Jack Arnold reigns supreme as one of the great directors of 1950s
science-fiction features. His films are distinguished by moody black
and white cinematography, solid acting, smart, thoughtful scripts,
snappy pacing, a genuine heartfelt enthusiasm for the genre and plenty
of eerie atmosphere.
Arnold was born on October 14, 1912, in New Haven, Connecticut. He
began his show business career as an actor in both on- and off-Broadway
stage productions in the late 1930s and early 1940s; among the plays he
appeared in are "The Time of Your Life," "Juke Box Jenny," "Blind
Alibi," "China Passage," and "We're on the Jury." Arnold served in the
US Army in the Signal Corps during World War II. He apprenticed under
famous documentary filmmaker
Robert J. Flaherty. Following his
tour of duty Jack started making short films and documentaries. One
short, With These Hands (1950),
was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Documentary Feature. Arnold
made his theatrical movie debut with the B picture
Frauen in der Nacht (1953). He
then did his first foray into the science-fiction genre: the supremely
spooky
Gefahr aus dem Weltall (1953).
Jack achieved his greatest enduring cult popularity with
Der Schrecken vom Amazonas (1954),
a scary yet poetic reworking of "Beauty and the Beast".
Die Rache des Ungeheuers (1955)
was a worthy sequel. Tarantula (1955)
was likewise a lot of fun.
Die unglaubliche Geschichte des Mr. C (1957)
rates highly as Arnold's crowning cinematic achievement; it's an
intelligent and entertaining classic that's lost none of its potency
throughout the years.
Arnold's final two genre entries were the enjoyable
Der Schrecken schleicht durch die Nacht (1958)
and the offbeat
The Space Children (1958). His
other movies are a pretty varied and interesting bunch, including the
hugely successful
Die Maus, die brüllte (1959)
(which helped to establish
Peter Sellers as an international
star), the teen exploitation gem
Mit Siebzehn am Abgrund (1958),
the superior Audie Murphy western
Auf der Kugel stand kein Name (1959),
the goofy comedy
Hello Down There (1969) and the
silly softcore romp Sex Play (1974).
In addition to his film work, Arnold also directed episodes of such TV
shows as
Science Fiction Theatre (1955),
Peter Gunn (1958),
Perry Mason (1957),
Tausend Meilen Staub (1959),
Gilligans Insel (1964),
Twen-Police (1968),
Wonder Woman (1975),
Love Boat (1977),
Die Sieben-Millionen-Dollar Frau (1976) and
Buck Rogers (1979).
The father of producer/casting director
Susan Arnold, Jack Arnold died at
age 79 on March 17, 1992.
