George Stevens

George Stevens, born George Cooper Stevens in 1904 and died in 1975, was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer whose work moved from 1930s comedies to large scale postwar dramas. He won the Academy Award for Best Director twice, for A Place in the Sun in 1951 and for Giant in 1956, and also directed Shane in 1953; these three films are often grouped as his American Trilogy for their shared exploration of outsiders and the American dream. His other major films include The Diary of Anne Frank in 1959 and The Greatest Story Ever Told in 1965. Stevens also served as president of the Screen Directors Guild from 1941 to 1943 and received the Screen Directors Guild Award for Best Feature Film for Giant.