BEST FILMS BY CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD DIRECTORS

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Since I haven’t seen all the films by most of these directors, I won’t stake a claim to these being their “best” films, but they are the best of those I have seen. For each director I listed the best film first and, obviously enough, the second best second. I would have liked to add a third film to most of these, but, hey, rules is rules. I added a few Hollywood directors that I like, that weren’t listed previously. Also, for fun, I also ranked the directors as I would view them if they all had only made their two films and didn’t have any other history to judge them on. I was curious about how much difference a body of work makes in appreciating their talents. Needless to say, both the rankings and the films chosen could easily differ if I were to do this again.

Orson Welles The Magnificent Ambersons, Citizen Kane
Ernst Lubitsch The Shop Around the Corner, Heaven Can Wait
Alfred Hitchcock The Birds, Strangers on a Train
Buster Keaton The General, Steamboat Bill Jr.
Gregory LaCava Stage Door, My Man Godfrey
Frank Capra It’s a Wonderful Life, Meet John Doe
Michael Curtiz The Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca
Lewis Milestone Hallelujah I’m a Bum, All Quiet on the Western Front
Victor Sjostrom He Who Gets Slapped, The Wind
John Ford The Quiet Man, My Darling Clementine
Vincente Minnelli The Pirate, Meet Me in St. Louis
Raoul Walsh Gentleman Jim, The Strawberry Blonde
Josef von Sternberg Blonde Venus, The Scarlet Empress
Jacques Tourneur I Walked With a Zombie, The Leopard Man
Robert Aldrich Kiss Me Deadly, Flight of the Phoenix
Stanley Donen Singing in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Charlie Chaplin Limelight, The Great Dictator
Edmund Goulding Nightmare Alley, Dawn Patrol
Rouben Mamoulian Queen Christina, We Live Again
John Brahm Hangover Square, The Lodger
Norman Z. McLeod It’s a Gift, Monkey Business
John Stahl Leave Her to Heaven, Magnificent Obsession
William Wyler Jezebel, The Good Fairy
Mervyn LeRoy Johnny Eager, I Am a Fugitive From A Chain Gang
Preston Sturges The Lady Eve, The Palm Beach Story
Anthony Mann The Fall of the Roman Empire, Winchester ’73
F.W. Murnau Sunrise, Tabu
Victor Fleming The Wizard of Oz, Red Dust
Howard Hawks Scarface, Man’s Favorite Sport
Fritz Lang The Big Heat, Ministry of Fear
James Whale Waterloo Bridge, The Old Dark House
Douglas Sirk A Scandal in Paris, Written on the Wind
Clarence Brown The Flesh and the Devil, Wife vs. Secretary
Robert Flaherty Louisiana Story, Nanook of the North
Charles Vidor Gilda, Cover Girl
William Wellman Nothing Sacred, The Light That Failed
Edgar Ulmer The Black Cat, The Strange Woman
Cecil B. DeMille Four Frightened Friends, The Crusades
Arthur Penn Night Moves, The Left Handed Gun
John Huston Moby Dick, Wise Blood
Henry Hathaway Peter Ibbetson, Niagra
Billy Wilder The Major and the Minor, One, Two, Three
Leo McCarey Love Affair, The Awful Truth
Nicholas Ray They Live by Night, Johnny Guitar
Roger Corman X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, The Tomb of Ligeia
Sam Fuller The Naked Kiss, The Baron of Arizona
Robert Stevenson Darby O’Gill and the Little People, Jane Eyre
George Stevens Swing Time, Vivacious Lady
Richard Wallace Young in Heart, Tycoon
William Castle I Saw What You Did, The Tingler
George Marshall Destry Rides Again, The Blue Dahlia
Edward Dmytryk Murder My Sweet, Walk on the Wild Side
Sam Peckinpah Ride the High Country, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Mitchell Leisen Hands Across the Table, Easy Living
John Farrow His Kind of Woman, The Big Clock
Frank Taschlin Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Artists and Models
Robert Rossen All the King’s Men, The Hustler
D.W. Griffith Orphans of the Storm, Sally of the Sawdust
Alexander Mackendrick A High Wind in Jamaica, Sweet Smell of Success
Elia Kazan Baby Doll, East of Eden
Henry King The Black Swan, In Old Chicago
Fred Zinnemann From Here to Eternity, Day of the Jackal
John Sturges Bad Day at Black Rock, The Great Escape
Mark Sandrich Shall We Dance, Top Hat
George Cukor Gaslight, Les Girls
Jack Arnold The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon
Jean Negulesco The Mask of Dimitrios, Humoresque
Irving Cummings The Dolly Sisters, Girl’s Dormitory
Anatole Litvak All This and Heaven Too, This Above All
Otto Preminger In Harm’s Way, Angel Face
Joseph Mankiewicz The Quiet American, Suddenly, Last Summer
Henry Koster The Rage of Paris, The Inspector General
Alfred E Green Baby Face, Dangerous
William Seiter Sons of the Desert, You Were Never Lovelier
Delmer Daves Jubal, Rome Adventure
King Vidor Bird of Paradise, Duel in the Sun
Mark Robson Isle of the Dead, The Ghost Ship
Budd Boetticher Decision at Sundown, Ride Lonesome
J. Lee Thompson Tiger Bay, Cape Fear
Robert Wise Curse of the Cat People, The Haunting
Lloyd Bacon The Sullivans, Footlight Parade
W.S.Van Dyke The Thin Man, Tarzan the Ape Man
William Dieterle A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Don Siegel Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Beguiled
Jerry Lewis The Nutty Professor, The Bellboy
Busby Berkeley Babes in Arms, For Me and My Gal
Ida Lupino The Trouble with Angels, The Gilligan’s Island episode The Producer
Richard Brooks Lord Jim, In Cold Blood
Rene Clair I Married a Witch, The Ghost Goes West
Frank Borzage The Mortal Storm, Strange Cargo
Archie Mayo Charlie’s Aunt, The Petrified Forest
Sidney Lumet Serpico, Running on Empty
Richard Fleischer Barrabas, The Vikings
Charles Walters Barkleys of Broadway, Good News
Allan Dwan Suez, The Three Musketeers
Robert Siodmak Dark Mirror, The Crimson Pirate
William Keighley The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Bride Came C.O.D.

What? Justin Vicari starting an interesting list thread? Has the world gone topsy-turvy? I can’t help but feel partly responsible. Of course, this probably means there’s a whopping piece of elitist, pretentious B.S. lurking around that I’ve yet to see. Anyway…

John Ford — How Green Was My Valley; Young Mr. Lincoln
Budd Boetticher — The Tall T; Decision at Sundown
Max Ophuls — Lola Montes; Le plaisir
Josef von Sternberg — The Scarlet Empress; Morocco
Erich von Stroheim — Queen Kelly; The Wedding March
F.W. Murnau — Sunrise; The Last Laugh (you never specified that the film had to be from his Hollywood period)
Jules Dassin — The Naked City; Rififi
Jacques Tourneur — I Walked With a Zombie; Out of the Past
John Huston — The Maltese Falcon; The Man Who Would Be King
William Wyler — The Little Foxes; The Best Years of Our Lives
Howard Hawks — His Girl Friday; Ball of Fire
Billy Wilder — Double Indemnity; The Apartment
Fritz Lang — Scarlet Street; M
Otto Preminger — River of No Return; Where the Sidewalk Ends
Douglas Sirk — Written on the Wind; Imitation of Life
Anthony Mann — Raw Deal; Winchester ’73
Sam Fuller — Pickup on South Street; Forty Guns
Nicholas Ray — They Live by Night; On Dangerous Ground
Joseph Mankiewicz — A Letter to Three Wives; All About Eve
VIncent Minelli — The Bad and the Beautiful; Meet Me in St. Louis
Elia Kazan — On the Waterfront; Gentleman’s Agreement
Robert Rossen — All the King’s Men; The Hustler
Cecil B. DeMille — Union Pacific; The Sign of the Cross
Robert Aldrich — Kiss Me Deadly; Vera Cruz
Richard Brooks — The Catered Affair; In Cold Blood
Alfred Hitchcock — Shadow of a Doubt; Strangers on a Train
George Cukor — Holiday; The Philadelphia Story
D. W. Griffith — Intolerlance; A Corner in Wheat
Raoul Walsh — The Roaring Twenties; They Drive by Night
Robert Flaherty — Louisiana Story; Man of Aran
Charles Chaplin — The Immigrant; A Day’s Pleasure
Buster Keaton — Steamboat Bill, Jr.; The General
Sam Peckinpah — Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia; The Wild Bunch
Blake Edwards — The Days of Wine and Roses; The Pink Panther
Ernst Lubitsch — Trouble in Paradise; One Hour With You
Stanley Kramer — Not really a fan.
Ida Lupino — Outrage; The Hitch-Hiker
Busby Berkeley — Footlight Parade (seguences); Dames (sequences)
Stanley Donen — Singin’ in the Rain; Indiscreet
Chuck Walters — The Barkleys of Broadyway; High Society
Frank Tashlin — Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?; Bachelor Flat
Martin Ritt — The Spy Who Came in from the Cold; The Front
Oscar Micheaux — Haven’t seen any of his films
J. Lee Thompson — Cape Fear (a lucky try)
King Vidor — The Crowd; The Big Parade
Charles Vidor — Gilda is about as close as he came to making a good film.
Orson Welles — Citizen Kane; The Stranger
Sydney Lumet — Serpico; The Hill

YOU FORGOT:

Michael Curtiz—Casablanca; The Sea Hawk
George Stevens – Gunga Din; Swing Time
Robert Wise – The Body Snatcher; The Set-up
Henry Hathaway – The Lives of a Bengal Lancer; The House on 92nd Street

William A. Wellman — The Public Enemy; The Ox-Bow Incident
Mervyn Leroy — I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang; Gold Diggers of 1933
William Keighley — The Street with No Name; Each Dawn I Die
Mark Sandrich — Top Hat; Holiday Inn
Frank Borzage — Seventh Heaven; Lucky Star
Allan Dwan — Robin Hood (1922); The Iron Mask
Anatole Litvak — All This, and Heaven Too; Blues in the Night
Frank Capra — It Happened One Night; Arsenic and Old Lace
W.S. Van Dyke — The Thin Man; Manhattan Melodrama
James Whale — The Invisible Man; Frankenstein
Robert Siodmak — Phantom Lady; Criss-Cross
André De Toth — House of Wax; Crime Wave
Lloyd Bacon — 42nd Street; Brother Orchid
Archie Mayo — The Mayor of Hell; Black Legion
Fred Zinnemann — From Here to Eternity; Act of Violence
Arthur Penn — Night Moves; Bonnie and Clyde
William Dieterle — The Hunchback of Notre Dame; The Devil and Daniel Webster
Tod Browning — Freaks; Dracula
Preston Sturges — The Lady Eve; Sullivan’s Travels
John Sturges — Bad Day at Black Rock; The Great Escape (just started watching his stuff, very good)
Edward Dmytryk — Crossfire; Murder, My Sweet
Morris Engel — Weddings and Babies; The Little Fugitive
Leo McCarey — The Awful Truth; Going My Way
Gregory La Cava — My Man Godfrey; Stage Door
Mitchell Leisen — Easy Living; Midnight
Rene Clair — The Flame of New Orleans; I Married a Witch
Clarence Brown — Flesh and the Devil; Anna Christie
Rouben Mamoulian — Love Me Tonight; Queen Christina
Fred Niblo — Ben Hur (1925); The Three Musketeers (1921)
William A. Seiter — Sons of the Desert; Hot Saturday
Lewis Milestone — All Quiet on the Western Front; A Walk in the Sun
Alfred E. Green — Baby Face; Smart Money
Alexander Mackendrick — The Sweet Smell of Success; The Ladykillers
Delmer Daves — Dark Passage; 3:10 to Yuma
John Farrow — The Big Clock; His Kind of Woman
Alexander Hall — Here Comes Mr. Jordan; Goin’ to Town

Jules Dassin The Canterville Ghost, Tokapi
Fred Niblo The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers
Stanley Kramer The Defiant Ones, On the Beach
Blake Edwards High Time, Operation Petticoat

Max Ophuls – I’ve only seen Letter From an Unknown Woman from his Hollywood period, add Madame de… and he would rank around 5th on the list.
Morris Engel – I watched as much of Little Fugitive as I could bear. Great technique, far too cloying.
Erich von Stroheim – So far I’ve only seen parts of Greed and Foolish Wives, not enough to judge.
Oscar Micheaux — Zilch