Howard Hawks has been acclaimed as the supreme storyteller, the only director to have made great movies in every genre-from Westerns to war pictures, from effervescent comedies to intense dramas. The Hawksian universe celebrates the triumph of purposeful, efficacious rationality over the most arduous challenges. Through professional skill and moral integrity, the heroes of his films achieve victory and happiness. Romantic couples-witty, well-matched equals-begin as antagonists, but soon become lovers and allies. Our course-focusing primarily on Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday, Air Force, To Have And Have Not, The Big Sleep and Rio Bravo-will address work, friendship and romance as thematic elements and as illustrations of the Objectivist virtues.

Expanded version of a course offered in 1992.