Accomplished visual stylist who often wrote his own imaginative, and genre-defying, screenplays; his films are always technically proficient but sometimes lack substance. As a teenager Daves lived for a time with native American Indians, an experience which informed his 1950 film "Broken Arrow", one of the first sympathetic treatments of American Indians to reach the screen.
Companion
WIFE: Mary Lawrence. Actor, author. Married from 1938 until Daves' death in 1977; died on September 24, 1991 of complications of pneumonia at the age of 73; appeared on TV series "Love That Bob" (1956-58); married banker Samuel Doak Young Sr after Daves' death; wrote art books "Mother and Child" (1975) and "Lovers" (1982).
Milestone
1923: First film as prop boy, "The Covered Wagon"
1943: Film directing debut, "Destination Tokyo"
Education
Stanford University - Stanford, California - law - earned degree
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