Quotes

The director is the channel through which a motion picture reaches the screen.

In Hollywood, the cameraman lights the star. In Europe, he lights the set.

[on unwittingly relinquishing his profit share in the hugely successful La grande parade (1925) for a nominal sum] I thus spared myself from becoming a millionaire instead of a struggling young director trying to do something interesting and better with a camera.

[on Hedy Lamarr] Her beauty made up for whatever she lacked in acting ability. Acting probably didn't come naturally to her but the note of unsureness in what she did seemed to give her a certain childish attractiveness.

[on Frank Capra] Very often I would see the wheels going around and the tricks coming up. It was probably useful, but I used to be aware of the mechanics of it and how you would work toward a gag to get a gag in. I'm sure he'd think the same thing about me. He's a good filmmaker.

[on Robert Donat] He is the only actor I have ever known who had a graph of his character development charted out on the wall of his dressing room.

[on Gary Cooper] He got a reputation as a great actor just by thinking hard about the next line.

[on the chaotic conditions of early Hollywood] Men who had never been inside a studio were given directing assignments on pure bluff. They wouldn't have the slightest notion of what a camera could do. Some of these ne'er-do-wells would turn out several pictures before being discovered; by the time busy executives got around to viewing their initial efforts, they would be well into their third film.

My love affair with the greatest medium of expression has never faltered. It embraces all other art forms.

A simple story filmed with limited sets can often be more effective than a costly extravaganza. provided it had depth. , and allows the audience to identify with the character.

In my opinion, the motion picture is the greatest medium of expression ever invented. It embraces all the other arts. The films that have the greatest unity, the greatest overall strength, and give the most satisfaction to the viewer, have been those in which a guiding hand was imposed in every section of the film's many divisions. Story, casting, settings, photography, clothes, acting, should all bespeak one mind. The director owes the audience an explanation. You have to make what you're trying to say understandable. What good is it if no one understands it? The scene doesn't have to be real. We deal with illusion, and the job of director is to control the illusion.