Abstract:
Robert Wise is one of the most important figures in film history. As the director of many classics, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), West Side Story (1961), The Haunting (1963), The Sound of Music (1965), and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and the editor of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), Citizen Kane (1941), and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Wise has proven that he can tell a story on the big screen as well as anyone else. But before he began climbing Hollywood's ladder of success, young "Bob" Wise was just a kid from Indiana, who planned on becoming a journalist. However, as it seems to do so often, Fate changed these plans for Wise and pushed him in the direction of one of his greatest childhood loves - movies. Although a number of resources are available that discuss Wise's career, few take the time to consider what his life was like before he left Indiana and what his relationship with the state has been like since his departure in 1933. The goal of this document is to discuss these issues.
