I never regarded my pictures as very much to be proud of, except in this, the craft, the style.

I considered that the homes that people live in exactly describe their lives.

These happy endings all express the weak and sly promise that the world is not rotten and out of joint but meaningful and ultimately in excellent condition.

If I can say one thing for my pictures, it is a certain craftsmanship. A thought which has gone into every angle. There is nothing there without an optical reason.

I think the great artists (..) have always thought with the heart.

My idea at this time, which was slowly developing, was to create a comedie humaine with little people, average people - samples from every period in American life.

I worked for UFA as a set designer, you know.