Peter Bogdanovich, born in Kingston, New York, to European immigrants fleeing Nazi persecution, carved a unique path in Hollywood. The son of a Serbian Orthodox Christian father and an Austrian Jewish mother, his early life was steeped in European influences, yet he would become deeply enamored with American cinema. Bogdanovich’s initial foray into the arts was as an actor in the 1950s, honing his skills under the tutelage of Stella Adler. However, the early 1960s saw him gain prominence not for acting, but for his passionate curation of films at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
A prodigious movie watcher, reportedly consuming up to 400 films annually in his youth, Bogdanovich championed American directors, most notably John Ford and Howard Hawks, at a time when they were not fully appreciated by the critical establishment. His dedication extended beyond programming; he penned a book on Ford, expanding on notes prepared for a MOMA retrospective, and shone a light on forgotten figures like Allan Dwan. This period cemented his reputation as a serious film scholar and cinephile.
Influenced by the French critics of Cahiers du Cinéma, particularly François Truffaut, Bogdanovich transitioned from critic to filmmaker, mirroring the trajectory of the French New Wave directors. In 1968, he began his directorial journey with Roger Corman, directing Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (initially Voyage to a Prehistoric Planet and later reworked as Voyage to the Planet of the Storms) and Targets. Targets, in particular, garnered critical attention for its innovative blend of suspense and social commentary, contrasting a sniper storyline with that of a retiring horror film icon, Boris Karloff, in a clever commentary on violence in America. This early work showcased Bogdanovich’s potential and his ability to work within low-budget constraints while still delivering films with artistic merit.
A pivotal moment in Bogdanovich’s career occurred during a journalistic assignment. While interviewing Orson Welles on the set of Catch-22, he forged a lasting friendship with the legendary director. This relationship profoundly influenced Bogdanovich, leading him to become a leading authority on Welles’s life and work. His book, This is Orson Welles (1992), remains a cornerstone of Welles scholarship. Beyond Welles, Bogdanovich established himself as a vital chronicler of cinema history with works like Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors. This book, alongside the work of Kevin Brownlow, solidified Bogdanovich’s place as a leading English-language voice in film history and criticism.
At the age of 32, Bogdanovich achieved cinematic wunderkind status with the release of The Last Picture Show (1971). This black and white coming-of-age drama, set in a desolate Texas town in the 1950s, became his most celebrated film. The Last Picture Show received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Bogdanovich, and won two Oscars for supporting actors Cloris Leachman and Ben Johnson. The film’s critical and commercial success positioned Bogdanovich at the forefront of a new generation of American directors. The film also marked a turning point in his personal life, as he began a relationship with Cybill Shepherd, whom he cast in a leading role, leading to his divorce from his wife and long-time collaborator, set designer Polly Platt.
Following The Last Picture Show, Bogdanovich delivered another hit with What’s Up, Doc? (1972), a screwball comedy starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal. A clear homage to Howard Hawks’ comedies like Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday, What’s Up, Doc? cemented Bogdanovich’s ability to work in different genres and appeal to a wide audience. He, along with Francis Ford Coppola and William Friedkin, formed The Directors Company, a production deal with Paramount Pictures granting them creative freedom within budget limits. Under this banner, Bogdanovich produced Paper Moon (1973), another critical and commercial triumph.
Paper Moon, a Depression-era comedy starring Ryan O’Neal and his daughter Tatum O’Neal (who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress), is often considered the zenith of Bogdanovich’s directorial career. However, The Directors Company arrangement, requiring profit-sharing, led to Bogdanovich’s dissatisfaction. While the company produced Coppola’s acclaimed The Conversation, Bogdanovich’s next directorial effort, Daisy Miller (1974), marked a significant downturn.
Daisy Miller, an adaptation of the Henry James novella starring Cybill Shepherd, was critically panned and a box office failure. This film is often cited as the beginning of Bogdanovich’s career decline. His subsequent film, At Long Last Love (1975), a Cole Porter musical also starring Shepherd, was even more disastrously received, with some critics labeling it among the worst films ever made. Despite featuring Burt Reynolds, then a major star, At Long Last Love bombed at the box office. Bogdanovich’s decision to record the musical numbers live, a technique not used since the early talkie era, was widely mocked and contributed to the perception of him as an arrogant director out of touch with contemporary filmmaking.
Seeking to recapture his earlier success, Bogdanovich revisited familiar territory with Nickelodeon (1976), a comedy about the early days of cinema, reuniting Ryan and Tatum O’Neal with Burt Reynolds. However, despite casting newcomer Jane Hitchcock instead of Cybill Shepherd, Nickelodeon failed to replicate the magic of Paper Moon and was a box office disappointment.
After a hiatus, Bogdanovich returned with Saint Jack (1979), a film produced by Playboy Productions. His personal life continued to be tumultuous; his relationship with Cybill Shepherd ended in 1978. His next major film, They All Laughed (1981), an ensemble comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and Dorothy Stratten, became a personal tragedy. During filming, Bogdanovich fell in love with Stratten, who was tragically murdered by her estranged husband, Paul Snider.
The negative publicity surrounding Stratten’s murder made distribution of They All Laughed incredibly difficult. Despite being one of Audrey Hepburn’s few films after her semi-retirement, it received a limited release, poor reviews, and financially devastated Bogdanovich, leading to bankruptcy. He wrote a memoir, The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten (1960-1980), in response to critical portrayals of his involvement in Stratten’s life and death.
Bogdanovich’s directing career never fully recovered. While Mask (1985) was a modest success, Texasville (1990), a sequel to The Last Picture Show, was a critical and commercial letdown. His later films, including The Cat’s Meow (2001), a fictionalized account of a Hollywood scandal, garnered some critical praise but failed to achieve mainstream success. He also ventured into television directing and acting, notably with a recurring role on The Sopranos.
Further contributing to his controversial public image was his marriage to Dorothy Stratten’s younger sister, Louise Stratten, who was significantly younger than him. This relationship drew unfavorable comparisons to the film Vertigo. The marriage ended in divorce in 2001.
In his later years, Bogdanovich’s career arc mirrored that of his hero, Orson Welles, in that he struggled to recapture the early acclaim. While The Last Picture Show was recognized for its cultural significance by the National Film Preservation Board, being added to the National Film Registry in 1998, Bogdanovich’s overall reputation never fully recovered from the decline that began in the mid-1970s.
Some critics argue that the pivotal moment in Bogdanovich’s career was his separation from Polly Platt. Her artistic contributions to his early successes are considered by some to be crucial, and his career trajectory post-Paper Moon seems to support this theory. Despite the later setbacks, Peter Bogdanovich’s early films remain significant contributions to American cinema, and his work as a film historian and critic continues to be highly valued by cinephiles and scholars alike.
