Haskin, Byron

Early years

Born April 22, 1899 in Portland ( Oregon ). He was educated at the University of California at Berkeley , during the First World War he served as a cadet in naval aviation. After completing his military service, Haskin worked as a cartoonist and advertiser, and in 1920 he moved to the film industry as a newsreel operator ^[7] .

Camera and director career: 1920s

In 1922 he made his debut at Warner Brothers Studio as the operator of the silent film Broken Chains ^{[8] [9]} , and in 1928 he shot his first sound film Caught in the Fog ^[5] . In total, Haskin made 33 films as an operator, the last of them in 1937 ^[8] . Among his most notable camera work are the social dramas “ While the Earth Rotates ” (1934), “ Side Streets ” (1934) and “ Black Rage ” (1935) ^[10] .

In 1927, he began working as a director, producing four silent films during the year, mainly, they were insignificant comedy melodramas - “The Great Ginsburg”, “Girls of the matinee” and “Irish Hearts” ^[7] . After these works, Haskin returned to directing only in 1948.

In 1929–32 he worked in Britain as a production manager and technical adviser to the British film industry ^{[7] [9]} .

Special Effects Development: 1932-1944

Even in the era of silent cinema, he began to develop special effects and develop technologies that ultimately brought sound to the film industry ^[9] . With the advent of sound cinema, he took up the development of more effective means of adapting new sound technologies. Upon returning to Hollywood, he signed a contract with the Warner Brothers Special Effects Department, and from 1937–45 worked as its manager ^{[7] [9]} . At this stage in his career, Haskin was nominated for an Oscar four times for best special effects ^[7] for his work in the following films: the historical drama “The Private Life of Elizabeth and Essex ” (1939), the historical adventure film “ Sea Hawk ” (1940), and the adventure Michael Curtis ’s drama Sea Wolf (1941) and Raoul Walsh ’s military drama Desperate Journey (1942).

Director's career: 1945-1968

In 1945, when the executive producer of Warner Brothers Hall Hall moved to Paramount , he took Haskin with him ^[7] .

At the new studio, he resumed his directorial career (and made his debut as a director of sound films) with the film noir " I am always alone " (1947) ^[7] . This film, with the participation of Bert Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, spoke about the close partnership of two bootlegger friends who, after 14 years of separation, turn into mortal hostility between them. In 1949, Haskin directed one of his best films, “A Great Little Noir,” “ Too Late for Tears, ” in which, like in the previous picture, the main female roles were played by Lisbeth Scott and Christine Miller .

The adventure film Kumaon Cannibal (1948), shot in kind, was dedicated to hunting a cannibal tiger terrorizing local people in the Indian Himalayas ^[11] .

After that, he again went to England, where he directed the first feature film of Walt Disney Studios - “ Treasure Island ” (1950) with Robert Newton in the title role. In 1954, Haskin again directed Newton in the continuation of this film - “ Long John Silver ” (1954), and then in 1955 he directed the two-part television film “ Treasure Island ” ^{[7] [9]} .

The adventure action " Tarzan in Danger " (1951) was the first of a series of films about Tarzan that was shot, although only partially, by nature in Africa. In the years 1951-52, Haskin put on three passing westerns with the participation of Edmond O'Brien in the main role - “ The Warpath ” (1951), “ Silver City ” (1951) and “ Denver and Rio Grande ” (1952).

After that, he began a long and successful collaboration with producer George Pale , “for whom he probably shot his most famous film, the science fiction classic War of the Worlds ” (1953) ^{[7] [9]} . The film is based on the novel by Herbert Wells , the action of which was moved to the USA of the 1950s with the themes of nuclear weapons and the confrontation of two political systems that were characteristic of that time, in addition, the film was distinguished by a pronounced religious orientation. Critics noted that the quality of the script and the acting did not go beyond the standard cliches of Hollywood paintings, while “aliens and special effects overshadowed the dialogue” ^{[12] [13] [14]} . Most of the film’s budget went to special effects, which over time has become a feature of fantastic blockbusters ^[15] . Along with such paintings as “ Something from Another World ” (1951), “The Day the Earth Stopped ” (1951) and “ They! "(1954), the film" War of the Worlds "became a landmark in the development of science fiction cinema.

After that, in collaboration with Pal, Haskin directed the adventure film “The Naked Jungle ” (1954), as well as the science fiction films “ Space Conquest ” (1955) and “ Power ” (1968) ^{[7] [9]} .

The adventure thriller The Naked Jungle (1954) with Charlton Heston spoke about the attack of hordes of ants on a coffee plantation in Africa. The adventure drama The Owner of O'Keefe Island (1954) took place on islands in the southern Pacific latitudes, where the main character ( Bert Lancaster ) is trying to establish copra production and relations with local residents.

The film “ Space Conquest ” (1955) was not the most convincing attempt, based on the existing scientific knowledge of its time, to imagine the most probable flight of a spacecraft to Mars and then the crew’s attempt to return back. The film touched on the religious and psychological aspects of people's invasion of outer space.

The political drama "The Boss " (1956) with the participation of John Payne was a rather unexpected political drama for Haskin's career, devoted to the theme of the struggle for power in one of the American states after the First World War.

The fantastic film " From Earth to the Moon " (1958) with the participation of Joseph Cotten and George Sanders was set based on the novel by Jules Verne . The film takes place in the USA in the 1860s and is associated with the organization of a flight to the moon after a series of revolutionary sci-fi discoveries, the film again touches on the religious aspects of space exploration.

Later, Haskin put on a series of adventure films for family viewing, including Little Savage (1959), Captain Sinbad (1963) and Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964). The last film, transferring the adventures from the book of Daniel Defoe to Mars, looks rather naive and backward in scientific terms, nevertheless it "acquired a cult character" ^[9] . Haskin’s last film was the fantastic crime thriller Power (1968) about the scientist’s struggle with a mysterious killer with telekinesis.

Beginning in 1957, Haskin began working on television, where six of his highly acclaimed directorial films were the highly acclaimed science fiction series Beyond the Possible (1963–64).

Haskin died on April 16, 1984 in Montechito , six days before his 85th birthday.

Directing

• Byron Haskin at IMDb
• Byron Haskin at Allmovie
• Byron Haskin at Turner Classic Movies