Every Best Director Winner In Oscar History
The ’50s
Directors can repeat as Best Director — the ’50s saw Elia Kazan do it, and John Ford and William Wyler won their third awards in this same decade — but it’s rare for a director to win the Oscar back-to-back. Joseph Mankiewicz did it with A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve. George Stevens also had a great showing, winning two Oscars for A Place in the Sun and Giant.
Similarly to the ’40s, only a few movies that didn’t win Best Picture won their directors this Oscar. In this decade, four movies managed to pull it off.
1950: Joseph Mankiewicz — All About Eve
- Mankiewicz also wrote All About Eve, then later wrote and directed both Guys and Dolls and Cleopatra.
1951: George Stevens — A Place in the Sun
- A Place in the Sun didn’t win Best Picture, but it does star Elizabeth Taylor.
1952: John Ford — The Quiet Man
- The Quiet Man lost out on Best Picture, but it is, finally, a Ford/Wayne collaboration. Even if you should also probably watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
1953: Fred Zinnemann — From Here to Eternity
- Zinnemann also worked on Westerns like High Noon.
1954: Elia Kazan — On the Waterfront
- Kazan has three films from this decade that are pretty great watches: A Streetcar Named Desire, East of Eden (with James Dean), and this one, which, like Streetcar, involves Marlon Brando.
1955: Delbert Mann — Marty
- Mann worked with Doris Day in pictures like That Touch of Mink and Lover Come Back.
1956: George Stevens — Giant
- Giant had a slew of nominations, including a nod for James Dean as Best Actor after his death, but only won Best Director.
1957: David Lean — The Bridge on the River Kwai
- Lean also directed Doctor Zhivago in the ’60s.
1958: Vincente Minnelli — Gigi
- Minnelli did a ton of musicals, including Gigi, An American in Paris, Brigadoon, and Meet Me in St. Louis.
1959: William Wyler — Ben-Hur
- Wyler still worked into the ’60s, with movies like How to Steal a Million.