Byron Haskin

  • Byron Haskin – Conquest of Space (1955)

    1951-1960AdventureByron HaskinSci-FiUSA

    Dramatic Effects Never Before Equalled – Or Even Imagined!

    From a space wheel 500 miles above the Earth, commander Samuel Merritt (Walter Brooke) and his men (including Eric Fleming and Benson Fong) construct a sleek robot, then receive orders providing their new craft’s destination: Mars!

    Five-time Oscar Winner George Pal (The War of the Worlds) produced this adventure rooted in the ’50s understanding of space exploration… and heightened by the awareness that no matter how advanced science becomes, human weaknesses remain.Read More »

  • Byron Haskin – Captain Sindbad (1963)

    USA1961-1970AdventureByron HaskinFantasy

    Captain Sindbad was based on an Arabian Nights story, was filmed in Germany, and starred an American leading man (Guy Williams), a German leading lady (Heidi Bruhl) and a Mexican villain (Pedro Armendariz). How’s that for cultural diversity? Anyway, the story involves Sindbad’s (Williams) efforts to enter the impenetrable castle where the evil El Kerim’s (Armendariz) heart is being kept. So long as his heart is outside his body, El Kerim is invulnerable, enabling him to be as wicked and despotic as he chooses. Sindbad comes to the rescue just seconds before the heroine (Bruhl) is about to be crushed to death by an elephant. Despite the mortality rate on both sides, Captain Sindbad is pure kiddie-matinee stuff, adroitly put together by director/cinematographer Byron (War of the Worlds) Haskin and boasting top-notch special effects. allmovieRead More »

  • Byron Haskin – Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

    1961-1970AdventureByron HaskinSci-FiUSA

    Synopsis:
    Spun from Daniel DeFoe’s tale of the titular character, this sci-fi story involves a spaceship commander, Chris Draper (Paul Mantee) in a similar situation to the original Robinson Crusoe — but rather than being stranded on an island, our hero is on a hostile planet. Draper, Colonel Dan McReady (Adam West), and a test monkey look as if they are going to collide with a meteor. Draper and the chimp are able to eject themselves from the vessel, but McReady is not so lucky. The two survivors safely land on Mars and figure out how to breathe, drink, and eat on the inhospitable planet.Read More »

  • Byron Haskin – The Boss (1956)

    1951-1960Byron HaskinFilm NoirThrillerUSA

    Noir and sci-fi specialist Byron Haskin (I Walk Alone, The War of the Worlds) takes on The Boss in this gritty crime classic. Following World War I, ruthless veteran Matt Brady (John Payne, 99 River Street) inherits the clout of his political kingpin brother and climbs the ladder of corruption all the way to the top of the state. His amoral practices and sheer arrogance lead to broken friendships (William Bishop, The Redhead from Wyoming) and romances (model-turned-actress Doe Avedon and Gloria McGehee, A Child Is Waiting) along the way. Based on the real-life scandal of Kansas City politico Tom Pendergast, The Boss is celluloid dynamite from the pen of Dalton Trumbo (Spartacus, Lonely Are the Brave), originally uncredited due to Hollywood’s blacklisting.Read More »

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