Two of the greatest performances in all of motion pictures were given by the same man. In The Devil and Daniel Webster he was the elfin Mr. Scratch, stroking his chin whiskers, confidently puffing a cigar as he claimed the soul of his victim. And in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre he was the grizzled old prospector Howard, dancing a frenzied jig for his bewildered companions as he pointed to the gold that lay beneath their feet.

He played bankers, lawyers, business tycoons, newspapermen, prison wardens, ambassadors, outlaws, and presidents. His name was Walter Huston. This book is the first full-length account of Walter Huston's extraordinary life. Work on it began in 1937, when the actor consented to a series of lengthy interviews with his friend John Weld. Publishers were not interested at the time, and for more than forty years after Huston's death, the manuscript remained unfinished.

Today, Walter Huston is known primarily as the father of the late writer-director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Angelica Huston. But that's all about to change. John Weld, at the age of ninety-three, has completed the job he began sixty years ago. And once again Walter Huston will be recognized as one of the greatest actors of his generation.