Ford Beebe (November 26, 1888 – November 26, 1978) was a

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. ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

. He entered the film business as a writer around 1916 and over the next 60 years wrote and/or directed almost 200 films. He specialized in

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

– mostly Westerns – and action serials, working on the "Buck Rogers" and "Flash Gordon" serials for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

Life

Ford Beebe was born on November 26, 1888, in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. Before moving to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

he was a freelance writer who was also experienced in advertising. He arrived in Hollywood in 1916 and began working as a writer for

Western films Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. His first credit was as scenario writer for the 1916 film '' A Youth of Fortune''. Beebe directed for the first time when

Leo D. Maloney Leo D. Maloney (January 4, 1888 – November 2, 1929) was an American film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter of the silent era. Biography Maloney was born in Santa Rosa, California, and built the "Leo Maloney Studio" in the San ...

, who had been directing a film called ''The Test'', fell ill. Beebe became known as a director of low-budget films and serials. He was once described as being "an expert at making something out of nothing." The first serial directed by Beebe was 1932's ''

The Shadow of the Eagle ''The Shadow of the Eagle'' (a.k.a. ''Shadow of the Eagle'') is a 1932 American Pre-Code Mascot 12 episode film serial, directed by Ford Beebe and B. Reeves Eason and produced by Nat Levine.Farmer 1984, p. 325. The film stars John Wayne in his ...

''. He went on to direct several other serials, notably ''

Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars ''Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars'' is a 1938 Universal Pictures 15–chapter science-fiction movie serial based on the syndicated newspaper comic strip ''Flash Gordon''. It is the second of the three Flash Gordon serials made by Universal between 1 ...

'', ''

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...

'', ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media ...

'', and ''

Don Winslow of the Navy ''Don Winslow of the Navy'' is a 1942 Universal Pictures Serial film based on the comic strip '' Don Winslow of the Navy'' by Commander Frank V. Martinek. It was theatrically released in January 1942. Plot Commander Don Winslow is returned to th ...

''; these were noted by film historian Hal Erickson to be the best of Beebe's works. Beebe preferred to direct westerns; speaking to the ''

Evening Independent The ''Evening Independent'' was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper. The sister evening newspaper of the ''St. Petersburg Times'', it was launched as a weekly newspaper in March 1906 under the ownership of Willis B. Powell. In Novem ...

'', he said that westerns were the "bread and butter" of film studios. He was listed as a director on over 100 films.

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

commended Beebe for his 1942 film ''

Night Monster ''Night Monster'' is a 1942 American black-and-white horror film featuring Bela Lugosi and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Company. The movie uses an original story and screenplay by Clarence Upson Young and was produced and direc ...

'', impressed with the speed and economy of the production. Beebe was married to writer Frances Wiley. The couple had eight children. Their only son, Ford Beebe, Jr., became a director like his father. They lost twin daughters in infancy and had five daughters who survived it: Frances, Mary, Ruthann, Maxine, and Martha. In Beebe's later life he was married to Kitty Delevanti, with whom he had one son, Mike.

Selected filmography

References

; Notes ; Bibliography * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beebe, Ford 1888 births 1978 deaths American male screenwriters Film directors from Michigan Film serial crew Western (genre) film directors Science fiction film directors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters