Unfortunately, his director`s mystique became the mistake of a generation of American moviemakers. (Yes, that Truffaut.) Soon to be a director himself-and already a writer-Truffaut possibly was unable to distinguish the contributions of the two creative functions within himself. No surprise, really, that the auteur theory was the brainchild of a young French film critic named Francois Truffaut. Dubbed the ''Auteur Theory,'' this proposition states that the director is the real ''author'' of a film.

(''An actor should consider himself blessed to work with such a genius,'' ran the revisionist wisdom of the day. It was in part as a reaction to the star syndrome that the next era arrived in the late `60s: the director as superstar. They could not see the ''holes'' any better than they saw the ''wholes,'' i.e. Left to their own devices, actors frequently chose for themselves great parts in terrible films-remember Barbra Streisand in ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever''? When film projects presented themselves, the stars, as actors, naturally focused very particularly on their own roles. Without the studios calling the shots, stars began showcasing themselves-chiefly to bad effect. As the system broke down, more and more power went to the stars themselves. Under the old studio system, stars were ''developed,'' then ''showcased.'' Films were chosen to present stars in their most appealing light. His was the guiding vision behind any Selznick film, although many gifted writers, directors and stars labored in his behalf.ДЄs the power of the producer waned in the early `50s, the star rose in the west: We entered an epoch of actor`s ascendancy. Selznick signed his films as surely as any author.

There was an era earmarked by great producers. Throughout the 90 years that movies have existed, one or another of the elements has often temporarily achieved ascendency. ''elements'' necessary to the successful realization of any film-writer, director, actor, cinematographer, editor and, of course, the producer who assembled all of those elements and set them running. Old-time Hollywood realized that there was a certain number of

Notorious screenwriter