By the late 1940s, the man who had been Hollywood’s top character actor – Olivier called him a genius – was losing his way, parodying himself in mediocre films. Then he returned to the stage as Brecht’s Galileo, led a company of young movie actors in staged readings of classics, and ultimately directed Henry Fonda in The Caine Mutiny on Broadway and Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter on celluloid.