Richard Brooks established his reputation in the decades following World War II as one of Hollywood's most prominent screenwriter/directors. His major screenplays are adaptations of works by such literary luminaries as Fëdor Dostoevski, Joseph Conrad, Sinclair Lewis, and Tennessee Williams. Brooks has always tried to remain faithful to the original, but at the same time he insists on imposing his own interpretations. Critics have had mixed responses to these interpretations--sympathetic to the difficulties, caustic about the realizations--but Brooks has generally managed to achieve his own vision, retaining a consistency and integrity throughout his mature work.

Brooks was born in Philadelphia, the son of factory workers. He studied journalism at Temple University, but when he asked his parents for tuition for his final semester, they requested that he sign a promissory note for the money. Deciding at that point not to return to school, he left...