John Sturges

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John Elliott Sturges (born January 3, 1910 in Oak Park , Illinois , † August 18, 1992 in San Luis Obispo ) was an American director and producer .

Life

John Sturges began his film career in 1932 as a film editor for RKO Pictures . During the Second World War he was a member of the US Army Signal Corps responsible for the production of documentary and educational films.

After the war he moved to Columbia Pictures and took over directing some B-Movies from 1946 . Only when he changed employer again - this time to MGM - did he work as a director in larger projects. In the 1950s he established his reputation there as one of the best western directors. During this time he shot classics of the genre such as Treason at Fort Bravo (1953), The Secret of the Five Tombs (1956), Two Reckoning (1957) and The Last Train from Gun Hill (1957).

Stadt in Angst (1954) competed at the1955 Cannes International Film Festival and earned it an Oscar nomination for Best Director in 1956.

His biggest commercial successes he celebrated in the 1960s with films like Kurosawa - remake The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape . Both films were created for the production company Mirisch Corporation and their film distributor United Artists .

After a few less successful films, Sturges retired from the film business in the 1970s.

plant

His films are primarily characterized by their concentration on heroic moments and feelings. Sturges did without all too unusual camera perspectives, but used the possibilities of the CinemaScope format.

Filmography

literature

  • Sprengte Ketten - The Great Escape, Behind the scenes , Photographs of cameraman Walter Riml, Editor Helma Türk & Christian Riml, House Publishing 2013, English / German ( Online )

Web links