The French critics of Cahiers du Cinéma were the first to champion as a true auteur. Jacques Rivette wrote that Hawks's work contained "the secret of the greatest filmmakers: the ability to be invisible." You don't notice the camera moving; you don't notice the editing. You simply feel you are inside the story.

To understand , you must understand the "Hawksian Man" (and Woman). His protagonists are professionals—pilots, sheriffs, reporters, scientists, gangsters. They live by a strict code: do your job, don't whine, respect competence, and avoid sentimentality at all costs.

“A good movie,” he once said, “is three good scenes and no bad scenes.”

Howard Hawks (1896–1977) was a titan of the classic Hollywood era, often described by critics as the "greatest American director who is not a household name"

didn't make art. He made movies. But somewhere along the way, he turned that distinction into the highest form of art.