Jack Hill (born January 28, 1933) is an American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

in the

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

genre. Several of Hill's later films have been characterized as

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

works.

Early life

Hill was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, California. His mother, Mildred (née Pannill, b. February 1, 1907; death date n.a.), was a music teacher. His father, Roland Everett Hill (February 5, 1895 – November 10, 1986),Stone (1995),
Roland Everett Hill
. Retrieved November 1, 2014

from the original on November 1, 2014. worked as a set designer and art director for

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

and Warner Bros.Jack Hill interview, on films including ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...

'', '' Captain Blood'', ''

Action in the North Atlantic ''Action in the North Atlantic'', also known as ''Heroes Without Uniforms'', is a 1943 American black-and-white war film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Jerry Wald, directed by Lloyd Bacon, that stars Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as ...

'', and ''

Captain Horatio Hornblower ''Captain Horatio Hornblower'' (a.k.a. ''Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.'' in the UK, "R.N." standing for "Royal Navy") is a 1951 British naval swashbuckling war film in Technicolor from Warner Bros., produced by Gerry Mitchell, directed by Rao ...

'', and as well was an architect who designed the centerpiece

Sleeping Beauty Castle Sleeping Beauty Castle is a fairy tale castle at the center of Disneyland and formerly at Hong Kong Disneyland. It is based on the late 19th century Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. It appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures logos from 198 ...

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

in California. Hill attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, which he attended, he said, for "a couple of years" before leaving to get married and then returning to earn a degree in music. While a student, he played in a

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

that performed for the soundtracks of ''

Doctor Zhivago ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations. Description The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago and deals with love and loss during ...

'' and ''

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing '' ...

'', and he arranged music for burlesque performers; through this he met comedian

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

, whose daughter Kitty Bruce would act in Hill's 1975 film '' Switchblade Sisters''. He went on to postgraduate studies at

UCLA Film School The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

, where instructor and former movie director

Dorothy Arzner Dorothy Emma Arzner (January 3, 1897 – October 1, 1979) was an American film director whose career in Hollywood spanned from the silent era of the 1920s into the early 1940s. With the exception of longtime silent film director Lois Weber (who d ...

encouraged Hill and his classmate and friend

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five ...

. Hill worked as a cameraman, a sound recorder (including on Coppola's student short ''Ayamonn the Terrible''), and an editor on student films. His short ''The Host'' starred

Sid Haig Sidney Eddie Mosesian (July 14, 1939 – September 21, 2019), known professionally as Sid Haig, was an American actor, film producer, and musician. He was known for his roles in several of Jack Hill's blaxploitation films from the 1970s, as we ...

, an acting student at the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

under teacher Arzner, who introduced them; this marked the first of several films together.

Career

Hill went on to work with Coppola on several of Coppola's early movies, including producer

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

's 1963 movie ''

The Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

''. He added 20 minutes to 1960's '' Wasp Woman'' for its eventual

television syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States wher ...

release, shooting without access to any original cast-member.

Legacy

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

's company

Rolling Thunder Pictures Rolling Thunder Pictures was a short-lived film distribution company, set up under Miramax Films by Quentin Tarantino, that was headed by Jerry Martinez and Tarantino. It specialized on releasing independent, cult, or foreign films to theaters. Th ...

re-released '' Switchblade Sisters'' theatrically in 1996. In the introduction to the film's DVD release, Tarantino calls Hill " “the Howard Hawks of exploitation filmmaking”. Hill's discoveries include

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distinc ...

, who starred in four of his films from ''

The Big Doll House ''The Big Doll House'' is a 1971 American women-in-prison film starring Pam Grier, Judy Brown, Roberta Collins, Brooke Mills, and Pat Woodell. The film follows six female inmates through daily life in a gritty, unidentified tropical prison. Late ...

'' through '' Foxy Brown'';

, who acts in most of Hill's films, beginning with '' Spider Baby''; and

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

, who starred in ''

Pit Stop In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lan ...

''. His student film ''The Host'' was a partial influence on former classmate

's ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...

''. Hill recalled in a 2000s interview that when he made ''The Host'', Film scholar

Wheeler Winston Dixon Wheeler Winston Dixon (born March 12, 1950) is an American filmmaker and scholar. He is an expert on film history, theory and criticism.Bill Goodykoontz, December 23, 2012, USA TodayDefining Tarantino Accessed Aug. 25, 2013, Quote = "...long, invo ...

believed that for Hill and fellow low-budget auteur

Monte Hellman Monte Hellman (; born Monte Jay Himmelbaum; July 12, 1929 – April 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the ho ...

, film was primarily a means of personal expression while remaining a "deeply financially dependent medium". Dixon wrote that Hill and Hellman's movies often were sufficiently successful while remaining true to their personal vision.

Filmography

Film crew *''

Battle Beyond the Sun ''Battle Beyond the Sun'' is the English-dubbed and re-edited U.S. version of ''Nebo Zovyot'', a 1959 Soviet science fiction film. Roger Corman acquired the Soviet film for US distribution and hired a young film-school student named Francis Ford ...

'' (1962) - additional cinematography * ''

The Wasp Woman ''The Wasp Woman'' (also known as ''The Bee Girl'' and ''Insect Woman'') is a 1959 American independent science-fiction horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Mic ...

'' (1962) (uncredited) - 20-minute introduction for TV syndication, shot in 1962 * ''

The Bellboy and the Playgirls ''The Bellboy and the Playgirls'' is a 1962 American film by Francis Ford Coppola and Jack Hill. The film is a re-edited version of a West German film of 1958 originally titled '' '', directed by Fritz Umgelter with Coppola and Hill shooting nud ...

'' (1963) - editor * ''

'' (1963) - uncredited director and co-writer * '' City on Fire'' (1979) - writer * '' Death Ship'' (1980) - writer As director * ''The Host'' (short; made 1960-61) - directorWaddell, p. 9, which notes "The Host" received a public release in 2000 as an extra on the '' Switchblade Sisters'' DVD, with new titles, sound recording and music. Waddell calls "The Host" a 1961 film on page 9, but then asks, "Why was 'The Host' not finished back in 1960?" on page 10. * '' Mondo Keyhole'' (1966) - director * ''

Blood Bath ''Blood Bath'' is a 1966 American horror film directed by Jack Hill and Stephanie Rothman and starring William Campbell, Linda Saunders, Marissa Mathes, and Sid Haig. The film concerns a mad painter of weird art who turns into a vampire-like ...

'' (a.k.a. ''Track of the Vampire'') (1966) - co-director * '' Spider Baby'' (a.k.a. ''The Maddest Story Ever Told'') (1967) - writer, director * '' House of Evil'' (1968) (US scenes) - director * '' Fear Chamber'' (1968) (US scenes) - director * ''

'' (1969) - director * ''Ich, ein Groupie'' (a.k.a. ''Higher and Higher'') (1970) (uncredited) - co-director * '' The Snake People'' (1971) (US scenes) - director * '' The Incredible Invasion'' (a.k.a. ''Alien Terror'') (1971) (US scenes) - director * ''

'' (1971) - director * ''

The Big Bird Cage ''The Big Bird Cage'' is a 1972 American exploitation film of the "women in prison" subgenre. It serves as a non-sequel follow-up to the 1971 film ''The Big Doll House''. The film was written and directed by Jack Hill, and stars Pam Grier, Sid Ha ...

'' (1972) - director * ''

Coffy ''Coffy'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill. The story is about a black female vigilante played by Pam Grier who seeks violent revenge against a heroin dealer responsible for her sister's addiction.Gary A. ...

'' (1973) - writer, director * '' Foxy Brown'' (1974) - director * ''

The Swinging Cheerleaders ''The Swinging Cheerleaders'' is a 1974 comedy-drama film written and directed by exploitation film auteur Jack Hill (who was credited for writing the film as Jane Witherspoon). The film was also released under the titles ''Locker Room Girls'' a ...

'' (1974) - writer, director * '' Switchblade Sisters'' (1975) - writer, director * '' Sorceress'' (1982) - writer, director (as Brian Stuart)

References

External links