. . . director John Huston never stopped trying to make a better one until his death nearly 50 years later. Though this tribute--completed shortly after John passed away--is now nearly a quarter of a century old itself (and many of its "witnesses," including Paul Newman and Arthur Miller, have since joined John in Hollywood Heaven), JOHN HUSTON: THE MAN, THE MOVIES, THE MAVERICK still serves as a helpful window to the entertainments of yesteryear. Though John comes off as more of a man's director than a maestro of "chick flicks," he seems to have gotten along with a higher percentage of his actresses than British director Alfred Hitchcock. This may be due to his greater personal intimacy with a smörgåsbord of many women, including five wives and a legion of lovers. Hitch, on the other hand, got "stuck" on his first wife. Several of the "witnesses" note that John's true calling was to be a painter, but when he was alive, Van Gogh's could be had for the thousands--they did not set one back $100 million each, like today. So John took up moving pictures to finance his gambling debts, horse stables, Irish mansion, cigars, booze, and women--such was the stuff his dreams were made of.
