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Joseph H. Lewis

Directing 93 (deceased) years old New York City, New York, USA ★ 0.5
Born: April 6, 1907
Died: August 30, 2000

Biography

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Joseph H. Lewis  (April 6, 1907–August 30, 2000), was an American B-movie film director.

Although he worked with both Béla Lugosi (The Invisible Ghost) and Lionel Atwill in early 1940s horror, he is best known for his work in film noir from the late 40s and the 1950s. His most acclaimed feature, Gun Crazy (1949), is a dark romance about gun-obsession, and notable for its use of location photography.

At the dawn of his career (1937–1940), when Lewis was directing inexpensive westerns, he earned the derogatory nickname "Wagon-Wheel Joe" from the studio editors, because of his tendency to use wagon-wheels for constructing interesting visual compositions within the frame.

Lewis's offbeat and eye-catching compositions added style and value to inexpensive productions. His 1944 musical Minstrel Man, starring singer Benny Fields, is quite possibly the finest film ever made by low-budget PRC Pictures. Industry insiders noticed, prompting Columbia Pictures to hire Lewis to film the musical sequences for its blockbuster musical The Jolson Story.

Toward the end of Lewis's career, he worked in television, directing mostly westerns: The Rifleman, Bonanza, The Big Valley, Gunsmoke, and the pilot for Branded.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Joseph H. Lewis, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Filmography

Directing Credits (48)

The Big Valley
The Big Valley Director 1965
Branded
Branded Director 1965
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone Director 1964
The Investigators
The Investigators Director 1961
The Detectives
The Detectives Director 1959
The Rifleman
The Rifleman Director 1958
Terror in a Texas Town
Terror in a Texas Town Director 1958
The Halliday Brand
The Halliday Brand Director 1957
7th Cavalry
7th Cavalry Director 1956
A Lawless Street
A Lawless Street Director 1955
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke Director 1955
Man on a Bus
Man on a Bus Director 1955
The Big Combo
The Big Combo Director 1955
Cry of the Hunted
Cry of the Hunted Director 1953
Desperate Search
Desperate Search Director 1952
Retreat, Hell!
Retreat, Hell! Director 1952
A Lady Without Passport
A Lady Without Passport Director 1950
Gun Crazy
Gun Crazy Director 1950
The Undercover Man
The Undercover Man Director 1949
The Return of October
The Return of October Director 1948
The Swordsman
The Swordsman Director 1948
So Dark the Night
So Dark the Night Director 1946
My Name Is Julia Ross
My Name Is Julia Ross Director 1945
The Falcon in San Francisco
The Falcon in San Francisco Director 1945
Minstrel Man
Minstrel Man Director 1944
Secrets of a Co-Ed
Secrets of a Co-Ed Director 1942
Boss of Hangtown Mesa
Boss of Hangtown Mesa Director 1942
The Silver Bullet
The Silver Bullet Director 1942
Bombs Over Burma
Bombs Over Burma Director 1942
The Mad Doctor of Market Street
The Mad Doctor of Market Street Director 1942
Arizona Cyclone
Arizona Cyclone Director 1941
Criminals Within
Criminals Within Director 1941
Invisible Ghost
Invisible Ghost Director 1941
Pride of the Bowery
Pride of the Bowery Director 1940
That Gang of Mine
That Gang of Mine Director 1940
Boys of the City
Boys of the City Director 1940
The Return of Wild Bill
The Return of Wild Bill Director 1940
Texas Stagecoach
Texas Stagecoach Director 1940
The Man from Tumbleweeds
The Man from Tumbleweeds Director 1940
Blazing Six Shooters
Blazing Six Shooters Director 1940
Two-Fisted Rangers
Two-Fisted Rangers Director 1939
The Singing Outlaw
The Singing Outlaw Director 1938
The Last Stand
The Last Stand Director 1938
Border Wolves
Border Wolves Director 1938
The Spy Ring
The Spy Ring Director 1938
Courage of the West
Courage of the West Director 1937
The Gold Racket
The Gold Racket Director 1937
Navy Spy
Navy Spy Director 1937

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