Delmer Daves, a multifaceted individual, pursued a law degree at Stanford University, only to have his academic endeavors take a dramatic turn. While still in college, he secured a position as a prop boy on the 1923 film "The Covered Wagon", a precursor to a lifelong career in the film industry.
Upon graduation, Daves was hired by several film companies as a technical advisor, leveraging his collegiate background to contribute to films with a similar academic focus. This experience ultimately led him to transition into acting, with early appearances in several pictures.
As his acting career progressed, Daves began to collaborate on screenplays and original stories, crafting scripts for many of Hollywood's most iconic films of the 1930s and 1940s. His notable works include "The Petrified Forest" (1936),"Love Affair" (1939),and "You Were Never Lovelier" (1942).
Daves' directorial debut, the 1943 classic "Destination Tokyo", marked the beginning of a new chapter in his career, as he often wrote and produced his own films. Among the many movies he created, his westerns held a special place in his heart, a sentiment rooted in his youth spent living on reservations with the Hopi and Navajo Indians.
