The Men Who Made the Movies

by Richard Schickel, Ivan R. Dee (Editor)

One of our most thoughtful film critics here takes on eight of Hollywood's finest directors in conversation, reminiscing about their working lives which spanned the most intriguing decades of American filmmaking. The directors are Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, Vincente Minnelli, George Cukor, Howard Hawks, William A. Wellman, King Vidor, and Raoul Walsh. Speaking with them, Mr. Schickel found in these men a special “They felt in their bones the character and quality of a vanished America.” There was something valuable to be learned from them, not merely about the cinema but about the conduct of life. Each of these directors created a canon of work that even today sustains critical analysis without sacrificing popular appeal. Each maintained his artistic integrity while working in an atmosphere generally credited with ruining rather than nurturing talent. Their attitudes, Mr. Schickel writes in his introduction, were "composed of a toughness that was never harsh, a pride in achievement that was never boastful, a self-reliance and an acceptance of the difficulties under which they had labored which contained neither self-pity nor a desire to blame others for the things that had gone wrong." Rich in behind-the-scenes stories about such modern classics as It Happened One Night, Dawn Patrol, The Champ, Born Yesterday, Father of the Bride , and Shadow of a Doubt , as well as in anecdotes about the men and women of Hollywood, this book is an enduring tribute to the men who made the movies. With 33 black-and-white photographs. “Immensely readable and richly informative...it provides a real education in just how movies are made.... One of the best introductions to the cinema that one could ask for.”― Library Journal .

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Canon

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1975

About the author

Richard Schickel is an important American film historian, journalist, author, filmmaker, screenwriter, documentarian, and film and literary critic.

Mr.Schickel is featured in For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism. In this 2009 documentary film he discusses early film critics in the 1960s, and how he and other young critics, rejected the moralizing opposition of Bosley Crowther of The New York Times who had railed against violent movies such as Bonnie and Clyde.
In addition to film, Schickel has also critiqued and documented cartoons, particularly Peanuts.

Schickel was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1964. He has also lectured at Yale University and University of Southern California's School of Film and Television.

Reviews

[Susan Lorenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years ago there was a TV series on PBS of the same name. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book is a companion piece and suffers from an unavoidable lack of film clips, "live" interviews and a relatively skimpy inclusion of still photos. All of the directors' chapters were of interest but by far the best is Hitchcock. I have studied many of his films in college level classes and perhaps that is why I liked his segment the most. An interesting read for anyone with an interest in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

[Chuck Neumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Men who made the Movies by Richard Schnickel is a great book based on the 1973 TV series. Eight great directors reminisce about their long career in films. Most had been directors from the silent days and were still active in the 1960's, Alfred Hitchcock was still a major director when the book came out in 1975. Raoul Walsh was the earliest, as an actor he appeared in "Birth of a Nation" in 1915 as John Wilkes Booth and began directing soon after. He did many westerns and crime films but also did musicals with Bing Crosby and comedies. He gave John Wayne his first starring role, and his stage name. King Vidor was a major director in silent films and continued in sound, including finishing up "The Wizard of Oz" after director Victor Fleming was called away to film "Gone with the Wind". William Wellman directed the first Oscar winning film, "Wings". Frank Capra directed "It's a Wonderful Life" and many other hits. Howard Hawks directed great films such as "Bringing Up Baby" and "Red River". George Cukor was famed as a woman's director with "Adam's Rib" and "A Star is Born". Vincente Minnelli, perhaps not in the class of the others but a talented musical director. Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense and perhaps the most famous film director of them all. They tell us the story of their careers, giving us a real look at the making of motion pictures. A great book, a must for all fans of films.

[Ken Proudfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must be a big time movie fan. Lots of details about individual films by the greatest directors. Interesting insights and the process of how choices were made for actors, scripts, and more. Must reading for serious filmmakers.