Donald Siegel ( ; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film and television director, producer, and editor. He was described by The New York Times as "a director of tough, cynical and forthright action-adventure films whose taut plots centered on individualistic loners".
Siegel directed the science fiction horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), as well as five films with Clint Eastwood, including the action thriller Dirty Harry (1971) and the prison thriller Escape from Alcatraz (1979). He also directed John Wayne's final film, the Western The Shootist (1976). Siegel's earlier film Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954) was noted as an influence on the development of auteur theory and the French New Wave. One critic described him as "Hollywood's greatest genre director."
Early life and education Siegel was born in 1912 to a Jewish family in Chicago; his father was Samuel Siegel, a mandolin player. Siegel attended schools in New York, then moved to England to study at Jesus College, Cambridge and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. For a short time, he studied at Beaux Arts in Paris, but left at age 20 and later went to Los Angeles.Munn, p. 75
Career Siegel found work in the Warner Bros. film library after meeting producer Hal Wallis, and later rose to head of the montage department, where he directed thousands of montages, including the opening montage for Casablanca. In 1945, two shorts he directed, Star in the Night and Hitler Lives, won Academy Awards, which launched his career as a feature director. Siegel directed whatever material came his way, often transcending the limitations of budget and script to produce interesting and adept works. His 1954 prison thriller Riot in Cell Block 11, shot on-location at Folsom State Prison, was noted by auteurist critics of the French New Wave era, and earned Siegel a Directors Guild of America Award nomination
Siegel made the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), described by The Guardian in 2014 as a "fatalistic masterpiece" and "a touchstone for the sci-fi genre" which spawned three remakes. For television, he directed two episodes of The Twilight Zone, "Uncle Simon" (1963) and "The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross" (1964), and was the producer of The Legend of Jesse James (1965). He worked with Eli Wallach in The Lineup, Elvis Presley and Dolores del Río in Flaming Star (1960), with Steve McQueen in Hell Is for Heroes, and Lee Marvin in the influential The Killers (1964) before directing five of Eastwood's films that were commercially successful in addition to being well received by critics. These included the action films Coogan's Bluff and Dirty Harry, the Albert Maltz-scripted Western Two Mules for Sister Sara, the American Civil War melodrama The Beguiled, and the prison-break picture Escape from Alcatraz. Siegel also directed Charley Varrick starring Walter Matthau, which was originally slated for Eastwood, but ultimately turned down by the actor. He was a considerable influence on Eastwood's own career as a director, and Eastwood's film Unforgiven is dedicated "for Don and Sergio".
Siegel had a long collaboration with composer Lalo Schifrin, who scored five of his films: Coogan's Bluff, The Beguiled, Dirty Harry, Charley Varrick, and Telefon. Schifrin composed and recorded what would have been his sixth score for Siegel on Jinxed! (1982), but it was rejected by the studio despite Siegel's objections. This conflict was one of several fights Siegel had on his last film.Reported by the Los Angeles Times in 1982.
Siegel was also important to the career of director Sam Peckinpah. In 1954, Peckinpah was hired as a dialogue coach for Riot in Cell Block 11. His job entailed acting as an assistant to the director, Siegel. The film was shot on location at Folsom Prison. Siegel's location work and his use of actual prisoners as extras in the film made a lasting impression on Peckinpah. He worked as a dialogue coach on four additional Siegel films: Private Hell 36 (1954), An Annapolis Story (1955), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), and Crime in the Streets (1956). Twenty-five years later, Peckinpah was all but banished from the industry due to his troubled film productions. Siegel gave the director a chance to return to filmmaking. He asked Peckinpah if he would be interested in directing 12 days of second unit on Siegel's Jinxed! film. Peckinpah immediately accepted, and his earnest collaboration with his longtime friend was noted within the industry. While Peckinpah's work was uncredited, it led to his hiring as the director of his final film The Osterman Weekend (1983).
Cameos Siegel had a small role as a bartender in Eastwood's Play Misty for Me, and in Dirty Harry. In Philip Kaufman's 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a remake of Siegel's 1956 film, he appears as a taxi driver. In Charley Varrick, he has a cameo as a ping-pong player. He also appears in the 1985 John Landis film Into the Night. Siegel also has a small role in his remake of The Killers.
Honors Siegel received Lifetime Achievement honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Telluride Film Festival.
Personal life Siegel and actress Viveca Lindfors were married from 1948 to 1953. They had a son, Kristoffer Tabori. He married Doe Avedon in 1957. They adopted four children and then divorced in 1975. Siegel then married Carol Rydall, a former secretary to Clint Eastwood.
Death Siegel died at age 78 from cancer in Nipomo, California. Siegel is buried near Highway 1 in the coastal Cayucos-Morro Bay District Cemetery. He was an atheist.David Robinson, 'Don Siegel's stories', The Times, 1 May 1975; pg. 11; Issue 59384; col E.
Filmography
Feature films +YearTitleFunctioned asStudio/DistributorStarringNotesDirectorProducer1945Star in the Night Warner Bros.J. Carrol Naish, Donald Woods, Rosina GalliShort filmHitler LivesShort documentary1946The VerdictSydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Joan Lorring1949Night Unto NightRonald Reagan, Viveca Lindfors, Broderick CrawfordThe Big StealRKO PicturesRobert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix1952The Duel at Silver CreekUniversal PicturesStephen McNally, Audie Murphy, Faith DomergueNo Time for FlowersRKO PicturesViveca Lindfors, Paul Hubschmid, Ludwig Stössel1953Count the HoursMacdonald Carey, Teresa Wright, John CravenChina VentureColumbia PicturesEdmond O'Brien, Barry Sullivan, Jocelyn Brando1954Riot in Cell Block 11Allied ArtistsNeville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank FaylenPrivate Hell 36The FilmakersIda Lupino, Steve Cochran, Howard Duff1955An Annapolis StoryAllied ArtistsJohn Derek, Diana Lynn, Kevin McCarthy1956Invasion of the Body SnatchersKevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry GatesCrime in the StreetsJames Whitmore, John Cassavetes, Sal Mineo1957Baby Face NelsonUnited ArtistsMickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric HardwickeSpanish AffairParamount PicturesRichard Kiley, Carmen Sevilla, José GuardiolaCo-directed with Luis Marquina1958The Gun RunnersUnited ArtistsAudie Murphy, Eddie Albert, Patricia OwensThe LineupColumbia PicturesEli Wallach, Robert Keith, Warner Anderson1959Hound-Dog Man20th Century FoxFabian Forte, Stuart Whitman, Carol LynleyEdge of EternityColumbia PicturesCornel Wilde, Victoria Shaw, Mickey Shaughnessy1960Flaming Star20th Century FoxElvis Presley, Barbara Eden, Dolores del Río1962Hell Is for HeroesParamount PicturesSteve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker1964The KillersUniversal PicturesLee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes1968Coogan's BluffClint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan ClarkMadiganRichard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens1969Death of a GunfighterRichard Widmark, Lena Horne, John SaxonReplaced Robert TottenCredited as 'Allen Smithee'1970Two Mules for Sister SaraClint Eastwood, Shirley MacLaine, Manolo Fábregas1971The BeguiledClint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth HartmanDirty HarryWarner Bros.Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Andrew Robinson1973Charley VarrickUniversal PicturesWalter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Andrew Robinson1974The Black WindmillMichael Caine, Donald Pleasence, Delphine Seyrig1976The ShootistParamount PicturesJohn Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard1977TelefonMetro-Goldwyn-MayerCharles Bronson, Lee Remick, Donald Pleasence1979Escape from AlcatrazParamount PicturesClint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Fred Ward1980Rough CutBurt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down, David Niven1982Jinxed!Metro-Goldwyn-MayerBette Midler, Ken Wahl, Rip Torn
Other production credits +YearTitleNotes1939Confessions of a Nazi SpyMontage editorThe Roaring Twenties1940Brother OrchidAll This, and Heaven TooThey Drive by NightKnute Rockne, All American1941Meet John DoeOne Foot in HeavenBlues in the NightThey Died with Their Boots OnSergeant York2nd unit director1942Now, VoyagerMontage editorGeorge Washington Slept HereGentleman JimAcross the PacificCasablanca1943The Hard WayEdge of DarknessMission to MoscowMontage editor/2nd unit directorThis Is the ArmyMontage editorNorthern Pursuit2nd unit director1944The Adventures of Mark TwainMontage editorTo Have and Have Not2nd unit directorThe Conspirators1945Saratoga TrunkMontage editor/2nd unit director1946DevotionMontage editor1949All the King's Men2nd unit director
Television +YearTitleFunctioned asNetworkNotesDirectorProducer1952-53The DoctorNBC3 episodes1955Frontier1 episode1957Code 3Syndication1959Adventure ShowcaseCBS1960Alcoa TheatreNBC1961Bus StopABC1963The Lloyd Bridges ShowCBSBreaking PointABC1963-64The Twilight ZoneCBS2 episodes1964DestryABC1 episodeThe Hanged ManNBCTV movie1965Convoy1 episode1965-66The Legend of Jesse JamesABCDirector; 1 episodeProducer; 34 episodes1967Stranger on the RunNBCTV movie Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database An Academy Salute to Don Siegel, With Curtis Hanson and Clint Eastwood