John Huston John Huston John Marcellus Huston (; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. Huston was a citizen of the United States by birth but renounced U.S. citizenship to become an Irish citizen and resident. He returned to reside in the United States where he died. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948), "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950), "The African Queen" (1951), "The Misfits" (1961), "Fat City" (1972) and "The
John Huston Maxwell Anderson, and the film itself seemed overly stage-bound for many viewers. However, the "outstanding performances" by all the actors saved the film, and Claire Trevor won an Oscar for best supporting actress. Huston was annoyed that the studio cut several scenes from the final release without his agreement. That, along with some earlier disputes, angered Huston enough that he left the studio when his contract expired. In 1950 he wrote and directed "The Asphalt Jungle", a film which broke new ground by depicting criminals as somewhat sympathetic characters, simply doing their professional work, "an occupation like any other", or