The title comes from an exchange between filmmakers Howard Hawks and Peter Bogdanovich. Asked which directors he preferred, Hawks replied, "I liked almost anybody that made you realize who in the devil was making the picture." Hawks is talking about distinctive directorial personality, about movies that bear the stamp of a filmmaker's character. This book collects 16 interviews Bogdanovich conducted with some of the best directors working in the golden age of Hollywood. All of them, from the famous--Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, Chuck Jones, and Hawks himself--to the lesser known but equally wonderful Leo McCarey, George Cukor, Josef von Sternberg, and Edgar G. Ulmer--had a remarkable and inimitable style. In their interviews, they provide insight into their craft and a view of Hollywood's golden age that is informative, anecdotal, and often hysterically funny.

Noted film director (The Last Picture Show, 1971) and author (This Is Orson Welles,

LJ 11/15/92) Bogdanovich here consolidates 16 interviews with a very representative selection of significant cinema pioneers. Bogdanovich begins with a lengthy introduction in which he lays out his credentials, provides an overview of cinema history, and discusses the pervading influence of Ernst Lubitsch (d. 1947). Each director receives a career analysis followed by the interview and concluding with vital statistics and a complete filmography. As a film historian, Bogdanovich knew which questions to ask. Except for the previously unpublished Robert Aldrich and George Cukor interviews, these pieces originally appeared in periodicals, monographs, and books dating as far back as 1960. The books are out of print, and some of the periodicals are hard to find, making this compendium very valuable, even essential, for film collections.?Kim R. Holston, American Inst. for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Lib., Malvern, Pa.

Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

“A must have for any film nut.”—Details

Peter Bogdanovich, award-winning director, screenwriter, actor and critic, interviews 16 legendary directors over a 15-year period. Their richly illuminating conversations combine to make this a riveting chronicle of Hollywood and picture making. Join him in conversations with:

Robert Aldrich • George Cukor • Allan Dwan • Howard Hanks • Alfred Hitchcock • Chuck Jones • Fritz Lang • Joseph H. Lewis • Sidney Lumet • Leo McCarey • Otto Preminger • Don Siegel • Josef von Sternberg • Frank Tashlin • Edgar G. Ulmer • Raoul Walsh

NOTE: This edition does not include photographs.

Praise for Who the Devil Made It

“Illuminating . . . These were (and sometimes are: a few yet breathe) men rooted in history as much as in Hollywood. Their collected memories make the past look fearfully rich beside a present that is poverty-stricken in everything except money.”—The New Yorker

“Bogdanovich is one of America’s finest writers on the cinema. . . . Thank goodness [his] Who the Devil Made It has come along to remind us that films and writing about film were, at one time, focused on the work and not strictly on the bottom line.”—The Boston Globe

“A treasure trove on the craft of directing.”—Newsday

“Monumental . . . The directors’ reminiscences about technique, working methods, sources of ideas, and relationships with actors and studios are thoroughly entertaining.”—Publishers Weekly

“A fine achievement that helps illuminate the art and craft of some remarkable directors . . . There are plenty of revealing anecdotes.”—Kirkus Reviews