John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. His films include '' Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), '' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West-style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself init ...

'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (1963), and '' Ice Station Zebra'' (1968). In 2013 and 2018, respectively, ''The Magnificent Seven'' and '' Bad Day at Black Rock'' were selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Career

Sturges started his career in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

as an editor in 1932. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sturges directed documentaries and training films as a captain in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

First Motion Picture Unit. Sturges's mainstream directorial career began with '' The Man Who Dared'' (1946), the first of many

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

s. In the suspense film '' Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), he made imaginative use of the widescreen

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

format by placing

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...

alone against a vast desert panorama, receiving a Best Director Oscar nomination for the film. Over the course of his career, Sturges developed a reputation for elevated character-based drama within the confines of genre filmmaking. He was awarded the Golden Boot Award in 1992 for his lifetime contribution to Westerns. He once met

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

, who told him that he loved ''

'' (which was a remake of Kurosawa's ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a villag ...

''). Sturges considered this the proudest moment of his professional career. ''The Magnificent Seven'' was an inductee in the 2013

list. Sturges commented that its popularity is due in part as a springboard for several young actors, transporting the locale from Japan to Mexico, putting a twist into the career of

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...

, and having part of its score used as the Marlboro cigarette commercial theme. He died in 1992.

Awards

*Nominee Best Director —

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

('' Bad Day at Black Rock'') *Nominee Palme d'Or —

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

(''Bad Day at Black Rock'') *Nominee Best Director —

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

(''Bad Day at Black Rock'') *Nominee Best Director — Directors Guild of America ('' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (film)'') *Winner Best Foreign Language Film —

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan, established in 1950 by , established under the name of the "Association of Tokyo Film Journalists Award", which was formed mainly by film reporters from th ...

(Japan) (''

The Old Man and the Sea ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a 1952 novella by the American author Ernest Hemingway. Written between December 1950 and February 1951, it was the last major fictional work Hemingway published during his lifetime. It tells the story of Santiag ...

'') *Nominee Best Picture —

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

s ('' Marooned'') (also, screenwriter

Mayo Simon Mayo Simon (born May 2, 1928) is an American screenwriter, author and playwright. He is the father of the author Francesca Simon and biologist-'' X-Files'' science advisor Anne Simon, and as of 2025 is believed to be living. Select filmograp ...

, author

Martin Caidin Martin Caidin (September 14, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an American author, screenwriter, and an authority on aeronautics and aviation. Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books ...

) *Nominee Grand Prix —

Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (, Transliteration, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is a film festival first held in Moscow in 1935 and became regular since 1959. From its inception to ...

('' The Great Escape'') *Winner "Golden Eddie" Filmmaker of the Year —

American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editing, film editors who are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the ...

(1970) *Winner Golden Boot Award (1992)

Filmography

*'' The Man Who Dared'' (1946) *'' Shadowed'' (1946) *'' Alias Mr. Twilight'' (1946) *'' For the Love of Rusty'' (1947) *'' Keeper of the Bees'' (1947) *''

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

'' (1947) *'' The Sign of the Ram'' (1948) *'' Best Man Wins'' (1948) *'' The Walking Hills'' (1949) *'' The Magnificent Yankee'' (1950) *'' The Capture'' (1950) *'' Mystery Street'' (1950) *'' Right Cross'' (1950) *'' Kind Lady'' (1951) *'' The People Against O'Hara'' (1951) *''

It's a Big Country ''It's a Big Country: An American Anthology'' is a 1951 American anthology film consisting of eight segments by seven directors: Richard Thorpe, John Sturges, Charles Vidor, Don Weis, Clarence Brown, William A. Wellman and Don Hartman. Plot ...

'' (1951) *'' The Girl in White'' (1952) *'' Jeopardy'' (1953) *''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

'' (1953) *'' Escape from Fort Bravo'' (1953) *'' Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955) *'' Underwater!'' (1955) *'' The Scarlet Coat'' (1955) *''

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...

'' (1956) *'' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957) *'' Saddle the Wind'' (uncredited, 1958) *'' The Law and Jake Wade'' (1958) *''

'' (1958) *'' Last Train from Gun Hill'' (1959) *'' Never So Few'' (1959) *''

'' (1960) *'' By Love Possessed'' (1961) *'' Sergeants 3'' (1962) *'' A Girl Named Tamiko'' (1963) *'' The Great Escape'' (1963) *'' The Satan Bug'' (1965) *'' The Hallelujah Trail'' (1965) *'' Hour of the Gun'' (1967) *'' Ice Station Zebra'' (1968) *'' Marooned'' (1969) *''

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

'' (uncredited; quit during production, 1971) *'' Joe Kidd'' (1972) *'' Chino'' (1973) *''

McQ ''McQ'' is a 1974 American Panavision neo-noir crime action film directed by John Sturges and starring John Wayne. It costars Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, and Al Lettieri, and features Colleen Dewhurst, Clu Gulager, David Huddleston, Julian Chri ...

'' (1974) *'' The Eagle Has Landed'' (1976)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturges, John 1910 births 1992 deaths Deaths from emphysema Film directors from Illinois Film producers from Illinois First Motion Picture Unit personnel Military personnel from Illinois People from Oak Park, Illinois United States Army Air Forces officers Western (genre) film directors

Career

Awards

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links