Brian G. Hutton

Brian Geoffrey Hutton (May 2, 1935^[1] – August 19, 2014) was an American film director and actor. As a filmmaker, he was best known for directing the World War II action films Where Eagles Dare (1968) and Kelly's Heroes (1970).^[2]

Hutton was born in New York City, and studied at the Actors Studio.^[1] He was discovered by film producer Hal B. Wallis, who first brought him to Hollywood in the mid-1950s.^[3]

He had a brief acting career between 1954 and 1962, including an appearance as an army deserter in the episode "Custer" in Gunsmoke (series 2, 1956). He played a young gunslinger, Billy Benson in season 2, episode 4 of The Rifleman. He made two guest appearances on Perry Mason in 1957: as Rod Gleason in "The Case of the Sulky Girl" and as a parking attendant in "The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink." His last television appearance was in the series Archer in 1975.^[3]

In 1958, Hutton played a young gunfighter named The Kid in the episode "Yampa Crossing" of the western series Sugarfoot. The following year, he portrayed a remorseful defendant on trial for causing a traffic death in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (the episode "Your Witness"). Hutton played twins in an episode of Have Gun Will Travel as Adam and Sam M.^{[citation needed]}

Hutton also taught acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse,^[4] where he staged a production of The Connection that starred Robert Blake and was produced by Albert S. Ruddy.^[3]

Hutton made his debut as a director in 1965 with Wild Seed, a low-budget drama starring Michael Parks and Celia Kaye.^[2] His first studio film was The Pad and How to Use It (1966), produced by Ross Hunter, shot in 19 days.^[5]

Hutton then did Sol Madrid (1967) for producer Elliot Kastner. Kastner hired Hutton to direct Where Eagles Dare, from a screenplay by Alistair MacLean at MGM starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. It was a huge success.^[6]

MGM hired Hutton to direct Clint Eastwood again in Kelly's Heroes.^[1]

He then directed Elizabeth Taylor in X Y & Zee (1972) and Night Watch (1973).^[2] He was going to do Sleep is for the Rich for Kastner but it was never made.^[7] In November 1972 Martin Poll announced he would direct The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing but he did not make the final movie.^[8]

After Night Watch came out in 1973, Hutton stopped making films for seven years because he lost his enthusiasm for it.^[9]

It wasn’t something I wanted to do to begin with – not my life’s work... When I finished the second Elizabeth Taylor picture I thought, ‘Well, what am I wasting my life doing this for?' I mean, a gorilla could have made those movies. All I had to do was yell ‘Action’ and ‘Cut-Print’ because everybody was doing what they had to do anyway.^[9]

He came back at the behest of Elliot Kastner who needed a director to replace Roman Polanski on The First Deadly Sin (1980) with Frank Sinatra.^[10] Hutton then made High Road to China (1983), this time replacing Sidney J. Furie, with Tom Selleck.^[11]

Hutton retired from making films altogether 1980s by the end of the decade, and worked in real-estate.^[1]

He died in Los Angeles, California on August 19, 2014, at age 79, a week after suffering a heart attack. He was survived by his wife Victoria.^[2][3]

Erin Free of FilmInk included Hutton in the publication's "Unsung Auteur" series, writing "Though not as driven to the task as most successful directors, Brian G. Hutton nevertheless helmed a number of excellent features, most notably a truly cracking Clint Eastwood double-shot with 1968’s Where Eagles Dare and 1970’s Kelly’s Heroes (....) Hutton imbued his films with something a little extra in terms of attitude and originality."^[11]

Film

Television

• Brian G. Hutton at IMDb
• Brian G. Hutton profile, allmovie.com; accessed August 25, 2014.