A committed intellectual with a strong streak of independence, Richard Brooks acceded to the director's chair after spending a number of years as a screenwriter, first at Universal and Warners, then at M-G-M, where he became acquainted with producer Arthur Freed during the making of Any Number Can Play (1949, Mervyn Leroy), for which he wrote the adapted screenplay. Brooks would eventually sign a long-term contract with Metro. Impressed by Brooks, Freed encouraged him to make the move to directing, promoting the idea with head of studio Louis B. Mayer. Mayer eventually agreed, even though he reportedly discouraged Brooks from taking a position that he disingenuously dismissed as less important than that of screenwriter: “Anyone can direct, but not everyone can write.’ A friendship with actor Cary Grant, then signed to star in the M-G-M project that Brooks eventually wrote and directed as Crisis (1950), helped with this “promotion.”

The erstwhile screenwriter was also encouraged to refocus his career by Freed, who convinced Mayer that Brooks was well qualified by experience and temperament to take charge of projects rather than simply writing the scripts for them. This path to the director's chair was thoroughly traditional: a fortunate mix of unexpected opportunities, considerable talent, and a forceful personality. It also did not hurt that Brooks was not shy about having something to say, as he proved by writing The Brick Foxhole (1945), one of the best ex-serviceman WWII novels. The book is an acerbic and wide-ranging indictment of the destructive tensions in American society uncovered by the forced togetherness of military life. Though it deals only with the experiences of men stationed stateside, it is otherwise very much in the tradition of the better-known works by James Jones (From Here to Eternity), Irwin Shaw (The Young Lions), Leon Uris (Battle Cry), and Norman Mailer (The Naked and the Dead).

In addition to writing scripts for some forgettable productions (such as Swell Guy [1946], based on a Gilbert Emery play), Brooks learned much about the craft of directing by working closely with hands-on producer Mark Hellinger on The Killers (1946, uncredited) and Brute Force (1947), for which he received a screen credit. He collaborated with John Huston on the script for Key Largo (1948), adapting the Maxwell Anderson play, and as a result spent a good deal of time on set. During the production he struck up a close friendship with Humphrey Bogart, an experience that taught him a good deal about screen acting and the director's role in shaping performance.