Roman Polanski
Born in Poland, Roman Polanski spent days, prior to shooting Chinatown, screening film noir favorites including The Maltese Falcon which was directed by John Huston.
In Polanski's masterpiece, Chinatown, he cleverly cast Huston as the aging, demonic millionaire, Noah Cross. Chinatown, which starred Jack Nicholson as a hard-boiled detective who just can't seem to get a handle on a mystery that reeks of incest, murder and political greed, was ground-breaking in 1974. The film showcased the directorial talents of Polanski who had made Hollywood take notice with earlier thrillers including Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby.
Sadly, Polanski's personal life would make horror headlines when his beautiful young wife, Sharon Tate, was brutally murdered at the direction of madman killer, Charles Manson.
Read our review of Chinatown.
