George Stevens

George Stevens Headshot

Director • Producer • Writer • Cinematographer

Birth Date: December 18, 1904

Death Date: March 8, 1975

Birth Place: Oakland, California

Leading Hollywood craftsman, responsible for some fine films of the 1930s and 40s, but whose later output tended toward the over-ambitious and excessive.

The son of performers, Stevens entered films at age 17 as a cameraman and later worked for the Hal Roach company, where he directed his first shorts. He joined RKO in 1934 and proceeded to churn out a series of crafty comedies and light musicals, scoring his first major success with "Alice Adams" (1935), which was followed by the Astaire-Rogers classic "Swing Time" (1936), the action-packed "Gunga Din" and the brilliantly realized debut pairing of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, "Woman of the Year" (1941). After heading the Army Signal Corps Special Motion Picture Unit during WWII, Stevens re-entered civilian life in 1945 and hit his peak with "I Remember Mama" (1948) and "A Place in the Sun" (1951). His subsequent work, including "Shane" (1953) and "Giant" (1956), strove for epic status but came off as overblown and excessive. Stevens's final effort, "The Only Game in Town" (1970), was a refreshing, if flawed, return to his earlier, more modest, style. Son George Stevens, Jr., is a producer who made a well-received documentary on his father, "George Stevens, Filmmaker" (1984), served as chief of the United States Information Service's motion picture division from 1962-67 and was named the first head of the American Film Institute in 1977.

Credits

ORF III Spezial zu Ostern

Director
Show
2017

D-Day to Germany

Actor
Show
2014

The Only Game in Town

Director
Movie
1970

The Greatest Story Ever ToldStream

Director
Movie
1965
42%

The Greatest Story Ever ToldStream

Producer
Movie
1965
42%

The Greatest Story Ever ToldStream

Screenwriter
Movie
1965
42%

The Diary of Anne FrankStream

Director
Movie
1959

The Diary of Anne FrankStream

Producer
Movie
1959

GiantStream

Director
Movie
1956
88%

GiantStream

Producer
Movie
1956
88%

ShaneStream

Director
Movie
1953
97%

Something to Live For

Director
Movie
1952

A Place in the SunStream

Director
Movie
1951
81%

A Place in the SunStream

Producer
Movie
1951
81%

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
Game Show
1950

I Remember MamaStream

Director
Movie
1948
100%

Nazi Concentration Camps

Director
Show
1945

That Justice Be Done

Director
Movie
1945

The Nazi Plan

Director
Movie
1945

The More the MerrierStream

Director
Movie
1943
100%

The More the MerrierStream

Producer
Movie
1943
100%

Woman of the YearStream

Director
Movie
1942
83%

The Talk of the Town

Director
Movie
1942

The Talk of the Town

Producer
Movie
1942

Penny SerenadeStream

Director
Movie
1941
94%

Penny SerenadeStream

Producer
Movie
1941
94%

Vigil in the Night

Director
Movie
1940

Vigil in the Night

Producer
Movie
1940

Gunga DinStream

Director
Movie
1939
92%

Gunga DinStream

Producer
Movie
1939
92%

Vivacious Lady

Director
Movie
1938
100%

Vivacious Lady

Producer
Movie
1938
100%

A Damsel in Distress

Director
Movie
1937

Quality Street

Director
Movie
1937

Aces and Eights

Actor
Captain Felipe de Lopez
Movie
1936

Swing TimeStream

Director
Movie
1936
93%

Annie Oakley

Director
Movie
1935

Alice AdamsStream

Director
Movie
1935
94%

The Nitwits

Director
Movie
1935

Hollywood Party

Director
Movie
1934

Bachelor Bait

Director
Movie
1934

Kentucky Kernels

Director
Movie
1934

Bridal Bail

Director
Movie
1934

High Gear

Director
Movie
1931

Air-Tight

Director
Movie
1931

Call a Cop!

Director
Movie
1931

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case

Cinematography
Show
1930

The Laurel-Hardy Murder CaseStream

Cinematography
Movie
1930

The Finishing Touch

Cinematography
Show
1929

They Go Boom!

Cinematography
Movie
1929

That's My Wife

Cinematography
Movie
1929

The Finishing Touch

Cinematography
Movie
1929

Leave 'Em Laughing

Cinematography
Show
1928

Their Purple Moment

Cinematography
Movie
1928

Pass the Gravy

Cinematography
Movie
1928

We Faw Down

Cinematography
Movie
1928

Should Married Men Go Home?

Cinematography
Movie
1928

Leave 'Em Laughing

Cinematography
Movie
1928

No Man's Law

Cinematography
Movie
1927

The Valley of Hell

Cinematographer
Movie
1927

Hats Off

Cinematographer
Movie
1927

Putting Pants on Philip

Cinematography
Movie
1927

The Devil Horse

Cinematography
Movie
1926

Looking for Sally

Cinematography
Movie
1925

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Actor
Poole (uncredited)
Movie
1920

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