The first book-length study of the career of the director of such classic films as The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story, and The Sound of Music, this volume combines thorough cast and crew credits, critical responses, awards and nominations, production notes, and comments from the director himself resulting in a unique overview of a remarkable career. In addition, a complete annotated bibliography of all books, articles, and interviews by or about Wise is included. An interesting feature is the examination of many of his unproduced projects.

Wise's career began with RKO as an editor for such films as Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), when he then stepped in for director Gunther von Fritsch to complete Curse of the Cat People (1944). At 20th-Century Fox, Wise directed The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), and Run Silent, Run Deep (1958). West Side Story (1961), which Wise codirected with choreographer Jerome Robbins, marked the beginning of the third phase of his career, a period marked by mammoth productions that met with overwhelming approval commercially and critically. West Side Story Audrey Rose (1977).