Andrew V. McLaglen (he is quite insistent on retaining the “V” in his name, as part of his authorial signature) is without a doubt one of the last of the classical Hollywood filmmakers who worked during the Golden Age of the studio system. Coming of age when his father – the gifted actor Victor McLaglen – won an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in John Ford's The Informer (1935; Ford himself also won as Best Director that year, as did Max Steiner for his music score and Dudley Nichols for the screenplay), young Andrew worked and lived with the cream of Hollywood's most original and idiosyncratic artists. In addition to John Ford, he knew and/or worked with John “Duke” Wayne, William Wellman, Budd Boetticher and Cary Grant and later carved out a career for himself as a director in the Western genre that few can equal. Even now, he is still going strong, directing stage productions of such classics as Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and keeping an interested eye on the business.

In all his work, Andrew V. McLaglen was a genuine artist, but one who also kept an eye on the bottom line and kept his projects moving. And, as you will see, although he is best known for his work as a director of Westerns, he feels that he did some of his best work in other genres. At 89, McLaglen is still as sharp as a tack – his memory is clear and strong and his personal history is pretty much a history of the medium itself. Most telling, he is generous to others in telling his story and eager to acknowledge the talents of the many actors and directors whom he worked with. But let him tell his story to you directly, as he did to me in February 2009.

WHEELER WINSTON DIXON: You were born on 28 July 1920 in London and your father was the actor Victor McLaglen, which makes you roughly 15 years old when he won the Academy Award for The Informer. What can you tell me about your early childhood, your early growing-up years and your education?