John Huston stands as a towering figure in Hollywood history, a ten-time Oscar-nominated legend who excelled not only as a director but also as a screenwriter and character actor. His career, spanning over five decades, showcases an eccentric rebel who consistently pushed boundaries and delivered cinematic masterpieces. Born John Marcellus Huston on August 5, 1906, in Nevada, Missouri, his lineage was a blend of English, Scottish, Scots-Irish, distant German, and remote Portuguese heritage. The lore of his birthplace being won in a poker game by his grandfather adds to the mystique of this unconventional filmmaker.
Huston’s father was the acclaimed character actor Walter Huston, and his mother, Rhea Gore, was a dynamic newspaperwoman. As an only child, John’s early life was steeped in performance, joining his vaudevillian father on stage at just three years old. Following his parents’ divorce when he was seven, his childhood was split between the vibrant vaudeville circuit with his father and cross-country reporting trips with his mother. Despite a frail constitution that once led to a sanitarium stay for heart and kidney issues, Huston displayed remarkable resilience. He left school at 14 to pursue boxing, becoming the Amateur Lightweight Boxing Champion of California with an impressive record of 22 wins out of 25 bouts – his distinctive broken nose a souvenir of this period.
His restless spirit led him through various paths. After a brief marriage and initial forays into acting, including a Broadway debut in “Ruint” (1925), Huston ventured to Mexico, becoming a cavalry officer and honing his horsemanship while secretly writing. A return to America saw him attempt newspaper reporting and short story writing in New York. He even briefly worked as a screenwriter for Samuel Goldwyn Jr., but his wanderlust persisted. A period in London and Paris followed where he explored painting and sketching, even experiencing homelessness during a challenging time.
Returning to the US in 1933, Huston’s focus sharpened on his writing talents. He collaborated on scripts for Warner Brothers, impressing the studio enough to be offered the dual role of screenwriter and director for The Maltese Falcon (1941), based on the Dashiell Hammett novel. This marked a turning point, showcasing his directorial prowess.
Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor in The Maltese Falcon (1941), a film directed by John Huston that solidified his place in Hollywood.
The Maltese Falcon, Directed By John Huston, became an instant classic, catapulting Humphrey Bogart to superstardom and is still lauded as one of the greatest detective films ever made. This success solidified Huston’s position as a director to watch. In the wake of this triumph, he directed Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland in In This Our Life (1942), and reunited with Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet from The Maltese Falcon in Across the Pacific (1942).
During World War II, Huston served as a Signal Corps lieutenant, directing impactful film documentaries for the U.S. government, including the controversial Let There Be Light (1946), narrated by his father Walter. The end of the war coincided with the end of his second marriage. In 1946, he directed Jean-Paul Sartre’s existential play “No Exit” on Broadway, which, despite a short run, won the New York Drama Critics Award for “best foreign play,” demonstrating Huston’s range beyond Hollywood.
Hollywood beckoned again, leading to another collaboration with Bogart and Warner Brothers for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). Directed by John Huston, this classic tale of greed and humanity in Mexico earned him Oscars for Best Director and Best Screenplay, while his father Walter won Best Supporting Actor. Huston himself made a cameo at the film’s beginning, marking a rare on-screen appearance for the director at this stage in his career.
Walter Huston and Humphrey Bogart in a scene from “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948), a critically acclaimed film directed by John Huston, which garnered him two Academy Awards.
The period following The Treasure of the Sierra Madre saw John Huston direct a string of iconic American films, including Key Largo (1948) and The African Queen (1951), both starring Bogart, as well as The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Red Badge of Courage (1951), and Moulin Rouge (1952). These films cemented his reputation for versatility and his ability to handle diverse genres and complex characters. Later works, such as Moby Dick (1956), The Unforgiven (1960), The Misfits (1961), Freud (1962), The Night of the Iguana (1964), and The Bible: In the Beginning… (1966), while generally well-received, were often measured against the towering achievements of his earlier period. Huston was known for his innovative approach to filmmaking, experimenting with color and tackling unconventional themes like homosexuality and psychoanalysis, pushing the boundaries of mainstream cinema.
A staunch advocate for human rights, Huston, along with William Wyler and others, formed the Committee for the First Amendment in 1947 to challenge the House Un-American Activities Committee. Disillusioned by the Hollywood blacklist, he moved to St. Clerans, Ireland, becoming an Irish citizen. His personal life remained as dynamic as his career, marked by multiple marriages and relocations.
Huston made a notable return to acting in Otto Preminger’s The Cardinal (1963), earning an Oscar nomination at age 57. From this point onwards, he frequently appeared in character roles, often in films of varying quality. These roles, however, often funded his passion projects as a director. Notable acting performances include Chinatown (1974) and The Wind and the Lion (1975), contrasting with appearances in less acclaimed films like Candy (1968) and Myra Breckinridge (1970).
In 1969, Huston directed his daughter Angelica in her film debut, A Walk with Love and Death. He later directed her to Oscar glory in Prizzi’s Honor (1985), showcasing his ability to nurture talent across generations. The 1970s witnessed a directorial resurgence for Huston with films like Fat City (1972), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), and Wise Blood (1979). His final directorial efforts, Under the Volcano (1984), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), and The Dead (1987), reaffirmed his status as a master filmmaker. While Annie (1982) proved a critical misstep, it gained a cult following, particularly among children.
Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston in “Prizzi’s Honor” (1985), a film directed by John Huston that earned Anjelica Huston an Academy Award.
John Huston’s lifestyle mirrored his films – macho, unconventional, and larger than life. Often compared to Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles in style and flamboyance, he served as the inspiration for Clint Eastwood’s White Hunter Black Heart (1990), a film about the making of The African Queen. Despite battling chronic emphysema in his later years, Huston remained relentlessly active, working even while requiring oxygen. He passed away at 81 while filming an acting cameo in Mr. North (1988), directed by his son Danny Huston. Paul Newman once called him “the eccentric’s eccentric,” a fitting epithet for this cinematic maverick. The films directed by John Huston continue to inspire and entertain, a rich and enduring legacy for generations of film lovers.
Directed by John Huston, his filmography is a testament to a director who defied categorization, embraced challenges, and left an indelible mark on the art of filmmaking. His passion, versatility, and unique vision continue to resonate, ensuring his place as one of cinema’s true giants.
