30 Years of Brilliance: 1930-1959
Robert Aldrich is perhaps most famous for his hugely successful film 'The Dirty Dozen' in 1967, and despite his stature among critics, he surprisingly never won a major film award in Hollywood.
Aldrich entered the film industry in 1941, and began working his way through the ranks. His first job was as a production clerk at RKO Pictures. During World War II he worked as a second assistant director for Edward Dmytryk and Leslie Goodwins. By 1944, he was working as first assistant director; among the noted directors with whom he apprenticed over the next few years were Jean Renoir for 'The Southerner', in 1945; Lewis Milestone, who Aldrich greatly admired; Albert Lewin; William Wellman; Abraham Polonsky, who became a close friend; Joseph Losey' and sir Charles Chaplin for 'Limelight' in 1952.
Eager to become a director, Aldrich moved to New York, in 1952 where he directed several episodes of the NBC TV series 'The Doctor' in 1952. His first featuare, for MGM, was 'Big Leaguer in 1953, starring Edwarad G. Robinson, about amateur baseball players striving for a chance in the big leagues. With his second feature, 'World for Ransom' in 1954, about a kidnapped nuclear scientist for sale to the highest bidder, Aldrich's characteristic themes and motifs began to emerge: the protagonist is a a cynical antihero, who acts only according to his personal moral code in an incalculably strange and impenetrable world. 'World for Ransom' was poorly received by the critics, but garnered the attention of producers Harold Hecht and Burt Lanacaster, who offered him his first major production, 'Apache' in 1954. Aldrich subsequently directed Lancaster in the Western adventure 'Vera Cruz' in 1954, co-starring Gary Cooper.
It was his next feature, the remarkably stylish film noir 'Kiss Me Deadly' in 1955, that revealed both the artistic ambition and audacity of Alddrich, and established hes critical reputation. The movie's story, about a thuggish private detective searching for a mysterious black box, is at times absurd, grotesque, and a seeming apocalyptic allegory. He went on to direct Joan Crawford in the melodrama 'Autumn Leaves' in 1956, for which he won the Best Director award at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film's success enabled him to persuade Crawford to work alongside arch rival Bette Davis in the critically and commercially successful Gothic melodrama 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' in 1962.
Subsequent films, including 'Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte' in 1964, 'The Flight of the Phoenix' in 1965, and the World War II action film 'The Dirty Dozen', saw Aldrich at the height of success. Among his best final films are the brutal Western 'Ulzana's Raid' in 1972, 'Emperor of the North Pole' in 1973, and his last commercial success 'The Longest Yard' in 1974.
