Ray Nazarro ''(aka'' "Ray" and "Nat;" ''né'' Raymond Alfred Nazarro; September 25, 1902 – September 8, 1986) was an American

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and television director,

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Budd Boetticher Oscar "Budd" Boetticher Jr. ( ; July 29, 1916 – November 29, 2001) was an American film director. He is best remembered for a series of low-budget Westerns he made in the late 1950s starring Randolph Scott. Early life Boetticher was born in ...

called him a "ten-day picture guy."Budd Boetticher: The Last Interview Wheeler, Winston Dixon. Film Criticism; Meadville Vol. 26, Iss. 3, (Spring 2002): 52-0_3.

Career

Born in Boston, Nazarro entered the movie business during the silent era. He initially worked in two-reelers. In 1945 he became a feature-film director at Columbia Pictures, beginning with '' Outlaws of the Rockies''. Nazarro was one of Hollywood's busiest directors, directing as many as 13 pictures in one year. He made budget westerns almost exclusively. From 1945 to 1948 he alternated between directing action westerns with Columbia's leading cowboy star Charles Starrett and directing the "rural rhythm" band The Hoosier Hot Shots in a series of musical-comedy westerns. When the musical series lapsed in 1948, Nazarro concentrated on the Starrett westerns, now featuring the Durango Kid character. In 1950 Nazarro was assigned a non-western "B" picture, '' David Harding, Counterspy''. This resulted in Nazarro receiving more non-western assignments and slightly higher budgets. He was also entrusted with more ambitious western stories, with an emphasis on action but also a serious, elegiac view of the West, like ''

Al Jennings of Oklahoma ''Al Jennings of Oklahoma'' is a 1951 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Dan Duryea and Gale Storm. It is based on the story of Al Jennings, a former train robber turned attorney. Premise Ex-lawyer becomes leader of not ...

'' (1951) starring Dan Duryea. In 1952, Nazarro received an Academy Award nomination for Academy Award for Best Story for ''

Bullfighter and the Lady ''Bullfighter and the Lady'' is a 1951 drama romance sport film directed and written by Budd Boetticher starring Robert Stack, Joy Page and Gilbert Roland. Filmed on location in Mexico, the film focused on the realities of the dangerous sport o ...

''.

, who had been a bullfighter, told his life story to Nazarro when he was working for him as an assistant director. Boetticher says he wrote it down, and Nazarro typed it up and sold the project to Dore Schary at MGM. Boetticher said that was the reason for Nazarro getting screen credit. When Columbia suspended B-western production in 1952, Nazarro's contract with Columbia ended after he had made around 60 films for the studio. He next made '' Gun Belt'' for United Artists and followed that with ''

The Bandits of Corsica ''The Bandits of Corsica'', alternative title ''The Return of the Corsican Brothers'', is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Richard Greene, Paula Raymond and Raymond Burr. It is loosely based on the 1844 novell ...

'', also for UA, and ''

Kansas Pacific The Kansas Pacific Railway (KP) was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. At a time when the first transcontin ...

'' for

Allied Artists Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios in ...

, although both were released before ''Gun Belt''. He continued making films for UA and Columbia until ''

Apache Territory ''Apache Territory'' is a 1958 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and produced by and starring Rory Calhoun. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The story is based on the 1957 novel ''Last Stand at Papago Wells'' by Louis L'Amour. ...

'' (1958). He also made '' The Hired Gun'' (1957) for MGM. In the late 1950s, with the market for B-westerns drying up in America, Nazarro restarted his career in Europe, making spaghetti westerns. He also began working in television. His last film was the German-made Jayne Mansfield thriller '' Dog Eat Dog'', released in 1964. Nazarro died on September 8, 1986, and is buried in Chapel of the Pines Crematory.

Selected filmography

Award nominations

References

External links

* * 1902 births 1986 deaths American film directors American male screenwriters American television directors Television producers from Massachusetts Burials at Chapel of the Pines Crematory Businesspeople from Boston Western (genre) film directors 20th-century American businesspeople Screenwriters from Massachusetts 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-film-director-1900s-stub