Jack Arnold | |
|---|---|
 Arnold in 1957 | |
| Born | John Arnold Waks (1916-10-14)October 14, 1916 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | March 17, 1992(1992-03-17) (aged 75) |
| Occupation | Director |
| Known for | Science fiction films, documentaries |
| Spouse | Betty Arnold (m. circa 1945) |
| Children | 2, includingSusan[1] |
Jack Arnold (bornJohn Arnold Waks,[2] October 14, 1916 – March 17, 1992) was an American film and television director, considered one of the leading filmmakers of 1950sscience fiction films. His most notable films areIt Came from Outer Space (1953),Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954),Tarantula (1955), andThe Incredible Shrinking Man (1957).
Arnold, who was Jewish,[3] was born inNew Haven, Connecticut, to Russian immigrants.[4]: 53 As a child, he read a lot of science fiction, which laid the foundations for his genre films of the 1950s.
He hoped to become a professional actor and in his late teens he enrolled in theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts, where his classmates includedHume Cronyn,Betty Field andGarson Kanin. After graduating he worked as a vaudeville dancer and, in 1935, began getting roles in Broadway plays. He was acting inMy Sister Eileen when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and he immediately enlisted as a cadet for pilot training.[4]: 53
While Arnold intended to become a pilot, a shortage of planes meant he was temporarily placed in theU.S. ArmySignal Corps, where he took a crash course incinematography. He then became a cameraman and learned the techniques of filmmaking by assistingRobert Flaherty on various military films.[5] After eight months with Flaherty, he became a pilot in theAir Corps.[4]: 53 While stationed at Truax Airfield atNew Rochelle, New York, he met Betty, who would later become his wife.
Following the end of World War II and the end of Arnold's term of service, he formed a partnership with an air squadron buddy, Lee Goodman, to form a film production company. Their new company, called Promotional Films Company, made fundraising films for various non-profit organizations. He also continued acting on stage during this period, in plays including a revival ofThe Front Page, and played oppositeBela Lugosi andElaine Stritch inThree Indelicate Ladies.[4]: 54
"Jack Arnold dominated the science fiction field during his brief career. No imprint lingers so indelibly on the face of modern fantasy film as that of this obscure yet brilliant artist. All his films, no matter how tawdry, were marked with a brilliant personal vision. He exists as anéminence grise on the horizon of fantasy film, inscrutable, mysterious, almost impossible both to analyse and to ignore."
By 1950, after his documentary films had received more exposure, he was commissioned to produce and directWith These Hands, a documentary about working conditions of the early 20th century. It was nominated for anAcademy Award forBest Documentary Feature.[7]
Arnold directed a number of 1950s science fiction films. The best known of these,It Came from Outer Space (1953),Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954),Tarantula (1955), andThe Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) are noted for their atmospheric black-and-white cinematography and sophisticated scripts.The Incredible Shrinking Man is considered his "masterpiece," a fantasy film with few equals in intelligence and sophistication, notes authorJohn Baxter. While all the films display a "sheer virtuosity of style and clarity of vision."[6]
Arnold's main collaborator atUniversal Studios was producerWilliam Alland.[8]Revenge of the Creature (1955) wasClint Eastwood's debut film.
Arnold also made some non-sci-fi films, mostly Westerns. His best Western is often considered to beNo Name on the Bullet (1959), about a town frightened to hysteria by the arrival of a gunman who never reveals who he is after or why. The film was shot in color and CinemaScope and was later restored from the original negative for airing on the "Grit" digital broadcast channel.
He also worked in England as the director of the influential anti-nuke satire,The Mouse That Roared (1959), in whichPeter Sellers played three roles, one of them in drag. His later films includedHello Down There (1969),Black Eye (1974), the British sex comedyThe Bunny Caper akaSex Play (1974),Boss Nigger (1975) andThe Swiss Conspiracy (1976).
Arnold began his television career in 1955 with several episodes ofScience Fiction Theater. He went on to direct the long-running television seriesPerry Mason andPeter Gunn. He also directed episodes of such television shows asNanny and the Professor,Alias Smith and Jones,The Fall Guy,The Brady Bunch,Gilligan's Island,Wonder Woman,Ellery Queen,Mr. Terrific,Mr. Lucky, andThe San Pedro Beach Bums, as well as the TV movieMarilyn: The Untold Story (1980).
Arnold died ofarteriosclerosis inWoodland Hills, Los Angeles, California at the age of 75. Later that year, theUCLA Film Archive held a tribute "Jack Arnold: The Incredible Thinking Man" film festival which screened a number of his films. The Archive also produced and screened a bio-documentary about his life,The Incredible Thinking Man.[9][10]
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Film or series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Nominated | Academy Award | Best Documentary, Features | With These HandsShared with Lee Goodman |
| 1985 | Won | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | President's Award | - |
