Don Siegel (original) (raw)
Don Siegel(1912-1991)
- Director
- Producer
- Editorial Department
Don Siegel was educated at Cambridge University, England. In Hollywood from the mid-'30s, he began his career as an editor and second unit director. In 1945 he directed two shorts (Hitler Lives (1945) andStar in the Night (1945)) which both won Academy Awards. His first feature as a director was 1946'sThe Verdict (1946). He made his reputation in the early and mid-'50s with a series of tightly made, expertly crafted, tough but intelligent "B" pictures (among themThe Lineup (1958),Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954),Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)), then graduated to major "A" films in the 1960s and early 1970s. He made several "side trips" to television, mostly as a producer. Siegel directed what is generally considered to beElvis Presley's best picture,Flaming Star (1960). He had a long professional relationship and personal friendship withClint Eastwood, who has often said that everything he knows about filmmaking he learned from Don Siegel.