John Huston

John Huston

Actor, Director, Writer




Most of Huston's films were adaptations of important novels, often depicting a “heroic quest," as in Moby Dick, or The Red Badge of Courage. In many films, different groups of people, while struggling toward a common goal, would become doomed or "destructive alliances,” giving the films a dramatic and visual tension. Many of his themes also involved some of the "grand narratives" of the twentieth century, such as religion, meaning, truth, freedom, psychology, colonialism and war.

Before becoming a Hollywood filmmaker, he had been an amateur boxer, reporter, short-story writer, portrait artist in Paris, a cavalry rider in Mexico, and a documentary filmmaker during World War II. Huston has been referred to as "a titan," "a rebel" and a "renaissance man," in the Hollywood film industry. Author Ian Freer describes him as "cinema's Ernest Hemingway," — a filmmaker who was "never afraid to tackle tough issues head on." A statue of Huston, sitting in his directorial chair (pictured below), stands in Plaza John Huston Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Huston, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


Aug. 5, 1906

Place of birth

Nevada, Missouri, USA

Known for


Tunisian Victory