Director: Delbert Mann

Delbert Mann came out of live television drama and won Best Director for Marty, an adaptation of a teleplay about a lonely butcher, which also won Best Picture. It cost almost nothing and beat far larger films.

The approach is naturalistic and unhurried, built on performance and on dialogue that sounds unremarkable until it accumulates. Separate Tables and The Bachelor Party continue it.

He returned to television for much of his later career, directing well-regarded adaptations including Jane Eyre and All Quiet on the Western Front.