About

Known credits:
48
Birthday:
1907-04-06
Place of birth:
New York City, New York, USA
Website:
N/A

Joseph H. Lewis

Overview

​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

Known for

Acting
1997 Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula Actor Self 59
Average

Directing
1958 Terror in a Texas Town Directing Director 59
Average
1957 The Halliday Brand Directing Director 59
Average
1956 7th Cavalry Directing Director 59
Average
1955 A Lawless Street Directing Director 58
Average
1955 Man on a Bus Directing Director 58
Average
1955 The Big Combo Directing Director 61
Fair
1953 Cry of the Hunted Directing Director 59
Average
1952 Desperate Search Directing Director 59
Average
1952 Retreat, Hell! Directing Director 59
Average
1950 A Lady Without Passport Directing Director 58
Average
1950 Gun Crazy Directing Director 64
Fair
1949 The Undercover Man Directing Director 59
Average
1948 The Return of October Directing Director 59
Average
1948 The Swordsman Directing Director N/A
N/A
1946 So Dark the Night Directing Director 59
Average
1945 My Name Is Julia Ross Directing Director 59
Average
1945 The Falcon in San Francisco Directing Director 58
Average
1944 Minstrel Man Directing Director 58
Average
1942 Secrets of a Co-Ed Directing Director 58
Average
1942 Boss of Hangtown Mesa Directing Director N/A
N/A
1942 The Silver Bullet Directing Director 58
Average
1942 Bombs Over Burma Directing Director 58
Average
1942 The Mad Doctor of Market Street Directing Director 58
Average
1941 Arizona Cyclone Directing Director N/A
N/A
1941 Criminals Within Directing Director 59
Average
1941 Invisible Ghost Directing Director 58
Average
1940 Pride of the Bowery Directing Director 59
Average
1940 That Gang of Mine Directing Director 59
Average
1940 Boys of the City Directing Director 58
Average
1940 The Return of Wild Bill Directing Director N/A
N/A
1940 Texas Stagecoach Directing Director N/A
N/A
1940 The Man from Tumbleweeds Directing Director 58
Average
1940 Blazing Six Shooters Directing Director N/A
N/A
1939 Two-Fisted Rangers Directing Director 59
Average
1938 The Singing Outlaw Directing Director N/A
N/A
1938 The Last Stand Directing Director N/A
N/A
1938 Border Wolves Directing Director N/A
N/A
1938 The Spy Ring Directing Director 58
Average
1937 Courage of the West Directing Director N/A
N/A
1937 The Gold Racket Directing Director 58
Average
1937 Navy Spy Directing Director 58
Average

Writing
1942 Bombs Over Burma Writing Screenplay 58
Average

Editing
1936 Sharad of Atlantis Editing Supervising Editor 58
Average
1935 Hitch Hike Lady Editing Editor 59
Average
1935 Waterfront Lady Editing Supervising Film Editor 59
Average
1935 Streamline Express Editing Editor 58
Average
1935 The Adventures of Rex and Rinty Editing Editor 59
Average