Edward Dmytryk

Edward Dmytryk had an interesting life to say the least. When he was six years old, his mother died and his father began beating him. He lived life as a runaway until he was fifteen when authorities aided him in finding part-time jobs. This is actually how Dmytryk found his way into the film world. Authorities found him a job working as a film studio messenger. After being exposed to the film world, he gave up on school (at which he was an outstanding student) and worked his way up the ranks until he was a director. He specialized in film noir movies such as Murder, My Sweet (1944) and The Young Lions (1958), and he became very well-known.

Dmytryk's career did go down hill with the creation of the House Un-American Activities Committee. He became known as one of the "Hollywood Ten" who would not cooperate with the anti-communist standards set forth by the HUAC, but after spending several years in prison, he decided to give in and offer up names of supposed communists to the HUAC. When he did this, he lost lots of respect from people within the industry which ultimately resulted in the end of his career. In the 1970s he began teaching film theory and production in an academic setting. He continued this career path until his death in 1999.