In many films, different groups of people, while struggling toward a common goal, would become doomed, forming "destructive alliances," giving the films a dramatic and visual tension. Some of Huston's films were adaptations of important novels, often depicting a "heroic quest," as in Moby Dick, or The Red Badge of Courage. While most directors rely on post-production editing to shape their final work, Huston instead created his films while they were being shot, with little editing needed. He explored the visual aspects of his films throughout his career, sketching each scene on paper beforehand, then carefully framing his characters during the shooting. His directorial debut came with The Maltese Falcon, which despite its small budget became a commercial and critical hit he would continue to be a successful, if iconoclastic, Hollywood director for the next 45 years. He then moved to Mexico and began writing, first plays and short stories, and later working in Los Angeles as a Hollywood screenwriter, and was nominated for several Academy Awards writing for films directed by William Dieterle and Howard Hawks, among others. In his early years, Huston studied and worked as a fine art painter in Paris. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), The Misfits (1961), Fat City (1972), The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and Prizzi's Honor (1985).
He later returned to the U.S., where he lived the rest of his life. by birth but renounced this to become an Irish citizen and resident in 1964. He traveled widely, settling at various times in France, Mexico, and Ireland. John Marcellus Huston ( / ˈ h juː s t ən/ ( listen) HEW-stən August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American actor, director, screenwriter and visual artist. 5, including Anjelica, Tony, Danny, and Allegra Huston