Joseph H. Lewis


Director
Joseph H. Lewis

About

Also Known As
Joseph Lewis
Birth Place
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Born
April 06, 1907
Died
August 30, 2000

Biography

A former editor and B-movie director who was elevated to auteur status in the 1960s by such noted critics as Paul Schrader and Jay Cocks, Joseph H Lewis began his film career as a camera loader during the infancy of the medium in the 20s. He joined the Poverty Row studio Mascot and rose to head of its editing department, receiving credit on such efforts as "Adventures of Rex and Rinty," ...

Photos & Videos

Gun Crazy - Lobby Cards
The Big Combo - Movie Posters
Cry of the Hunted - Pressbook

Family & Companions

Buena Lewis
Wife

Bibliography

"Joseph H Lewis"
Francis M Nevins, Scarecrow Press (1998)

Notes

Some sources give 1907 as Mr. Lewis' birthyear.

Biography

A former editor and B-movie director who was elevated to auteur status in the 1960s by such noted critics as Paul Schrader and Jay Cocks, Joseph H Lewis began his film career as a camera loader during the infancy of the medium in the 20s. He joined the Poverty Row studio Mascot and rose to head of its editing department, receiving credit on such efforts as "Adventures of Rex and Rinty," "Ladies Crave Excitement" and "One Frightened Night" (all 1935). When Mascot and three other studios were combined to form Republic, Lewis remained as a supervising editor. Within two years, he had segued to the director's chair, sharing credit on the now forgettable programmer "Navy Spy" (1937). Lewis handled several of the studios musical Westerns with such stars as Bob Baker and Fuzzy Knight (e.g., "Singing Outlaw" 1938), Charles Starrett (i.e., "Blazing Six Shooters" 1940) and Johnny Mack Brown (e.g., "The Silver Bullet" 1942). Many contemporary reviewers of his work praised his direction and faulted the scripts he was forced to handle by the studios. Lewis proved capable of working in several genres helming everything from the dreadful sci-fi film "The Mad Doctor of Market Street" (1942) to the underrated musical "Minstrel Man" (1944).

After service in the US Army Signal Corps during WWII, Lewis returned to Hollywood and the B-movie. He had a box-office success with the fast-paced, low-budget melodrama "My Name Is Julia Ross" (1945) in which Nina Foch plays a secretary who becomes the prisoner of her crazy employers. "So Dark the Night" (1946) offered strong production values and focused on the ill-fated romance between a Parisian detective and a country girl while the Technicolor "The Swordsman" (1947) was Lewis' version of the swashbuckling adventure. The Melvin Frank-Norman Panama script for "The Return of October" (1948) offered the director better than his usual material. A charming fantasy about a young woman (Terry Moore) who believes her uncle was reincarnated as horse, the film is not to everyone's taste but Lewis acquitted himself well. 1949, however, marked the debut of "Deadly Is the Female/Gun Crazy," loosely inspired by the story of Bonnie and Clyde, considered as one of Lewis' best with almost non-stop action that is stylishly handled. Marred only by a somewhat wooden performance by lead Peggy Cummins, the film has remained a favorite of critics. Better but forgotten efforts, though, include "Undercover Man" (1949), shot in a documentary-style and starring Glenn Ford in the title role, and "Retreat, Hell!" (1952), an above average war drama set in the early days of the Korean Conflict. "Cry of the Hunted" (1953) benefited from a superb performance by Vittorio Gassman as an escaped prisoner. The best of Lewis' noir dramas was "The Big Combo" (1955), about a love triangle among a cop (Cornel Wilde), a brutal mobster (Richard Conte) and the woman (Jean Wallace) to whom they are both attracted. Bolstered by John Alton's photography and a jazz score, the film has achieved a cult status. His final feature work was a return to Westerns (albeit with a different, more mature approach).

After turning to television in the late 50s and early 60s, Lewis retired. It was only during the 60s when the French put forth the auteur theory (which was co-opted by American critics) that Lewis' work began to formally attract notice. In addition to receiving various tributes from European film festivals, Lewis was one of the subjects of Peter Bogdanovich's acclaimed 1997 book "Who the Devil Made It," a series of essays and interviews with pioneering film directors.

Filmography

 

Director (Feature Film)

Terror in a Texas Town (1958)
Director
The Halliday Brand (1957)
Director
7th Cavalry (1956)
Director
A Lawless Street (1955)
Director
The Big Combo (1955)
Director
Cry of the Hunted (1953)
Director
Desperate Search (1953)
Director
Retreat, Hell! (1952)
Director
A Lady Without Passport (1950)
Director
Gun Crazy (1950)
Director
The Undercover Man (1949)
Director
The Return of October (1948)
Director
The Swordsman (1947)
Director
The Jolson Story (1947)
Prod numbers Director by
So Dark the Night (1946)
Director
The Falcon in San Francisco (1945)
Director
My Name Is Julia Ross (1945)
Director
Minstrel Man (1944)
Director
Boss of Hangtown Mesa (1942)
Director
The Mad Doctor of Market Street (1942)
Director
Bombs over Burma (1942)
Director
The Silver Bullet (1942)
Director
Arizona Cyclone (1941)
Director
The Invisible Ghost (1941)
Director
Criminals Within (1941)
Director
Boys of the City (1940)
Director
Two-Fisted Rangers (1940)
Director
The Man from Tumbleweeds (1940)
Director
Blazing Six Shooters (1940)
Director
Texas Stagecoach (1940)
Director
Pride of the Bowery (1940)
Director
The Return of Wild Bill (1940)
Director
That Gang of Mine (1940)
Director
Singing Outlaw (1938)
Director
The Last Stand (1938)
Director
Border Wolves (1938)
Director
The Spy Ring (1938)
Director
Navy Spy (1937)
Director of retakes
Courage of the West (1937)
Director

Writer (Feature Film)

Bombs over Burma (1942)
Original Screenplay

Editing (Feature Film)

The Gold Racket (1937)
Supervising Film Editor
Daniel Boone (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
The Leavenworth Case (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
The Girl from Mandalay (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
Dancing Feet (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
The House of a Thousand Candles (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
The Leathernecks Have Landed (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
Laughing Irish Eyes (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
The Lawless Nineties (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
Red River Valley (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
The Singing Cowboy (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
The Devil on Horseback (1936)
Supervising Editor
Hearts in Bondage (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
Comin' Round the Mountain (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
The Harvester (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
King of the Pecos (1936)
Supervising Film Editor
Melody Trail (1935)
Supervising Editor
Harmony Lane (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
$1,000 a Minute (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
Hitch Hike Lady (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
The Headline Woman (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
The Singing Vagabond (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
Streamline Express (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
Ladies Crave Excitement (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
The Sagebrush Troubadour (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
Waterfront Lady (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
Confidential (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
One Frightened Night (1935)
Supervising Film Editor
Behind the Green Lights (1935)
Film Editor
Adventures of Rex and Rinty (1935)
Editor

Misc. Crew (Short)

Joaquin Murrieta (1938)
Research And Content Consultant

Life Events

1934

Early editing credit, "In Old Santa Fe"

1935

When Mascot merged with three other companies to form Republic Pictures, remained as editorial supervisor

1937

With Crane Wilbur, co-directed first feature "Navy Spy"

1940

Was contract director at Columbia; handled a number of Westerns, including several starring cowboy stars Bob Baker and Charles Starrett

1940

Directed first of two films featuring the East Side Kids, the successors to the Dead End Kids ("That Gang of Mine")

1945

Directed the box-office success "My Name Is Julia Ross"

1946

Staged the musical sequences of "The Jolson Story"

1948

Helmed the fantasy "The Return of October" from a script by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama

1949

Directed what is considered one of his better films, "Gun Crazy/Deadly Is the Female", inspired by the exploits of Bonnie and Clyde

1952

Earned praise for "Retreat, Hell!", a war drama set during the Korean Conflict

1954

Directed the minor noir classic "The Big Combo"

1958

Final feature, "Terror in a Texas Town", a Western that pitted sailor Sterling Hayden against land developer Sebastian Cabot

1997

Honored by the L.A. Film Critics Association for lifetime achievement

Photo Collections

Gun Crazy - Lobby Cards
Here are a few lobby cards from the classic Film Noir Gun Crazy (1950), starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.
The Big Combo - Movie Posters
Here are a few original release American movie posters for The Big Combo (1955), starring Cornel Wilde.
Cry of the Hunted - Pressbook
Here is the original campaign book (pressbook) for Cry of the Hunted. Pressbooks were sent to exhibitors and theater owners to aid them in publicizing the film's run in their theater.

Family

Ben Lewis
Brother
Editor. Died in December 1970.
Candy Lewis Sangster
Daughter

Companions

Buena Lewis
Wife

Bibliography

"Joseph H Lewis"
Francis M Nevins, Scarecrow Press (1998)

Notes

Some sources give 1907 as Mr. Lewis' birthyear.