On This Day

Birthday of Walter Hill

January 10th 1942

11:21 10 January 2025

American film director, producer and screenwriter Walter Hill was born on this day in 1942. Having established himself as a successful screenwriter on such films as 'The Getaway' (1972), 'Hickey & Boggs' (1972), 'The Thief Who Came to Dinner' (1973), 'The Macintosh Man' (1973) and 'The Drowning Pool' (1975), Hill made his directorial debut with 'Hard Times' (1975). The movie was a commercial and critical success but his second film 'The Driver' (1978) was a commercial failure in the United States and opened to poor reviews. It has since been widely reassessed and is now regarded as one of the best action films of the 1970s. 'The Warriors' (1979) was a huge hit though and Hill went on to direct some of the finest films of the 1980s including 'The Long Riders' (1980), 'Southern Comfort' (1981), '48 Hrs.' (1982), 'Streets of Fire' (1984), 'Brewster's Millions' (1985), 'Crossroads' (1986), 'Extreme Prejudice' (1987), 'Red Heat' (1988) and Johnny Handsome' (1989). Other notable credits include 'Another 48 Hrs.' (1990), 'Trespass' (1992). 'Geronimo: An American Legend' (1993), 'Wild Bill' (1995), 'Last Man Standing' (1996), 'Undisputed' (2002), 'Bullet to the Head' (2012) and 'Dead for a Dollar' (2022).

A natural successor to the great Sam Peckinpah, Walter Hill although semi-retired remains a prolific figure in American cinema. Happy Birthday Walter.