Rouben Mamoulian

A noted director of several famous Broadway productions, Rouben Mamoulian translated his sense for the theatrical to film and quickly became known for his innovative use of the camera, sound and color even in an age when black-and-white film was the standard. Guided by a strong creative instinct, informed intelligence, and a staunch independence that often clashed with the staid Hollywood studio system, Mamoulian emphasized stylization over naturalism in such early works as "City Streets" (1931) and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1931), perhaps his greatest film. Though many of his titles were not always the most widely remembered, Mamoulian directed some of the biggest stars of the day - Marlene Dietrich in "Song of Songs" (1933), Garbo in "Queen Christina" (1933), William Holden in "Golden Boy" (1939) and Tyrone Power in "The Mark of Zorro" (1940) - the last widely considered to be the best of the Zorro films. But once his contract with 20th Century Fox ended with the completion of "Blood and Sand" (1941) and "Rings on Her Fingers" (1942), Mamoulian ran afoul of the studios and his producers, being fired from more films - "Laura" (1944), "Porgy and Bess" (1959) and "Cleopatra" (1963) - than he would make for the rest of his career. A victim of his strong independent nature, Mamoulian faded into retirement, but did leave behind a mark as a fierce innovator who brought a sense of theatricality to every film.