Origin of 'Alan Smithee'

You might assume "Alan Smithee" was a real Hollywood director, but you'd be wrong. The name is actually a pseudonym the Directors Guild of America created after two directors both refused credit on the 1969 western Death of a Gunfighter. Neither Robert Totten nor Don Siegel wanted their name on the finished film, so the DGA invented one instead. The full story behind how this secret stayed hidden for decades is worth sticking around for.

Key Takeaways

• The pseudonym "Alan Smithee" originated from the 1969 western Death of a Gunfighter, after both directors disowned the finished film.
• A directorial dispute sparked its creation: Richard Widmark forced out Robert Totten, replacing him with Don Siegel mid-production.
• Both directors petitioned to remove their names after DGA arbitration ruled the film reflected neither's creative vision.
• The name "Al Smith" was initially proposed but rejected as too common; the distinctive double-"e" spelling was deliberately chosen.
• DGA board member John Rich influenced the final spelling, with "Alan Smithee" becoming the standardized official disavowal pseudonym.

The Dispute That Made Alan Smithee Necessary

The story of Alan Smithee begins with a 1969 western called Death of a Gunfighter, which became so entangled in a directorial dispute that it forced the Directors Guild of America to create an entirely new solution.

Lead actor Richard Widmark drove the director displacement by pushing out Robert Totten and replacing him with Don Siegel. Totten directed 25 days, Siegel just 9-10, yet both contributed equal footage to the final cut. Widmark effectively controlled the project throughout.

During credit arbitration, a DGA panel ruled the film represented neither director's creative vision, leaving both men unwilling to claim it. Rather than force either name onto the credits, the Guild needed a third option — and that's exactly what Alan Smithee became. The name itself went through several iterations before being finalized, starting as Al Smith before being altered to Smithe and then Smithee to ensure it was distinctive without drawing undue attention.

The DGA also established strict use standards, requiring directors to prove their creative vision had been compromised in filming or editing before they could qualify for the pseudonym. This kind of institutional response to creative ownership disputes mirrors other historical efforts to protect artistic integrity, much like the recovery missions undertaken to reclaim the Ghent Altarpiece after it was looted and hidden by the Nazis in an Austrian salt mine during World War II.

Why the DGA Chose "Alan Smithee" Over "Al Smith"

Once the DGA decided a pseudonym was necessary, they faced a surprisingly tricky naming problem. "Al Smith" was too common, risking confusion with real directors working in Hollywood. So the board pushed for something more distinctive.

Board member John Rich, who'd been with the DGA since 1953, helped steer the decision. An early suggestion of "Alan Smith" still felt too ordinary, so members proposed adding an "e" to create "Smithee." Rich then suggested doubling it, landing on the now-familiar spelling. That distinctive spelling gave the name visual clarity on credits and documentation, while industry clarity became the driving goal throughout the deliberation.

The board also approved "Allen Smithee" as an alternate spelling and even created "Alana Smithee" as a female variant, though that version was reportedly never used. The pseudonym was ultimately reserved for directors who could prove to a guild panel that they had been unable to exercise creative control over their film. The need for the pseudonym first emerged from the dispute over Death of a Gunfighter, a film that had been started by one director and completed by another.

How Alan Smithee Became the DGA's Official Solution

So the DGA invented one. By assigning "Allen Smithee" as the official credit, the guild resolved the immediate dispute while establishing guild precedent for future cases.

Neither director faced public association with the troubled production, and the studio avoided embarrassment. Industry insiders recognized the name's significance, but audiences didn't. That separation was exactly the point. The DGA had created a functional, repeatable solution that would quietly govern director credits for over three decades.

The pseudonym was ultimately credited on about 40 projects between 1969 and 2000, spanning film, television, and music video productions.

Eventually, the system was retired and replaced with a new policy requiring directors to submit five pseudonyms when seeking to remove their name from a production.

The Surprisingly Strict Rules Behind Every Alan Smithee Credit

Getting the Alan Smithee credit wasn't as simple as asking for it. The DGA required hard proof that you'd genuinely lost creative control. You'd to document unauthorized re-edits, contractual violations, or reduced editing days — anything showing executives or producers had overridden your vision. The final film also had to no longer reflect your original intent.

Once approved, strict rules protected director anonymity. You couldn't publicly discuss the situation or even acknowledge your involvement in the project. Breaking that silence risked losing the credit entirely or facing guild penalties.

The DGA also enforced a one-director credit rule, meaning no shared credits or multiple pseudonyms. These measures existed to preserve credit integrity, ensuring Alan Smithee remained a legitimate symbol of creative disputes rather than a convenient escape route. The pseudonym was ultimately discontinued in 2000, largely due to the damage caused by the satirical film An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn. Interestingly, the origin of the name dates back to 1968's Death of a Gunfighter, where both directors Robert Totten and Don Siegel refused credit after losing creative control mid-production.

Alan Smithee's Most Notorious Film Appearances

Few pseudonyms have left as visible a mark on film history as Alan Smithee, and its appearances span decades of creative conflict. You'll find its most notorious uses tied directly to controversial director cameos and credited then erased releases across multiple genres:

1. Death of a Gunfighter (1969) officially coined the pseudonym after Robert Totten and Don Siegel both disowned the Western.
2. Catchfire (1990) saw Dennis Hopper stripped from theatrical prints, only reclaiming his credit on the director's cut video release.
3. The Guardian (1990) used the variation "Alan Von Smithee" specifically for its cable TV edit, separating it from William Friedkin's theatrical version.

Each case reflects directors actively distancing themselves from studio-altered work you'd never recognize as their own vision. David Lynch similarly demanded removal of his name from the TV cut of Dune, with his screenwriting credit reassigned to the alias Judas Booth.

When Audiences Realized Alan Smithee Wasn't Real

For decades, the Directors Guild of America deliberately kept Alan Smithee's true nature hidden from the public, sharing it only among industry insiders who recognized it as a signal of creative tampering. That secrecy collapsed when Burn Hollywood Burn arrived in 1997. The film's self-referential plot literally explained the pseudonym's mechanics to anyone watching, turning a quiet industry practice into a punchline.

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 8% and a domestic gross of just $45,779 against a $10 million budget, audience outrage and media mockery hit simultaneously. You couldn't miss the irony — a film about Alan Smithee becoming one of his worst-reviewed projects. That exposure forced the DGA to retire the name entirely between 1998 and 2000, ending over 30 years of standardized disavowal. The pseudonym had first entered use on Death of a Gunfighter, a 1969 western whose two directors both petitioned to have their names removed from the finished film.

The Movie That Killed the Alan Smithee Name

Released in 1997, it followed a director named Alan Smithee who couldn't escape into director exile because he literally shared the pseudonym. His solution? A negative heist — stealing the film reels and threatening to burn them.

The real irony hit hard when actual director Arthur Hiller disowned the film, forcing him to take the Alan Smithee credit himself.

The damage was done on three fronts:

1. Critics universally panned it
2. It won five Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture
3. It dragged the pseudonym into public mockery

Despite a reported budget of $10 million, the film earned a mere $52,850 at the box office, making it one of the most financially catastrophic releases in Hollywood history.