Victor Fleming entered the film business as a stuntman in 1910, mainly doing stunt driving which came easy to him, as he had been a mechanic and professional racecar driver. He became interested in working on the other side of the camera, and eventually got a job as a cameraman on many of the films of Douglas Fairbanks. He soon began directing, and his first big hit was The Virginian 1929. It was the movie that turned Gary Cooper into a star a fact Cooper never forgot; he and Fleming remained friends for life. Flemings star continued to rise during the 30s, and he was responsible for many of the films that would eventually be considered classics, such as Red Dust 1932, Bombshell 1933, Treasure Island 1934, and the two films that were the high marks of his career: Gone with the Wind 1939 and The Wizard of Oz 1939. Ironically Fleming was brought in on both pictures to replace other directors and smooth out the troubled productions, a feat he accomplished masterfully. His career took somewhat of a downturn in the 40s, and most of his films, with the exception of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1941, werent particularly successful. He ended his career with the troubled production Joan of Arc 1948, which turned out to be a major critical and financial failure.

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