Starting as a contract director doing B-Features, Sturges first came to attention with the noir-ish "Mystery Street", which led to better assignments, and then hit the big time with "Bad Day at Black Rock". A solid A-list career followed, until Sturges went into independent production with the Mirisch company, which resulted in the films he is most remembered for - "The Magnificent Seven", "By Love Possessed", and , most of all, "The Great Escape". From that point on he became a major director for hire of high profile studio A pictures like " Ice Station Zebra" and "Marooned". By the 1970s , audience tastes had changed and Sturges and his type of films became old fashioned and out-dated. His last picture was "The Eagle has Landed", after which he retired. He died in 1992.
