Joseph H. Lewis (April 6, 1907–August 30, 2000), a B-movie director with a sense of style, always strove for excellence, no matter how cheap the film. Even at the dawn of his career (1937–1940), when he was directing inexpensive, forgettable westerns, he earned the derogatory nickname "Wagon-Wheel Joe" from the studio editors because of his love for using wagon-wheels to construct interesting visual compositions within the frame. April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Although he worked with both Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill in early '40's horror, he is best known for his work in film noir from the late 40's and the '50's. His masterpiece is Gun Crazy (1949), a dark romance about gun-obsession which is also one of the earliest and best uses of location photography in Hollywood. 1931 film poster, promoting Bela Lugosis genre-defining turn as Dracula. ... Lionel Atwill was a stage and film actor born in London, England in 1885 and dying in Hollywood in 1946. ... Gun Crazy (originally released as Deadly is the Female) is a 1949 film noir film about a couple (Laurie and Bart) who go on a cross-country robbery-shooting spree, that is considered the forerunner to the film Bonnie and Clyde. ...

Toward the end of his career, he worked in television, directing episodes of The Rifleman, Bonanza, The Big Valley, Gunsmoke as well as the pilot for Branded. This article discusses the television series. ... The Big Valley was a television Western which ran on ABC from 1965 through 1969. ... Gunsmoke was a long-running old-time radio and television western drama program. ... Branded was a Western series which aired on NBC from 1965 through 1966. ...

Notable films directed

• My Name Is Julia Ross (1945)
• Gun Crazy (1949)
• Cry of the Hunted (1953)
• The Big Combo (1955)
• Terror in a Texas Town (1955)

Gun Crazy (originally released as Deadly is the Female) is a 1949 film noir film about a couple (Laurie and Bart) who go on a cross-country robbery-shooting spree, that is considered the forerunner to the film Bonnie and Clyde. ... The Big Combo (1955) The Big Combo (1955)is director Joseph H. Lewis black-and-white film noir. ...

External links

• Joseph H. Lewis at the Internet Movie Database