Huston, John

Huston, John
born Aug. 5, 1906, Nevada, Mo., U.S
died Aug. 28, 1987, Middletown, R.I.

U.S. film director and screenwriter.

The son of Walter Huston, he was briefly a boxer, a Mexican cavalry officer, and a reporter before becoming a scriptwriter. His first work as a director, The Maltese Falcon (1941), began an illustrious career studded with film classics: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948, Academy Awards for best director and screenplay), Key Largo (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), Moulin Rouge (1952), The Night of the Iguana (1964), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Prizzi's Honor (1985), and The Dead (1987). He wrote screenplays for many of his own films and for others such as Jezebel (1938), Juarez (1939), and High Sierra (1941). He also worked as an actor, notably in Chinatown (1974). His daughter Anjelica (b. 1951) was an accomplished actress, earning an Academy Award for her performance in Prizzi's Honor (1985).

* * *

▪ American director, writer, and actor
born Aug. 5, 1906, Nevada, Mo., U.S
died Aug. 28, 1987, Middletown, R.I.

      American motion-picture director whose taut dramas were some of the most popular films from the 1940s on.

      The son of the actor Walter Huston, he lived as a child in the many cities where his father appeared on the stage. He began his Hollywood career as a scriptwriter in 1931. Prior to that time Huston had been, for short periods, a professional lightweight boxer, a soldier in the Mexican cavalry, a reporter, the editor of a picture magazine, an author of short stories and plays, and an actor.

   His first work as a film director was the classic hard-boiled detective tale The Maltese Falcon (1941), distinguished by sharply realistic dialogue and vividly realized characters. Other early classics were The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), a story of self-destructive greed among American gold-seekers in Mexico; and The African Queen (1952), a comic romance-adventure film set in the jungles of Central Africa. These films starred Humphrey Bogart (Bogart, Humphrey) and marked the summit of that highly popular actor's career. Huston's other screen adaptations of literary works included The Red Badge of Courage (1951) from the novel by Stephen Crane, Moby Dick (1956) from Herman Melville, The Night of the Iguana (1964) from Tennessee Williams, The Man Who Would Be King (1975) from Rudyard Kipling, Wise Blood (1979) from Flannery O'Connor, Under the Volcano (1984) from Malcolm Lowry, and The Dead (1987) from James Joyce. Among his other more successful films were Key Largo (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), and Prizzi's Honor (1985).

      Huston's best motion pictures feature fast-paced scripts, vivid characterizations, and exciting and unpredictable plots. Many of his lesser-known films were both critical and commercial failures, but even these show his ironic and often pessimistic view of human striving and his ability to coax outstanding performances from his leading actors. Huston also acted on screen, often in films that he directed, such as The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972). Perhaps his finest supporting role was in Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974). He was also acclaimed for his World War II documentaries Report from the Aleutians (1943), The Battle of San Pietro (1944), and Let There Be Light (1945; suppressed until 1981). Huston's autobiography, An Open Book, appeared in 1980.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Huston, John — • ХЬЮ СТОН (Huston) Джон (р. 5.8.1906)    амер. режиссёр, сценарист, актёр. В юности выступал на эстраде, был боксёром. С 1927 занимался журналистикой, драматургией, снимался в кино. С 1931 сценарист, в т. ч. один из сценаристов ф. Иезавель (1938 …   Кино: Энциклопедический словарь

  • Huston,John — Hus·ton (hyo͞oʹstən), John. 1906 1987. American filmmaker whose works include The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The African Queen (1951). He won an Academy Award for his direction of the film Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948). His father, Walter Huston …   Universalium

  • Huston, John — ► (1906 87) Director cinematográfico estadounidense. Su primera película fue El halcón maltés (1941). En 1948 obtuvo el Oscar por su película El tesoro de Sierra Madre y en 1953 fue premiado en el festival de Cannes por Moulin Rouge. Otras de sus …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Huston, John —    см. Хьюстон, Джон …   Режиссерская энциклопедия. Кино США

  • Huston — Huston, John …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • John Marcellus Huston — (* 5. August 1906 in Nevada, Missouri; † 28. August 1987 in Middletown, Rhode Island) war ein US amerikanischer Filmregisseur, Drehbuchautor und Schauspieler, der in seiner fast 60 jährigen Laufbahn an einer Reihe der größten amerikanischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Marcellus Huston — John Huston John Huston Statue de John Huston à Puerto Vallarta, Mexique Naissance 5 août 1906 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Huston — may refer to:Places*Huston Township, Blair County, Pennsylvania *Huston Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania *Huston Township, Clearfield County, PennsylvaniaPeople*Anjelica Huston (1951 ), an American actress, daughter of John *Danny Huston… …   Wikipedia

  • John Huston (disambiguation) — John Huston is the name of: * John Huston screenwriter, actor and Academy Award winning director (Father of actress Anjelica Huston and director Danny Huston) * John Huston (golfer) professional golfer who has won multiple PGA Tour events * John… …   Wikipedia

  • Huston — es el nombre de: John Huston guionista, actor y director (padre de Anjelica Huston y del director Danny Huston). John Huston (golfista, jugador profesional de golf ganador de varios PGA Tour. John Huston (político) (1710 1795), político de Nueva… …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”