William Cameron Menzies

I am surprised there is so little of Menzies mentioned in the comments. He was one of the visual geniuses of the movies, a path breaker as explained in the new biography by James Curtis, subtitled "The Shape of Films to Come." He revolutionized art direction in the silent era and made a very important contribution to the visual splendor of "Gone with the Wind." On the latter he received the first credit of Production Designer.

He didn't direct many films himself so this one is special for that reason alone. I saw this about forty years ago and its stunning direction remains with me.

And it is showing this week on Turner Classic Movies, which featured a series on Menzies with Curtis in January.