If I Couldn't Read, I Couldn't Live.

I Was Making Films About American Society, And It Is True That I Never Felt At Home There, Except Perhaps When My Wife And I Lived On A Farm In The San Fernando Valley. But I Always Wanted My Characters To Be More Than Cyphers For The Failings Of Their World. And I Never Had To Look Too Hard To Find A Part Of Myself In Them

If I Can Say One Thing For My Pictures, It Is A Certain Craftsmanship. A Thought Which Has Gone Into Every Angle. There Is Nothing There Without An Optical Reason.

At The Time I Belonged To The Socialist Party, And Hitler Came To Power.

These Happy Endings All Express The Weak And Sly Promise That The World Is Not Rotten And Out Of Joint But Meaningful And Ultimately In Excellent Condition.

My Idea At This Time, Which Was Slowly Developing, Was To Create A Comedie Humaine With Little People, Average People - Samples From Every Period In American Life.