Lewis Milestone, 1895-1980

Lewis Milestone with one of his Oscars

Today marks the birth anniversary of director Lewis Milestone, who emigrated from what is now Moldova, a former Soviet republic between Romania and Ukraine, just after the Communist revolution of 1917. Milestone eventually ended up as a director in Hollywood toward the end of the silent era, and worked through the transition to sound, making close to 40 films in a career that lasted into the early 1960s.

In silents, he won an Oscar for Two Arabian Knights, as the Academy's first awards presentation had two directing categories, one for comedy and one for drama. He also did dramatic silents like The Racket.

In the sound era, there's another Oscar for All Quiet on the Western Front, all the way through to Ocean's 11 in 1960 and the Marlon Brando version of Mutiny on the Bounty two years later.