Don Siegels forty nine year career has produced some of the most memorable films of the American cinema. The seminal prison movie Riot in Cell Block 11 1954, the much imitated scifi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956, the uncompromising war movie Hell is for Heroes 1962 and the controversial cop thriller Dirty Harry 1971 are just a few examples of the range of his work.Although a significant number of his feature films have retained great popularity and his name has come to be well known amongst film fans, there is little consistency in the ways in which the director and his work have been accounted for. From reading the critics, one might almost think there were at least two Don Siegels: at one extreme, a workmanlike director of taut action films, technically proficient but imparting little of his own individuality into each project; at the other, a rightwing misogynist whose films explicitly fan inflammatory social debates.Neither of these assessments seems entirely flattering. Yet one of the fascinations of Don Siegels films has been their consistent ability to provoke debate, at the same time as skilfully delivering the pleasures required of the action genres war, thriller, western and so forth in which he regularly worked. The multitude of ways in which it is possible to engage with these films is apparent in the range of critical responses cited here. Through this range we can also begin to appreciate the extent to which different ways of approaching film authorship have helped to shape Siegels reputation as a director.

Address: GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia
Website: http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/04/siegel.html