feature as a director, The Great Gatsby (1974). One reason was Clayton's own perfectionism as a filmmaker; he was known for his discernment and taste, his painstaking and meticulous approach to his work, and his desire not to repeat himself, and in his biographer's words, Clayton "never made a film he did not want to make". Consequently, he rejected many notable films in the wake of Room at the Top. In 1969, despite his love of the book, he turned down the chance to direct They Shoot Horses, Don't They? because he did not want to take over a film that had already been prepared and cast, and was ready to shoot – although his decision opened up a career-making opportunity for his replacement, Sydney Pollack. Later still, in 1977, he turned down the chance to direct the film that was eventually made as Alien by Ridley Scott. Clayton's output was also compromised by the inherent riskiness of the film business. As his biographer Neil Sinyard elucidates, Clayton worked intensively on many projects throughout his directing career, but for various reasons most never came to fruition. Among the projects that Clayton was never able to bring to the screen, or which were eventually made by other directors, were: Sweet Autumn (1966), an original screenplay by Edna O'Brien, which was never made The Walking Stick (1968), adapted from the novel by Winston Graham. Clayton was offered the project but had to decline due to the illness and subsequent death of his mother; it was eventually made in 1970, directed by Eric Till and starring Samantha Eggar and David Hemmings. The Looking Glass War (Columbia, 1968–69) – Clayton was originally attached to direct the screen adaptation of the John le Carré novel, with a script by his friend Mordecai Richler. Richler later claimed that he and Clayton walked off the project due to interference from Columbia Pictures (thereby earning Clayton a reputation for being 'difficult'). Richler's biographer Reinhold Kramer suggested that the real problem was that Clayton was unable to raise enough money to get the movie into production, but Neil Sinyard asserts that Columbia cancelled the film after Clayton refused to accede to changes the studio had ordered to Richler's script, and he and Richler resigned from the production. Clayton himself also opined (in a letter to Le Carré) that he suspected that Columbia was short of money after the expensive