Anthony Mann(1906-1967)

Towards the end of his career, Mann directed two major epics: El Cid (1961)--which was his last major success--and Der Untergang des Römischen Reiches (1964), shot with an international cast at a cost of $18.4 million. Poorly received, the film bankrupted producer Samuel Bronston. Mann only directed two more films and died during shooting of Todestanz eines Killers (1968), which was completed by its star Laurence Harvey.

[on Erich von Stroheim] He drove me mad. He was a genius. I'm not a genius, I'm a worker. Geniuses sometimes end up very unhappy, without a penny. That's what happened to Erich - and Preston Sturges, too.