Reliable Hollywood craftsman who established his reputation in the mid-1950s with a series of intense, morally charged features such as "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1954) and "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957), before moving on to bigger--though not especially better--productions.

Sturges began his career as an editor, co-directed the war documentary, "Thunderbolt" (1945), with William Wyler, and subsequently specialized in action and western features. Other notable films include "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), "The Great Escape" (1963) and--Howard Hughes' favorite movie--"Ice Station Zebra" (1968).