5. Howard Hawks
In a time when the studios called the shots, Howard Hawks proved that you could still be successful even if you didn’t play by the rules. His hallmarks are more thematic than visual: men who adhere to an understated code of manliness; women who like to yank the rug from under those men’s feet. He proved to be one of the industry’s most versatile directors, genre-jumping throughout his career, almost always to great success.
Though he is often associated with the screwball comedy — with films like Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday — Hawks was just as at home with film noir (The Big Sleep), westerns (Red River), gangster films (Scarface), war movies (Sergeant York) and literary adaptations (To Have and Have Not).
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