Joseph Lewis Essay

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The film’s director, Joseph H. Lewis, was one of America’s most stylish directors of primarily of the B-movie variety with career spanning over 30 years in Hollywood. Lewis began working professionally with a movie camera early on, “He acquired these skills working as a camera assistant in the 1920's (his aptitude for the work may have been come from his optometrist father) and further honed them in the MGM editorial department in the early '30s. After that Lewis edited serials at Republic and served the remainder of his apprenticeship as second unit director. He was signed to a full directing contract by Universal in 1937” (imdb, bio). Lewis had that special quality the French called auteur, his ability to hold his unique creative vision despite studio limitations, “A master of expressive lighting, tight close-ups, tracking and crane shots and offbeat camera angles and perspectives, Lewis…show more content…
Diamond over Susan and gangster Mr. Brown, is played by Cornel Wilde in The Big Combo, a legendary actor, screenwriter, producer, and director who’s vast “acting career began in 1935, in which year he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936, he began making small, uncredited appearances in films. By the 1940s, he had signed a contract with 20th Century Fox, and by the mid-1940s he was a major leading man. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in 1945's A Song to Remember. In the 1950s, he moved to writing, producing and directing films, but still continued his career as an actor“ (Wikipedia). I’ve been aware of his work for years and a fan of such films like The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Beyond Mombasa (1956), Constantine and the Cross (1961) Sword of Lancelot (1963), The Naked Prey (1965), and Beach Red (1967). For cult fans of science fiction, Wilde can also be seen on an episode of the Night Gallery (1971) and Gargoyles (1972), made for TV movie, and the rare exploitation shark film, Sharks' Treasure

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