In all fairness, many journeyman directors, hired hands rather than people who put their unique stamp on a film, directed films I'd consider great: Michael Curtiz for instance (Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood). Or how about Robert Wise? You'd have to be psychic to spot an auteur-ist link between The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Haunting, and The Sound of Music, but all are classic films. :)