Lambert Hillyer (July 8, 1893 – July 5, 1969) was an Americanfilm director andscreenwriter. He is best known today for his many western features, his horror filmsThe Invisible Ray andDracula's Daughter, and the firstBatman serial.

Lambert Hillyer
Born	Lambert Harwood Hillyer (1893-07-08)July 8, 1893 Tyner, Indiana
Died	July 5, 1969(1969-07-05) (aged 75) Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1917–1957
Spouse	Lucille Stein

Lambert Harwood Hillyer was born July 8, 1893, inTyner, Indiana^[1] (his 1946 resumé amended this to South Bend, Indiana).^[2] His mother was character actressLydia Knott.^[3] A graduate ofDrake College,^[4] he worked as a newspaper reporter and short-story writer, then as an actor invaudeville and stock theater. During World War I he began working in motion pictures with theMutual company. He began his career as a director withParamount-Artcraft, thenFirst National,Goldwyn, andFox. He became a specialist in westerns, working on many silent features starringWilliam S. Hart,Buck Jones,Tom Mix, and others.

Hillyer expanded into romantic melodramas and crime films in the 1920s. In 1936 he directed two chillers forUniversal, the science-fiction filmThe Invisible Ray and the cult horror filmDracula's Daughter.

He directed many features forColumbia Pictures in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some were major productions likeThe Defense Rests (1935) withJack Holt andJean Arthur, but most were low-budget action features. In 1940 he was assigned to Columbia'sCharles Starrett westerns, includingThe Durango Kid (1940), which later inspired a popular series. When Starrett left the studio temporarily,^[5] Hillyer was reassigned to theBill Elliott series, which he directed through 1942. One of Hillyer's most famous credits is theBatman serial (1943), which was memorable enough to be re-released in 1954, 1962, and 1965. The 1965 revival inspired the very successfulBatman TV series.

After his tenure with Columbia ended in 1943, Hillyer moved toRKO Radio Pictures briefly, where he directed aTim Holt western and a pair of two-reel comedies withLeon Errol. Hillyer then began a six-year association withMonogram Pictures, first with theSam Katzman crime storySmart Guy and then a series with the studio's newest cowboy starJohnny Mack Brown. Hillyer also directed Monogram's other western leadsJimmy Wakely andWhip Wilson.

Like many directors who were accustomed to low budgets and speedy schedules, Lambert Hillyer made a smooth transition to the new field of television. He directed 40 episodes of the syndicated WesternThe Cisco Kid. Hillyer also directed seven episodes ofHighway Patrol, which starredBroderick Crawford. His last assignment came in 1957, a single episode of the secret-agent showThe Man Called X, under the pseudonym Lambert Hill.

Hillyer died July 5, 1969, inLos Angeles, California.^[6]

In addition to writing screenplays for many of the films he directed, as noted above, Hillyer wrote or contributed to the screenplays for these motion pictures.

• Lambert Hillyer atIMDb