Howard Winchester Hawks May 30 1896 December 26 1977 was an American film director producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era He is popular for his films from a wide range of genres including screwball comedies Bringing Up Baby 1938 His Girl Friday 1940 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1953 westerns Red River 1948 Rio Bravo 1959 El Dorado 1967 adventure films Only Angels Have Wings 1939 To Have and Have Not 1944 films noirs The Big Sleep 1946 and gangster films Scarface 1932 Notable characteristics of his films are independent and toughtalking female protagonists Hawksian woman and witty and fastpaced dialogues In 1975 Hawks was awarded the Honorary Academy Award as a master American filmmaker whose creative efforts hold a distinguished place in world cinema and in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for Sergeant York Hawks has been considered by film critics to be an auteur because of his recognizable style and frequent use of certain thematic elements Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema Directors and Directions 19291968 included him in the pantheon of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States Hawks influenced numerous filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese