Gordon Hessler - Turner Classic Movies

Biography

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Prolific German-born director Gordon Hessler lived in England before moving to the United States as a teenager. He got his start in film working in documentaries until Universal Pictures hired him to work on the horror anthology series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour." Hessler worked diligently and earned a string of promotions that bumped him from story reader...

Filmography

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2nd Unit Director (2nd Unit)

Shogun Mayeda (1991)

The Girl in a Swing (1989)

Out on Bail (1989)

The Misfit Brigade (1988)

Rage of Honor (1987)

Photos & Videos

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Scream And Scream Again (1970) — The Amen Corner

Oblong Box, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Surgery Is Out Of The Question?

Biography

Prolific German-born director Gordon Hessler lived in England before moving to the United States as a teenager. He got his start in film working in documentaries until Universal Pictures hired him to work on the horror anthology series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour." Hessler worked diligently and earned a string of promotions that bumped him from story reader to associate producer to director and finally to full-fledged producer by 1964. While Hessler explored producing throughout the '60s, directing became his true passion. In 1965, Hessler debuted his first feature film, "The Woman Who Wouldn't Die," a macabre tale of resurrection based on a novelette the Hitchcock series had failed to adapt. Hessler built a name for himself in the horror genre, helming such films as the Vincent Price vehicle "The Oblong Box," which centered on an aristocrat whose maniacal disfigured brother runs amok, and the witches' coven tale "Cry of the Banshee." Hessler also directed the stop-motion classic "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" in 1974. Though best known for his B movies, Hessler was also a successful television director, having helmed such popular series as the sun-soaked cop drama "Hawaii Five-O," the superhero series "The New Adventures of Wonder Woman," and the Highway Patrol crime drama "CHiPs." After having served as director on 45 productions, Hessler walked away from directing in the '90s, though he has granted several onscreen interviews regarding his work since then.

Filmography

Director (Feature Film)

2nd Unit Director (2nd Unit)

Shogun Mayeda (1991)

The Girl in a Swing (1989)

Out on Bail (1989)

The Misfit Brigade (1988)

Rage of Honor (1987)

Pray For Death (1985)

Attack of the Phantoms (1980)

The Secret War of Jackie's Girls (1980)

Secrets of Three Hungry Wives (1978)

KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)

The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977)

A Cry in the Wilderness (1974)

Betrayal (1974)

Hitchhike! (1974)

Skyway to Death (1974)

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)

Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971)

Scream and Scream Again (1970)

Cry of the Banshee (1970)

Uncredited addl Director

The Oblong Box (1969)

The Last Shot You Hear (1969)

The Woman Who Wouldn't Die (1965)

Writer (Feature Film)

The Girl in a Swing (1989)

Producer (Feature Film)

Cry of the Banshee (1970)

The Oblong Box (1969)

Director (Special)

Tales of the Haunted (1981)

Producer (Special)

Diagnosis: Danger (1963)

Associate Producer

Life Events

Videos

Scream And Scream Again (1970) — The Amen Corner Another not-cohesive plot shift to a London club (with Welsh pop star Andy Fairweather Low, appearing improbably without a guitar, leading his rarely remembered group “The Amen Corner” in the title song) introduces Judy Huxtable with girlfriend Rosalind Elliot sizing up magnetic Michael Gothard, in the AIP oddity Scream And Scream Again, 1970.

Oblong Box, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Surgery Is Out Of The Question? English nobleman Julian Markham (Vincent Price) is concerned about his brother Edward (Alister Williamson), mutilated and thereby driven mad, and unaware that he’s entered into a plot with their lawyer Trench (Peter Arne) to obtain an African potion that simulates death, tensions high, in AIP’s The Oblong Box, 1969.

Oblong Box, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Male, Just Buried 19th English century grave robber Weller (Godfrey James) and his mates have killed a groundskeeper while stealing a body for scientist Neuhartt (Christopher Lee, his first scene), expecting extra pay, unaware that they’ve grabbed an insane mutilated nobleman who faked his death using a magical potion, in The Oblong Box, 1969.

Oblong Box, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Open, Let Go Of Me! Full-on spooky voodoo and probably deplorable, from AIP and director Gordon Hessler, Vincent Price is a helpless Englishman outside as a fellow visitor is tortured by African tribesmen, opening The Oblong Box, 1969, with Christopher Lee, little more than the title from an Edgar Allan Poe story.

Golden Voyage Of Sinbad, The (1973) -- (Movie Clip) Fight It With Fire! Villain Koura (Tom "Doctor Who" Baker) at work on his following ship, his spell bringing a wooden sculpture to life, the first signature work by effects artist and co-producer Ray Harryhausen, threatening Sinbad (John Phillip Law) and his crew, in The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad, 1973.

Golden Voyage Of Sinbad, The (1973) -- (Movie Clip) Cast It Overboard In the opening sequence, an albatross drops a charm on the ship captained by Sinbad (John Phillip Law), which provides him a vision of things go come, especially slave-girl Caroline Munro, in the Ray Harryhausen co-produced The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad, 1973.

Golden Voyage Of Sinbad, The (1973) -- (Movie Clip) Two Melons With One Hand Ashore dealing with Hakim (Gregoire Aslan), Sinbad (John Phillip Law) is reluctant to bring along indolent Haroun (Kurt Christian) but more interested in Margiana (Caroline Munro), who's appeared to him earlier, in The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad, 1973, co-produced by Ray Harryhausen.

Bibliography

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