Don Siegel

Filmmakers

Donald Siegel (October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film director and producer. His name variously appeared in the credits of his films as both Don Siegel and Donald Siegel. He made his feature debut with The Verdict (1946), starring popular character actors Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. His other early films include Night Unto Night (1949), with Ronald Reagan, Viveca Lindfors, Broderick Crawford, Rosemary DeCamp, Osa Massen, and Art Baker; and The Big Seal (1949), with Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer.

Films in the 1950s include The Duel at Silver Creek (1952), with Audie Murphy, Faith Domergue, and Stephen McNally; Count the Hours (1953), with Macdonald Carey, Teresa Wright, John Craven, and Jack Elam; China Venture (1953), with Edmond O’Brien, Barry Sullivan, and Jocelyn Brando; Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954), with Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, and Robert Osterloh; Private Hell 36 (1954), with Ida Lupino, Steve Cochran, Howard Duff, Dean Jagger and Dorothy Malone; An Annapolis Story (1955), with John Derek, Diana Lynn, and Kevin McCarthy; Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), with McCarthy and Dana Wynter; Crime in the Streets (1956), with James Whitmore, John Cassavetes, and Sal Mineo; Baby Face Nelson (1957), with Mickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric Hardwicke, Leo Gordon, Anthony Caruso, Elam, and John Hoyt; Spanish Affair (1957), with Carmen Sevilla, Richard Kiley, and José Guardiola; The Lineup (1958), with Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, and Warner Anderson; and Hound-Dog Man (1959), with abian, Carol Lynley, and Stuart Whitman.

Films in the 1960s include Flaming Star (1960), with Elvis Presley and Barbara Eden; Hell Is for Heroes (1962), with Steve McQueen, Bobby Darren, Fess Parker, James Coburn, Nick Adams, and Bob Newhart; The Killers (1964), with Lee Marvin, Cassavetes, Angie Dickinson, and Ronald Reagan; the TV movie Stranger on the Run (1967), with Henry Fonda, Anne Baxter, and Michael Parks, and Sal Mineo; Coogan’s Bluff (1968), with Clint Eastwood (their first of five collaborations), Susan Clark, Don Stroud, Tisha Sterling, Betty Field and Lee J. Cobb; and Madigan (1968), with Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, and Inger Stevens.

Films in the 1970s include Two Mules, for Sister Sara (1970), with Shirley MacLaine and Eastwood; The Beguiled (1970), with Eastwood and Geraldine Page; Dirty Harry (1971), with Eastwood; Charley Varrick (1973), with Walter Matthau, Andrew Robinson, Joe Don Baker, and John Vernon; The Black Windmill (1974), with Michael Caine, Vernon, Janet Suzman and Donald Pleasence; The Shootist (1976), with John Wayne (in his final film), Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Richard Boone, Hugh O’Brian, Harry Morgan, John Carradine, Sheree North, Scatman Crothers, and Rick Lenz; Teflon (1977), with Charles Bronson, Lee Remick, and Pleasence; and Escape from Alcatraz (1979), with Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Fred Ward, Jack Thibeau, and Larry Hankin. His last two films were Rough Cut (1980), with Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down, and David Niven; and Jinxed! (1981), with Bette Midler, Rip Torn, and Ken Wahl.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

  • Across the Pacific (1942) – montage director; directed by John Huston & Vincent Sherman
  • Casablanca (1942)** – montage director; directed by Michael Curtiz
  • The Hard Way (1943) – montage director; directed by Vincent Sherman
  • Star in the Night (1945) – short
  • Hitler Lives (1945) – documentary short, uncredited
  • The Verdict (1946)
  • Night Unto Night (1949)
  • The Big Steal (1949)
  • The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
  • Count the Hours (1953)
  • China Venture (1953)
  • Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
  • Private Hell 36 (1954)
  • An Annapolis Story (1955)
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)**
  • Crime in the Streets (1956)
  • Baby Face Nelson (1957)
  • Spanish Affair (1957)
  • The Gun Runners (1958)
  • The Lineup (1958)
  • Hound-Dog Man (1959)
  • Edge of Eternity (1959)
  • Flaming Star (1960)
  • Hell Is for Heroes (1962)
  • The Killers (1964)
  • The Hanged Man (1964) – TV movie
  • Stranger on the Run (1967) – TV movie
  • Coogan’s Bluff (1968)
  • Madigan (1968)
  • Death of a Gunfighter (1969)
  • Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)
  • The Beguiled (1971)
  • Dirty Harry (1971)
  • Charley Varrick (1973)
  • The Black Windmill (1974)
  • The Shootist (1976)
  • Telefon (1977)
  • Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
  • Rough Cut (1980)
  • Jinxed! (1982)

Other notable New Hollywood filmmakers: