Talk:John Huston

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The Misfits[edit]

Huston also directed The Misfits (film) with an all-star cast including Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, and Eli Wallach. Famously, Huston spent long evenings carousing in the Nevada casinos after filming, surrounded by reporters and beautiful women, gambling, drinking, and smoking cigars. Gable remarked during this time that 'if he kept it up he would soon die of it'. Ironically, and tragically, Gable died three weeks after the end of filming from a massive heart attack while Huston went on to live for twenty-six more years.

I added this bit, admittedly from memory, based on a PBS documentary. It's a great and poignant story. The source was a reporter who was interviewing Gable as he sat eating dinner mid-evening. If you don't like it, or don't think it's true, then say so here, please. Guernseykid 06:06, 13 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Citizenship[edit]

Ireland has no problem with dual or even triple citizenship (Margaret Hassan was an Irish, British and Iraqi citizen), so I've removed the qualification.--Dub8lad1 10:21, 29 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

John Huston WW2 documentaries[edit]

I'd like to note that John Huston made several documentary films during second world war, while serving in military. Apparently the films were disliked by the military officials for their objectivity and the fact that they emphasized more realistic approach to the war. I found out about this from a documentary called "JOHN HUSTON - WAR STORIES" which consisted of an interview with mr. Huston.

quote from: http://www.yle.fi/d-projekti/arkisto/25tunti/99huston.html

A personal film memoir. The focus in on the outstanding documentary films directed by John Huston during the World War II which were "lost" or "banned".

For Report from the Aleutians, nominated for an Oscar in 1943, Huston flew many dangerous bombing missions with his combat camera crews from the island of Adak against the Japanese emplacements.

John Huston's second documentary Battle of San Pietro shot in Italy, is startling in it's honesty. A vivid and complete record of brutal combat conditions that faced the 36th Texas Infantry regiment. With "one hundred per cent replacements" they were devastated. Banned for this authentic realism Battle of San Pietro was declared "unfit for Army Personnel to see it would be demoralizing..."

In the aftermath of war, Huston directed Let There Be Light. A group portrait of soldiers being treated for what we now call traumatic stress syndrome. The tragic and shocking faces of men emotionally devastated by combat were filmed by John Huston with such veracity that this film remained banned for thirty five years.

* Director: Midge McKenzie * Production: Barnsbury Productions, Iso-Britannia, 1998

193.166.68.241 13:40, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Allegra Huston[edit]

Could someone clarify the parentage of the writer Allegra Huston? The John Julius Norwich article says she is the daughter of an extra-marital affair between Norwich and Huston's wife Erica Soma. Can any confirm that? Indisciplined (talk) 19:55, 20 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Its true-she wrote a book about her life stating the fact that her mother had an affair with John Julius Norwich and Allegra was a result. After the death of Ricki when she was 4 she was led to believe that John Huston was her father, but when she was about 12 her step mother Celeste Shane told her the truth. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.17.30.210 (talk) 00:29, 17 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Religion[edit]

What is his religion? Most Wikipedia articles mention all sorts about a person from his age, name, whether she/he is a homosexual, to nationality, but they tend to brush off a persons religion/faith. What is more important about someone, whether they are a homo or what religion or faith they have? Hope someone can find out John Hustons religion and also whether he is a freemason and add them to the article if true. Thanks --93.97.181.187 (talk) 01:23, 6 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Should voicing Gandalf be included?[edit]

Huston voiced Gandalf in the 1977 animated adaption of The_Hobbit_(1977_film) and The_Return_of_the_King_(1980_film) in 1980.

Although these were made-for-TV films, the distinction between those and theatrical films is getting pretty blurred. Thoughts? Kid Bugs (talk) 00:05, 8 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Second half of his career[edit]

This article covers the first 20-25 years of Huston's career pretty well, but after about '62/'63 there is little to no mention of what he did. There is a short paragraph about "The Bible: In the Beginning", another about his acting roles, and that's pretty much it. Yet he directed 19 films in this time, 10 of which were nominated for an Academy Award of some kind. Surely there is something notable to be said about some of these. If Freud and The Bible deserve paragraphs (and AFAIK these are considered minor works of Huston's), then presumably movies like Prizzi's Honor or Night of the Iguana do as well. I would do it myself, but I am nowhere near knowledgeable enough about the topic. Only just enough to know that there is a glaring omission here. :) Nemokara (talk) 18:21, 1 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Nationality vs. citizenship[edit]

There are countless references and bios that describe him as an American director. He does not become an Irish director simply because at the age of 58 he takes on an Irish citizenship. For example, Huston's Open Book, and Joseph Persico, "An Interview with John Huston, the Dean of American movie Men,", American Heritage. --Wikiwatcher1 (talk) 19:24, 16 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There are also numerous articles that describe him as Irish, and indicate that he referred to himself as Irish, even saying that he renounced his American citizenship. There are many examples throughout Wikipedia where those with dual citizenship/nationality are described with hyphenated identities. See Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigerian-American) or Vladimir Nabokov (Russian-America). The Nabokov example contradicts your complaint about how he adopted this nationality later in life (Nabokov was middle-aged when he went to the US and had already established himself as a successful Russian-language novelist, but is described as both nationalities). Also, the idea that an immigrant can never truly become a member of the society that they immigrate to strikes me as a claim with questionable political undertones that should be avoided here. Therefore, I suggest we refer to him as American-Irish, following the precedent of numerous other Wikipedia articles, the body of this Wikipedia article (which already says he renounced US citizenship to become Irish), and the many online sources that demonstrate his dual national identity. 2604:3D08:437B:B530:A5D9:27D5:2D65:2408 (talk) 08:16, 1 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

photo in infobox - caption[edit]

While the caption reads "John Huston, 1960s," this looks very much to me like Huston in his role as Noah Cross in Roman Polanski's Chinatown (film), which was shot in 1972. Any consensus to fix this? Gwen Gale (talk) 21:02, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It does look very much like an outfit he wears in Chinatown, you're right: screenshot --Loeba (talk) 21:18, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. I've gotta say, I think it's spot on the same, indeed, taken on set for the "lunch on Catalina" scene. This link to that site works for me, by the way. Also this article on parallax-view captions the very same photo (as the one in the infobox here), though that one's a much cleaner scan, as John Huston as Noah Cross in "Chinatown". This seems so straightforward to me as to be outside the bounds of WP:OR if one were to do a fix. Gwen Gale (talk) 17:03, 14 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Surgery[edit]

'After a short period acting on stage, and having undergone surgery, he traveled on his own to Mexico.' The reference to surgery is unexplained. Valetude (talk) 11:55, 25 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Prizzi's Honor (1985)[edit]

How the giant eff isn't this listed with it's own section??? No other American director has directed both their father and daughter to Academy Awards. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.171.227.39 (talk) 10:17, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Missing Reference[edit]

There is a missing reference in the following quotation:

When asked how he envisions his films while directing and what his goals are, Huston replied: 

   To me the ideal film — which I've never succeeded in making — would be as though the reel were behind one's eyes and you were projecting it yourself, seeing what you wish to see. This has a great deal in common with thought processes ... That's why I think the camera is an eye as well as a mind. Everything we do with the camera has physiological and mental significance.

Would anybody know where does this quotation come from? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:2C40:200:B013:0:0:1:5EB2 (talk) 21:12, 12 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Assessment comment[edit]

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:John Huston/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Needs citing ....(Complain)(Let us to it pell-mell) 08:48, 14 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Last edited at 08:48, 14 August 2006 (UTC). Substituted at 20:13, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

1956-1961 poorly covered[edit]

The current start of "The Misfits (1961) "Of his next five films, only The Misfits (1961), found critical approval." is clearly in error since the 1957 film "Heaven knows, Mr. Allison" was nominated for several Academy Awards including -Best Actress, and best Screenplay, Adapted. I understand the importance of citation, however it doesn't take Rex Reed to recognize that Academy nominations indicate critical approval, it's QED. I wish to leave this note for a true cinemophile to give films like "Heaven knows, Mr Allison" their proper due. Thanks 72.219.59.167 (talk) 04:15, 26 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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