The Films of Joseph H. Lewis

An Appreciation of Joseph H. Lewis

Joseph H. Lewis, 1907-2000

I know you're thinking, who's he?

Well, Lewis is a Hollywood cult director, mainly of noirs, the most famous of which is "Gun Crazy".

TCM is devoting a night to him tomorrow, with a selection of his films. Warning: these are sometimes B movies, but more frequently Z movies. That is, the production and the scripts are often pretty dire. You have to keep an open mind and understand the terms under which they were made (which is: no money, Sonny) Under those terms, he often did quite well.

On July 14th:

5:00pm [Crime] So Dark the Night (1946)
A French police detective investigates his fiancée's murder.
Cast: Steven Geray, Micheline Cheirel, Eugene Borden, Ann Codee Dir: Joseph H. Lewis BW-70 mins, TV-PG [Email Remind Me]

6:15pm [Crime] Gun Crazy (1949)
Two disturbed young people release their fascination with guns through a crime spree.
Cast: Peggy Cummins, John Dall, Berry Kroeger, Morris Carnovsky Dir: Joseph H. Lewis BW-87 mins, TV-PG [Email Remind Me]

7:45pm [Suspense/Mystery] My Name Is Julia Ross (1945)
A young girl finds herself entrenched in a murder cover-up when she goes to work for a wealthy widow.
Cast: Nina Foch, Dame May Whitty, George Macready, Roland Varno Dir: Joseph H. Lewis BW-65 mins, TV-PG [Email Remind Me]

9:00pm [Drama] Cry Of The Hunted (1953)
A prison convict escapes through the Louisiana swamps.
Cast: Vittorio Gassman, Barry Sullivan, Polly Bergen, William Conrad Dir: Joseph H. Lewis BW-79 mins, TV-PG [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]

10:30pm [Drama] Desperate Search (1953)
A man fights to find his children after their plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness.
Cast: Howard Keel, Jane Greer, Patricia Medina, Keenan Wynn Dir: Joseph Lewis BW-71 mins, TV-PG [Email Remind Me]

12:00am [Western] Terror In A Texas Town (1958)
A whaler inherits his father's farm but has to fight off a corrupt town boss.
Cast: Sterling Hayden, Sebastian Cabot, Carol Kelly, Eugene Martin Dir: Joseph H. Lewis BW-81 mins, TV-PG [Letterbox] [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]

1:30am [Western] Seventh Cavalry (1956)
An alleged coward tries to redeem himself by reclaiming General Custer's body.
Cast: Randolph Scott, Barbara Hale, Jay C. Flippen, Frank Faylen Dir: Joseph H. Lewis C-76 mins, TV-PG [Letterbox] [Email Remind Me]