The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks

Richard Schickel created nine "The Men Who Made Movies" documentaries--eight in 1973 and one later one for Sam Fuller. All concerned a particular director who made American films (this included the Brit Alfred Hitchcock, as he made many films in the States). This one featuring Howard Hawks is now included in the two DVD set for his "Rio Bravo"--one of the best westerns of the 1950s.

Most of the documentary consisted of letting Hawks just talk--and filling in the gaps with snippets of his films. This worked out great, as although Hawks was not known for his being very talkative, Hawks' direct (very, very direct) style of talking was very endearing. I loved how instead of trying to analyze his work, he simply stated that he filmed something and if he didn't like it, he'd re-shoot it! Simple and effective--and about as far from the intellectual auteur as you can find. In other words, he just filmed what he liked! Some directors would really benefit from this very direct and unadorned style--something the French came to adore. This gave his films an honest and simple something that I, too, have loved. If you love films, then give this episode a look. A well-made and fascinating documentary.

What makes this biopic (if we can call it that -- it is more of a career retrospective and not personal) worthwhile is that it was made while Hawks was still alive. That allows him to reflect back on his own work in a way no historian could.

I had no idea that he made a movie each year for 43 years. That is incredible -- and was anyone more versatile than Hawks, from the great comedies of "Bringing Up Baby" and "Front Page" to the classic westerns "Red River" and "Rio Bravo"? Not to mention the war pictures. Only Billy Wilder comes to mind for having that sort of range.

The film claims that Lauren Bacall was his best discovery. I find that hard to swallow, as I am not a big Bacall fan. They do acknowledge that "Hawksian women" tend to be raspy and manlike, with the exception of Angie Dickinson.

Well, if nothing else, the documentary makes me want to see more of his work -- so I just requested five more of Hawks' films from the library.

Film critic Richard Schickel wrote, produced, and directed this short film containing interviews from two separate sessions in 1973 with then-retired movie maker Howard Hawks, who casually reminisces on his film career starting in 1930 with the fighter-pilot melodrama "The Dawn Patrol". Not believing in being under contract to one boss, Hawks stayed independent throughout the years and managed to work in every film genre: war epics, screwball comedies, film noir, westerns. He is remarkably down-to-earth, not at all bitter at being shut out of '70s Hollywood, and open to talking about his actors (but never slipping into hearsay or gossip). Hawks comes across as a straight-shooter, a no-nonsense guy who didn't like to over-think any decision. He never laughs when conjuring up the past--to Hawks at this point, 1939 probably felt very recent. Some of the clips go on too long, and there's too much of the overrated "His Girl Friday" for my liking, but this overview of Hawks' resume is still a captivating jaunt for cinephiles.

Howard Hawks was one of the greatest Hollywood film directors of the golden age of cinema where movie stars mattered on screen and characters were just as every bit important. This hourlong documentary mostly has Hawks in the 1970s talked about his relationships with major movie stars like John Wayne and Cary Grant. I caught this episode on the Bringing Up Baby DVD collector's edition. It's well worth watching if you love the golden age of cinema.