A Tribute to Film Posters

The Directors

No movie can be complete without proper direction. The one thing these people have in common is they perfected their craft to become some of the best and most well-known directors of their time.

Billy Wilder:

Born June 22, 1906, Billy Wilder originally planned on becoming a lawyer. However, nothing goes as planned and Wilder started working for a newspaper in Vienna, then moved to Berlin and broke into film as a screenwriter in 1929. When Hitler came to power, Wilder realized his Jewish heritage would only cause problems and left for Paris and then Hollywood.

Wilder’s name is attached to some of the greatest movies ever made including, Sunset Boulevard, Sabrina, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like it Hot, and The Apartment. His career as screenwriter, producer, and director spanned more than five decades, filled with hit movies. He retired from film in 1981 after Buddy Buddy, with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. Wilder passed away on March 27, 2002. A typical Billy Wilder movie often started with a narration. He also worked with Steven Spielberg on Schindler’s List, and was originally going to direct the film as well.

Films as Director:

• Buddy Buddy (1981)
• Fedora (1978)
• Front Page, The (1974)
• Avanti! (1972)
• Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The (1970)
• Fortune Cookie, The (1966)
• Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)
• Irma la Douce (1963)
• One, Two, Three (1961)
• Apartment, The (1960)
• Some Like It Hot (1959)
• Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
• Love in the Afternoon (1957)
• Spirit of St. Louis, The (1957)
• Seven Year Itch, The (1955)
• Sabrina (1954)
• Stalag 17 (1953)
• Ace in the Hole (1951)
• Sunset Blvd. (1950)
• Foreign Affair, A (1948)
• Emperor Waltz, The (1948)
• Death Mills (1945)
• Lost Weekend, The (1945)
• Double Indemnity (1944)
• Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
• Major and the Minor, The (1942)
• Mauvaise graine (1934)

Alfred Hitchcock:

Born August 13, 1899, Hitchcock started his film career as an art director and worked his way up to become a director. His first film was The Lodger in 1926 which started one of his many trademarks; a cameo.

In 1940, Rebecca won Best Picture and Hitch, as he was known, had now secured his place in Hollywood. He was a master of manipulation, playing with audiences’ emotions, keeping them in suspense and horror. He filmed his first color picture in 1948 with Rope, experimenting with filming the entire movie in one continuous shot.

The 1950’s certainly set Hitchcock apart with such great films as Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo. Another endeavor which made Hitchcock famous was his ten year run as host of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, and his infamous welcoming “Good eeeevening”. He continued his success of films in the 60’s with Psycho, and The Birds.

Family Plot in 1976 was the last film he directed. Other films were in the planning stages but due to health reasons, could not come to fruition. In 1979, he was the recipient for the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. The following year, on April 29, 1980, Hitchcock died of renal failure in Los Angeles.

Hitchcock worked with such stars as James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, and Cary Grant.

Films as Director:

• Family Plot (1976)
• Frenzy (1972)
• Topaz (1969)
• Torn Curtain (1966)
• Marnie (1964)
• Birds, The (1963)
• "Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The" (1962) TV Series (episode "I Saw the Whole Thing")
• Psycho (1960)
• "Startime" (1959) TV Series (episode "Incident at a Corner")
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Vertigo (1958)
• "Suspicion" (1957) TV Series (episode "4 O'Clock")
• Wrong Man, The (1956)
• Man Who Knew Too Much, The (1956)
• Trouble with Harry, The (1955)
• "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955) TV Series
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• Rear Window (1954)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• I Confess (1953)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)
• Stage Fright (1950)
• Under Capricorn (1949)
• Rope (1948)
• Paradine Case, The (1947)
• Notorious (1946)
• Spellbound (1945)
• Watchtower Over Tomorrow (1945)
• Aventure malgache (1944)
• Bon Voyage (1944)
• Lifeboat (1944)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Saboteur (1942)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• Rebecca (1940)
• House Across the Bay, The (1940)
• Jamaica Inn (1939)
• Lady Vanishes, The (1938)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Sabotage (1936)
• Secret Agent (1936)
• 39 Steps, The (1935)
• Man Who Knew Too Much, The (1934)
• Waltzes from Vienna (1933)
• Number Seventeen (1932)
• Rich and Strange (1932)
• Skin Game, The (1931)
• Elastic Affair, An (1930)
• Elstree Calling (1930)
• Juno and the Paycock (1930)
• Mary (1930)
• Murder! (1930)
• Sound Test for Blackmail (1929)
• Manxman, The (1929)
• Blackmail (1929)
• Champagne (1928)
• Farmer's Wife, The (1928)
• Easy Virtue (1928)
• Downhill (1927)
• Ring, The (1927)
• Lodger, The (1927)
• Mountain Eagle, The (1926)
• Pleasure Garden, The (1925)
• Always Tell Your Wife (1923) (uncredited)
• Number 13 (1922) (unfinished)

Hollywood Politics | New Technologies | Directors | Oscar Movies | And the Oscar Goes to… | Movie Quotes | Most Memorable Oscar Winners