In 1934 he got his first directing job, the slapstick Kentucky Kernels. His big break came when he directed Katharine Hepburn in Alice Adams in 1935. He went on in the late 1930s to direct several Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire movies, not only with the two actors together, but on their own.
Following World War II, in which he photographed the graphic scenes at the Dachau concentration camp, his films became more dramatic. I Remember Mama in 1948 was the last movie with comic scenes that he made. He was repsonsible for such classic films as A Place in the Sun, Shane, The Diary of Anne Frank, Giant and The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Stevens died on his ranch in Lancaster, California.
Academy Awards and nominations
Stevens has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1701 Vine Street.