Ray Nazarro
Ray Nazarro | |
---|---|
Born |
Boston, Massachusetts | September 25, 1902
Died |
September 8, 1986 83) Studio City, Los Angeles, California | (aged
Other names |
Nat Nazarro Raymond Nazarro Nat Nazzaro Ray Nazzaro |
Occupation | Film and television director, producer, screenwriter |
Years active | 1929-1964 |
Ray Nazarro (September 25, 1902 - September 8, 1986) was an American film and television director, producer, and screenwriter
Biography
Born in Boston, Nazarro entered the movie business during the silent era, and began directing short films in 1929 with In and Out (billed as "Nat Nazarro"). He spent the next 13 years working in two-reelers, honing an approach to filmmaking that was quick, lean and eminently desirable—to producers, at least—before he became a feature film director at Columbia Pictures, beginning with Outlaws of the Rockies (1945).
Nazarro did the vast majority of his work for Columbia, and was one of the busiest directors on the lot of any major studio—from 1945-1955 he worked at a furious pace, directing as many as 13 pictures in one year. These were almost all B-westerns, made very quickly but with some polish. They were lean and uncluttered—a technique he learned in his years directing shorts—with an emphasis on action but also a serious elegiac view of the west. Among them were Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951) and The Black Dakotas (1954).
At the end of the '50s, with the market for B-westerns drying up in America, Nazarro restarted his career in Europe, making spaghetti westerns. He also began working in television. His last film was the German-made Jayne Mansfield thriller Dog Eat Dog, released in 1964.
Nazarro died on September 8, 1986 and is buried in Chapel of the Pines Crematory.
Selected filmography
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Film | Notes | |
1929 | In and Out | Credited as Nat Nazzaro | |
1930 | Darktown Follies | Credited as Nat Nazzaro | |
1932 | Runt Page | Credited as Raymond Nazarro | |
1934 | Jimmy the Gent | Writer, story "The Heir Chaser" | |
1945 | Texas Panhandle | ||
1946 | Laugh Jubilee | Credited as Nat Nazarro Writer | |
1947 | West of Dodge City | ||
1948 | Phantom Valley | ||
1949 | Bandits of El Dorado | Alternative title: Tricked | |
1950 | Hoedown | ||
1951 | China Corsair | ||
1952 | The Rough, Tough West | ||
1953 | Kansas Pacific | ||
1953 | Gun Belt | ||
1954 | Southwest Passage | ||
1954 | The Black Dakotas | ||
1955 | Top Gun | ||
1956 | The White Squaw | ||
1957 | The Hired Gun | ||
1958 | Apache Territory | ||
1964 | Dog Eat Dog | ||
Television | |||
Year | Title | Notes | |
1951 | The Range Rider | Unknown episodes | |
1954–1956 | Annie Oakley | 14 episodes | |
1955 | Buffalo Bill Jr. | 8 episodes | |
1955–1960 | Fury | 8 episodes, produced two episodes | |
1959 | Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer | 3 episodes | |
Award nominations
Year | Award | Result | Category | Film |
---|---|---|---|---|
1952 | Academy Award | Nominated | Best Writing, Motion Picture Story | The Bullfighter and the Lady (Shared with Budd Boetticher) |