Howard Hawks Biography

Fast Facts

• Studied mechanical engineering at Cornell
• Began his Hollywood career as a prop man before serving in World War I; after the war, worked on silent films for Paramount and Fox
• His films are distinguished by rapid-fire verbal sparring and the importance of body language and gestures such as the lighting of cigarettes
• Worked in almost every genre, from westerns (Red River) to war films (Sergeant York) to noir (The Big Sleep); set the benchmark for mob films with 1932's Scarface and for madcap comedies with 1938's Bringing Up Baby
• Had a knack for pairing iconic romantic duos, including Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby, Carole Lombard and John Barrymore in Twentieth Century, and Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not