It all has to do with the director, the captain of the ship. He sets the pace, the mood. If the director is quiet, the set is quiet. If the director is loud, then everybody has to be louder to be heard.

Her success and acclaim were of such a high level that the young Saint earned the nickname "the Helen Hayes of television. She was seen with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the melodrama The Sandpiper for Vincente Minnelli and with James Garner in the World War II thriller 36 Hours (1964) directed by George Seaton. In 2009 Eva Marie Saint made a rare public appearance at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony as a Best Supporting Actress presenter.

Her film career also includes roles in Raintree County (1957) Exodus (1960) Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) Superman Returns (2006) and Winter's Tale (2013). Saint received Golden Globe and BAFTA award nominations for the drama film A Hatful of Rain (1957) and won an Emmy Award for the television miniseries People Like Us (1990).