Lambert Harwood Hillyer (July 8, 1893 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director and screenwriter.

Lambert Hillyer
Born
Lambert Harwood Hillyer

(1893-07-08)July 8, 1893
DiedJuly 5, 1969(1969-07-05) (aged 75)
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1917–1949

Biography

edit

Lambert Harwood Hillyer was born July 8, 1893, in Tyner, Indiana.[1] His mother was character actress Lydia Knott.[2] A graduate of Drake College,[3] he worked as a newspaper reporter and an actor in vaudeville and stock theater. During World War I he began working in motion pictures and became a prolific director and screenwriter, working on many silent-era Westerns by William S. Hart, Buck Jones, Tom Mix and others.

Often associated with producer Thomas H. Ince, Hillyer expanded into romantic melodramas and crime films in the 1920s. In 1936 he directed two chillers for Universal, the science-fiction film The Invisible Ray and the cult horror film Dracula's Daughter. He directed the first screen depiction of Batman, a 15-part serial produced in 1943[4] that was re-released as a theatrical feature in 1965.[5]

He directed many B movies for Columbia Pictures in the 1930s and early 1940s,[6] including the Westerns that were his specialty. Hillyer finished his career directing low-budget dramas and Westerns for Monogram Pictures.[4] In the early days of television, Hillyer also directed episodes of the syndicated Western, The Cisco Kid. Hillyer directed at least one episode of Highway Patrol, which starred Broderick Crawford.

Hillyer died July 5, 1969, in Los Angeles, California.[7]

Filmography

edit

Director

edit
Poster for An Even Break (1917)
Poster for Riddle Gawne (1918)
Online film of Wagon Tracks (1919)
Poster for O'Malley of the Mounted (1921)
Lobby card for Eyes of the Forest (1923)
Poster for Idle Tongues (1924)
Lobby card for Beau Bandit (1930)
Poster for South of the Rio Grande (1932)
Poster for The Invisible Ray (1936)
Poster for Convict's Code (1939)
Year Title Notes
1917 An Even Break Also screenwriter[6]
1917 Strife [6]
1917 The Narrow Trail [6]
1918 Riddle Gawne [6]
1919 Breed of Men [6]
1919 The Poppy Girl's Husband [6]
1919 The Money Corral Also screenwriter[6]
1919 Square Deal Sanderson Also screenwriter[6]
1919 Wagon Tracks [6]
1919 John Petticoats [6]
1920 The Toll Gate Also screenwriter[6]
1920 Sand! Also screenwriter[6]
1920 The Cradle of Courage Also screenwriter[6]
1920 The Testing Block Also screenwriter[6]
1921 O'Malley of the Mounted [6]
1921 The Whistle Also screenwriter[6]
1921 Three Word Brand Also screenwriter[6]
1921 White Oak [6]
1922 White Hands Also screenwriter[6]
1922 Travelin' On Also screenwriter[6]
1922 Caught Bluffing [6]
1922 Skin Deep [6]
1922 The Super-Sex Also screenwriter[6]
1922 The Altar Stairs [6]
1923 Scars of Jealousy Also screenwriter[6]
1923 The Shock [6]
1923 Temporary Marriage Also screenwriter[6]
1923 The Spoilers [6]
1923 The Lone Star Ranger Also screenwriter[6]
1923 Eyes of the Forest [6]
1923 Mile-a-Minute Romeo [6]
1924 Those Who Dance Also screenwriter[6]
1924 Barbara Frietchie Also screenwriter[6]
1924 Idle Tongues [6]
1925 I Want My Man [6]
1925 The Making of O'Malley [6]
1925 The Knockout [6]
1925 The Unguarded Hour [6]
1926 Her Second Chance [6]
1926 Miss Nobody [6]
1926 30 Below Zero [6]
1927 The War Horse Also screenwriter[6]
1927 Hills of Peril [6]
1927 Chain Lightning Also screenwriter[6]
1928 The Branded Sombrero Also screenwriter[6]
1928 Fleetwing Also screenwriter[6]
1930 Beau Bandit [6]
1931 The Deadline Also screenwriter[6]
1931 One Man Law Also screenwriter[6]
1932 The Fighting Fool [6]
1932 South of the Rio Grande [6]
1932 Hello Trouble Also screenwriter[6]
1932 White Eagle [6]
1932 Forbidden Trail [6]
1932 Sundown Rider Also screenwriter[6]
1933 The California Trail Also screenwriter[6]
1933 Unknown Valley Also screenwriter[6]
1933 Dangerous Crossroads [6]
1933 Police Car 17 Also screenwriter[6]
1933 Master of Men [6]
1933 Before Midnight [6]
1933 The Fighting Code Also screenwriter[6]
1934 Once to Every Woman [6]
1934 The Man Trailer Also screenwriter[6]
1934 The Most Precious Thing in Life [6]
1934 The Defense Rests [6]
1934 Against the Law [6]
1934 Men of the Night Also screenwriter[6]
1935 Behind the Evidence [6]
1935 In Spite of Danger [6]
1935 Men of the Hour [6]
1935 The Awakening of Jim Burke [6]
1935 Superspeed [6]
1935 Guard That Girl Also screenwriter[6]
1936 The Invisible Ray [6]
1936 Dangerous Waters [6]
1936 Dracula's Daughter [6]
1937 Speed to Spare Also screenwriter[6]
1937 Girls Can Play Also screenwriter[6]
1937 All American Sweetheart [6]
1938 Women in Prison [6]
1938 My Old Kentucky Home [6]
1938 Extortion Also screenwriter[6]
1938 Gang Bullets [6]
1939 Convict's Code [6]
1939 Should a Girl Marry? [6]
1939 Girl from Rio [6]
1940 The Durango Kid [6]
1940 Beyond the Sacramento [6]
1940 The Wildcat of Tucson [6][8]
1941 The Pinto Kid [6]
1941 The Son of Monte Cristo Second-unit director[6]
1941 North from the Lone Star [6]
1941 Hands Across the Rockies [6]
1941 The Medico of Painted Springs [6]
1941 The Son of Davy Crockett Also screenwriter[6]
1941 Thunder over the Prairie [6]
1941 King of Dodge City [6]
1941 Prairie Stranger [6]
1941 Roaring Frontiers [6]
1941 The Royal Mounted Patrol [6]
1942 The Devil's Trail [6]
1942 North of the Rockies [6]
1942 Prairie Gunsmoke [6]
1942 Vengeance of the West [6]
1943 Fighting Frontier [6]
1943 Bombardier Aerial action sequences (uncredited)[6]
1943 The Stranger from Pecos [6]
1943 Six Gun Gospel [6]
1943 Smart Guy [6]
1943 ''The Texas Kid [6]
1943 Batman 15-part serial[6]
1944 Partners of the Trail [6]
1944 Law Men [6]
1944 Range Law [6]
1944 West of the Rio Grande [6]
1944 Land of the Outlaws [6]
1944 Ghost Guns [6]
1945 Beyond the Pecos [6]
1945 Flame of the West [6]
1945 Stranger from Santa Fe [6]
1945 South of the Rio Grande [6]
1945 The Lost Trail [6]
1945 Frontier Feud [6]
1946 Border Bandits [6]
1946 Under Arizona Skies [6]
1946 The Gentleman from Texas [6]
1946 Silver Range [6]
1946 Trigger Fingers [6]
1946 Shadows on the Range [6]
1947 Raiders of the South [6]
1947 Valley of Fear [6]
1947 Land of the Lawless [6]
1947 The Law Comes to Gunsight [6]
1947 Trailing Danger [6]
1947 The Hat Box Mystery [6]
1947 The Case of the Baby Sitter [6]
1947 Flashing Guns [6]
1947 Gun Talk [6]
1948 Overland Trails [6]
1948 Song of the Drifter [6]
1948 Oklahoma Blues [6]
1948 Crossed Trails [6]
1948 Partners of the Sunset [6]
1948 Frontier Agent [6]
1948 Range Renegades [6]
1948 The Fighting Ranger [6]
1948 The Sheriff of Medicine Bow [6]
1948 Outlaw Brand [6]
1948 Sundown Riders [6]
1949 Gun Runner [6]
1949 Gun Law Justice [6]
1949 Trails End [6]
1949 Haunted Trails [6]
1949 Riders of the Dusk [6]
1949 Range Land [6]

Screenwriter

edit
 
Poster for The Desert Man (1917), scenario by Lambert Hillyer

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.

Year Title Notes
1917 They're Off [6]
1917 The Mother Instinct [6]
1917 The Desert Man [6]
1917 The Little Brother [6]
1917 Love or Justice [6]
1917 The Snarl [6]
1917 One Shot Ross [6]
1917 The Silent Man [6]
1921 The Man from Lost River [6]
1930 Hide-Out [6]
1933 Straightaway [6]
1933 State Trooper [6]
1935 Law Beyond the Range [6]
1937 The Shadow [6]
1938 Highway Patrol [6]
1939 Parents on Trial [6]
1939 The Officer and the Lady [6]

References

edit
  1. ^ Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database online]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  2. ^ Year: 1920; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 63, Los Angeles, California. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database online]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  3. ^ Wagner, Esther (June 14, 1922). "Will Hays Starts Movie 'Clean Up' at Studio". The Lima News.
  4. ^ a b Katz, Ephraim (1998). Klein, Fred; Nolen, Ronald Dean (eds.). The Film Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. pp. 631–632. ISBN 0-06-273492-X.
  5. ^ "An Evening with Batman and Robin". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn fo fp fq fr "Lambert Hillyer". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  7. ^ Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1940–1997 [database online]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2000. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  8. ^ Blottner, Gene (2011). "The Wildcat of Tucson". Wild Bill Elliott: A Complete Filmography. McFarland & Company. pp. 150–151. ISBN 9780786480258. Retrieved October 9, 2017. Bill Elliott's presence, with a matching performance by Kenneth MacDonald, brings this western saga satisfactorily to the screen. [...] An interesting subplot has heroine Evelyn Young momentarily switching her affection from Stanley Brown to his brother, Eliott. Lambert Hillyer's direction is first rate.
edit