George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey.

• Author: Rothenberg, Robert S.

Written and directed by his son, George Stevens, Jr., this film biography traces the life and career of one of Hollywood's giants. George Stevens rose from cameraman at the Hal Roach Studios, shooting Laurel and Hardy two-reelers, to director of such classics as "A Place in the Sun," "Gunga Din," "Shane," "Giant," "The Diary of Ann Frank," and countless others. Despite his causing great despair to the producers of his pictures by shooting more film than any other director, then taking months to edit it painstakingly, Stevens' movies set box-office records at RKO, Paramount, and the other studios he worked for.

While many documentaries of this nature tease their audiences with mere snippets from their subject's motion pictures, this one lovingly provides extensive clips that allow the context of the scene to be readily apparent, then explores them in depth through interviews with their noted stars, such as Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Cary Grant, and Joel McCrea. Comments by Stevens' colleagues--directors John Huston, Fred Zinnemann, Frank...