Brian Geoffrey Hutton (May 2, 1935 – 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).
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Early life and acting career
Hutton was born in New York City, and studied at the Actors Studio. He was discovered by film producer Hal B. Wallis, who first brought him to Hollywood in the mid-1950s.
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.
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.
Hutton also taught acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, where he staged a production of The Connection that starred Robert Blake and was produced by Albert S. Ruddy.
Director
Hutton made his debut as a director in 1965 with Wild Seed, a low-budget drama starring Michael Parks and Celia Kaye. His first studio film was The Pad and How to Use It (1966), produced by Ross Hunter, shot in 19 days.
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.
MGM hired Hutton to direct Clint Eastwood again in Kelly's Heroes.
He then directed Elizabeth Taylor in X Y & Zee (1972) and Night Watch (1973). He was going to do Sleep is for the Rich for Kastner but it was never made. In November 1972, Martin Poll announced Hutton would direct The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing; the film ended up being directed by Richard C. Sarafian..
Retirement
After Night Watch came out in 1973, Hutton stopped making films for seven years because he lost his enthusiasm for it:
"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."
Temporary return to filmmaking
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. Hutton then made High Road to China (1983), this time replacing Sidney J. Furie, with Tom Selleck.
Hutton retired from making films altogether 1980s by the end of the decade, and worked in real-estate.
Death
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.
Appraisal
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."
Filmography
Actor
Film
Television