Richard Brooks

A pioneering figure in independent filmmaking, writer-director Richard Brooks applied his journalistic background to his feature film career, in which he explored the best and worst in human behavior in films like "The Blackboard Jungle" (1955), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958), "The Professionals" (1966) and "In Cold Blood" (1967). Brooks moved from newspaper man and radio writer to penning scripts for noir films like "Brute Force" (1947) and "Key Largo" (1948), where he honed his talent for characters who operated on both sides of the law. After graduating to director in the 1950s, he earned an Oscar for writing "Elmer Gantry" (1960) and nominations for writing and directing "Blackboard," "Cat," and "The Professionals" before writing and directing his masterwork, the black-and-white docudrama "In Cold Blood" (1967). The film also served as the coda for his career, as Brooks would try and fail to meet its standard of quality for much of the next two decades. His best work, however, would stand the test of time, and ensure him a spot among the cinematic immortals.