Ford Beebe (November 26, 1888 – November 26, 1978) was a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and director. He entered the film business as a writer around 1916 and over the next 60 years wrote and/or directed almost 200 films. He specialized in B-movies – mostly Westerns – and action serials, working on the "Buck Rogers" and "Flash Gordon" serials for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Life

Ford Beebe was born on November 26, 1888, in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is th ...

. Before moving to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

he was a freelance writer who was also experienced in advertising. He arrived in Hollywood in 1916 and began working as a writer for

Western films Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

. His first credit was as scenario writer for the 1916 film ''

A Youth of Fortune A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes ...

''. Beebe directed for the first time when Leo D. Maloney, who had been directing a film called ''The Test'', fell ill. Beebe became known as a director of low-budget films and serials. He was once described as being "an expert at making something out of nothing." The first serial directed by Beebe was 1932's '' The Shadow of the Eagle''. He went on to direct several other serials, notably '' Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars'', '' Buck Rogers'', ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of med ...

'', and ''

Don Winslow of the Navy ''Don Winslow of the Navy'' is a 1942 Universal Pictures Serial film based on the comic strip '' Don Winslow of the Navy'' by Commander Frank V. Martinek. It was theatrically released in January 1942. Plot Commander Don Winslow is returned to th ...

''; these were noted by film historian Hal Erickson to be the best of Beebe's works. Beebe preferred to direct westerns; speaking to the '' Evening Independent'', he said that westerns were the "bread and butter" of film studios. He was listed as a director on over 100 films.

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

commended Beebe for his 1942 film '' Night Monster'', impressed with the speed and economy of the production. Beebe was married to writer Frances Wiley. The couple had eight children. Their only son, Ford Beebe, Jr., became a director like his father. They lost twin daughters in infancy and had five daughters who survived it: Frances, Mary, Ruthann, Maxine, and Martha. In Beebe's later life he was married to Kitty Delevanti, with whom he had one son, Mike.

Selected filmography

References

; Notes ; Bibliography * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beebe, Ford 1888 births 1978 deaths American male screenwriters Film directors from Michigan Film serial crew Western (genre) film directors Science fiction film directors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters