (Marlon Brando), a gardener from Mexico (Ringo Starr), a fanatical military man who refuses to leave his plane (Walter Matthau), a pair of uncomfortably high-strung doctors (John Huston and James Coburn) and even her own uncle (Astin, again). The Byrds and Steppenwolf contributed songs to the soundtrack; the screenplay was written by Buck Henry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Aznavour, Marlon Brando, (more)
This highly anecdotal film centers upon Doc (Nick Nolte), a self-employed marine biologist who lives by the ocean and interacts with the neighborhood denizens, trying to conceal a troubled past. Across from Doc's digs stands the local bordello, the Bear Flag Restaurant. Across the entrance ambles Suzy (Debra Winger), a drifter who tries to become one of the girls and fails miserably. However, she does set her sights on Doc and acts accordingly. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Debra Winger, (more)
Retired after years of international espionage, Agent 007 is lured back into action to battle the evil spy organization SMERSH in this notoriously incoherent parody of the James Bond films. David Niven portrays the aging Bond, who atypically rejects the advances of a variety of women, and agrees to battle SMERSH's hold on the lavish Casino Royale only after organization head M is murdered. Also mixed up in the affair are several other secret agents, all named James Bond, played by everyone from Peter Sellers and Woody Allen to a chimpanzee. Despite a star-studded cast, a large production budget, and a hit score by Burt Bacharach, the film was universally panned as a muddled, overlong failure, with the occasional amusing sequence lost in the unintelligible surroundings. The participation of several screenwriters and five different directors, including John Huston, only adds to the confusion. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, (more)
"You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't," warns water baron Noah Cross (John Huston), when smooth cop-turned-private eye J.J. "Jake" Gittes (Jack Nicholson) starts nosing around Cross's water diversion scheme. That proves to be the ominous lesson of Chinatown, Roman Polanski's critically lauded 1974 revision of 1940s film noir detective movies. In 1930s Los Angeles, "matrimonial work" specialist Gittes is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to tail her husband, Water Department engineer Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling). Gittes photographs him in the company of a young blonde and figures the case is closed, only to discover that the real Mrs. Mulwray had nothing to do with hiring Gittes in the first place. When Hollis turns up dead, Gittes decides to investigate further, encountering a shady old-age home, corrupt bureaucrats, angry orange farmers, and a nostril-slicing thug (Polanski) along the way. By the time he confronts Cross, Evelyn's father and Mulwray's former business partner, Jake thinks he knows everything, but an even more sordid truth awaits him. When circumstances force Jake to return to his old beat in Chinatown, he realizes just how impotent he is against the wealthy, depraved Cross. "Forget it, Jake," his old partner tells him. "It's Chinatown." Reworking the somber underpinnings of detective noir along more pessimistic lines, Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne convey a '70s-inflected critique of capitalist and bureaucratic malevolence in a carefully detailed period piece harkening back to the genre's roots in the 1930s and '40s. Gittes always has a smart comeback like Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, but the corruption Gittes finds is too deep for one man to stop. Other noir revisions, such as Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) and Arthur Penn's Night Moves (1975), also centered on the detective's inefficacy in an uncertain '70s world, but Chinatown's period sheen renders this dilemma at once contemporary and timeless, pointing to larger implications about the effects of corporate rapaciousness on individuals. Polanski and Towne clashed over Chinatown's ending; Polanski won the fight, but Towne won the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Chinatown was nominated for ten other Oscars, including Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes, and Score. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, (more)
Keir Dullea dives into a bevy of babes with an open wine bottle as the notorious Marquis de Sade in this low-budget debauch from American International Pictures -- purveyors of fine entertainment morsels for the connoisseur. The film takes place as an extended flashback after de Sade has escaped from a madhouse and taken refuge in the dilapidated mansion where he was reared. In his flashback, de Sade recalls how the Abbe de Sade (John Huston) used to have a maid whip him until he began to like it. Of course, after that, the next step down the primrose path was flagellation and orgies. Finally sent to a French jail for lewd behavior, de Sade begins to write anti-government creeds to while away the hours. After his release, he is compelled to marry the repulsive Renee de Montreuil (Anna Massey). De Sade goes along with the marriage in order to get closer to her sister Anne (Senta Berger). In spite of that, de Sade continues to seek out various forms of softcore sex. But then the Black Plague hits. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keir Dullea, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1935
Rival competition and a father's disapproval cause little interference with the romance of race car designer Robert Douglas and the object of his intentions Dorothy Bouchier. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1977
- R
A vigilante secret-watch group works to avenge miscarriages of justice by killing crooks, but one of their agents turns out to be a serial killer. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debi Chaney, Turk Cekovsky, (more)
- 1986
This excellent biographical documentary looks at the life and work of director William Wyler. The film is dominated by clips from many of Wyler's better-known works, such as Roman Holiday, Ben-Hur, and Funny Girl. A long interview with the director himself (conducted a few days before he died) provides his personal perspective on his work and interviews with his actors and colleagues offer some surprising comments about the man. Terence Stamp feels Wyler may not have had a good command of English, while Laurence Olivier notes that Wyler taught him how to drop theatrical exaggerations and act for the camera. Bette Davis gives the most extensive commentary. Excerpts from home movies show Wyler and his family on vacation and also record a bit of the making of Wuthering Heights. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Wyler, Bette Davis, (more)
- 1940
Edward G. Robinson portrays real-life German medical researcher Paul Erlich, the man who discovered and perfected "Formula 606," the cure for syphilis. The world at large would prefer to treat the disease as though it does not exist, so Erlich spends most of his life underfunded and frustrated. A no-nonsense dowager (Maria Ouspenskaya) has faith in Erlich, however, and thus provides the necessary funds to develop Formula 606. Once the serum is released to the public, Erlich's reputation is threatened when a handful of syphilitics die, ostensibly as a result of the "cure." Brought up on criminal charges, Erlich is exonerated by his old colleague Dr. Von Behring (Otto Kruger). Considered daring in its time for its exploration of a "taboo" subject, Dr. Erlich's Magic Bullet holds up as one of Warner Bros.' most solid biopics, with a convincing performance from a nearly unrecognizable Edward G. Robinson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, (more)
