Jack Arnold (director)

Jack Arnold (born John Arnold Waks; October 14, 1916 – March 17, 1992) was an American actor and film and television director, best known as one of the leading filmmakers of 1950s science fiction films. His most notable films are '' It Came from Outer Space'' (1953), ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' (1954), '' Tarantula'' (1955), and '' The Incredible Shrinking Man'' (1957).

Early years

Jack Arnold was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Russian immigrants.Fischer, Dennis. ''Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895-1998'', McFarland & Co. (2000) As a child he read a lot of science fiction, which laid the foundations for his genre films of the 1950s.

He hoped to become a professional actor and in his late teens he enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where his classmates included Hume Cronyn, Betty Field and Garson Kanin. After graduating he worked as a vaudeville dancer and, in 1935, began getting roles in Broadway plays. He was acting in ''My Sister Eileen'' when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and he immediately enlisted as a cadet for pilot training.

While Arnold intended to become a pilot, a shortage of planes meant he was temporarily placed in the Signal Corps, where he took a crash course in cinematography. He then became a cameraman and learned the techniques of filmmaking by assisting Robert Flaherty on various military films. After eight months with Flaherty he became a pilot in the Air Corps. While stationed at Truax Airfield at New Rochelle, New York, he met Betty, who would later become his wife.

Career

Following the end of World War II and the end of Arnold's term of service, he formed a partnership with an air squadron buddy, Lee Goodman, to form a film production company. Their new company, called Promotional Films Company, made fundraising films for various non-profit organizations. He also continued acting on stage during this period, in plays including a revival of ''The Front Page'', and played opposite Bela Lugosi and Elaine Stritch in ''Three Indelicate Ladies''.

By 1950, after his documentary films had received more exposure, he was commissioned to produce and direct ''With These Hands'', a documentary about working conditions of the early 20th century. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.Crowther, Bosley. "'With These Hands,' Film About Garment Workers' Union, Is Shown of Gotham", ''New York Times'', June 16, 1950

Arnold directed a number of 1950s science fiction films. The best known of these, '' It Came from Outer Space'' (1953), ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' (1954), '' Tarantula'' (1955), and '' The Incredible Shrinking Man'' (1957) are noted for their atmospheric black-and-white cinematography and sophisticated scripts. ''The Incredible Shrinking Man'' is considered his "masterpiece," a fantasy film with few equals in intelligence and sophistication, notes author John Baxter. While all the films display a "sheer virtuosity of style and clarity of vision."

Arnold's main collaborator at Universal Studios was producer William Alland. ''Revenge of the Creature'' (1955) was Clint Eastwood's debut film.

Arnold also made some non-sci-fi films, mostly Westerns. His best Western is often considered to be '' No Name on the Bullet'' (1959), about a town frightened to hysteria by the arrival of a gunman who never reveals who he is after or why. The film was shot in color and CinemaScope and was later restored from the original negative for airing on the "Grit" digital broadcast channel.

He also worked as the director of ''The Mouse That Roared'' (1959), in which Peter Sellers played three roles, one of them in drag. His later films included '' Hello Down There'' (1969), ''Black Eye'' (1974), the British sex comedy ''The Bunny Caper'' aka ''Sex Play'' (1974), '' The Black Bounty Killer'' (1974), ''Boss Nigger'' (1975) and ''The Swiss Conspiracy'' (1976).

Arnold began his television career in 1955 with several episodes of ''Science Fiction Theater''. He went on to direct the long-running television series ''Perry Mason'' and ''Peter Gunn''. He also directed episodes of such television shows as ''Nanny and the Professor'', ''Alias Smith and Jones'', ''The Fall Guy'', ''The Brady Bunch'', '' Gilligan's Island'', ''Wonder Woman'', ''Ellery Queen'', '' Mr. Terrific'', '' Mr. Lucky'', and ''The San Pedro Beach Bums'', as well as the TV movie '' Marilyn: The Untold Story'' (1980).

Death and legacy

Arnold died of arteriosclerosis in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California at the age of 75. Later that year, the UCLA Film Archive held a tribute "Jack Arnold: The Incredible Thinking Man" film festival which screened a number of his films. The Archive also produced and screened a bio-documentary about his life, ''The Incredible Thinking Man''."His Creatures Walk Among Us : UCLA pays tribute to director Jack Arnold, 'The Incredible Thinking Man.'"
''Los Angeles Times'', Oct. 30, 1997"Jack Arnold remembered for knack on, off screen"
UCLA ''Daily Bruin'', Oct. 30, 1997

Awards and nominations

References

Further reading

* Osteried, Peter: ''Die Filme von Jack Arnold.'' MPW, Hille 2012.
* Reemes, Dana M.: ''Directed by Jack Arnold.'' McFarland & Company, Jefferson 1988.
* Schnelle, Frank et alii (ed.): ''Hollywood Professional: Jack Arnold und seine Filme.'' Fischer-Wiedleroither, Stuttgart 1993.

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Jack
1916 births
1992 deaths
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American businesspeople
American people of Russian descent
American television directors
American television producers
Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Deaths from arteriosclerosis
Film directors from Connecticut
Film producers from Connecticut
Horror film directors
Male actors from New Haven, Connecticut
Science fiction film directors
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
Western (genre) film directors