Alex Gordon (8 September 1922 – 24 June 2003) was a British film producer and screenwriter. He produced eighteen films, including the

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

films '' Day the World Ended'' (1955) and '' The She Creature'' (1956). He wrote screenplays for three films, two of them with

B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

director

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novelist. In the 1950s, Wood directed several B movie, low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult c ...

, '' Jail Bait'' (1954) and '' Bride of the Monster'' (1956). Gordon's brother Richard Gordon was also a film producer.

Biography

Alex Gordon was a film publicist who served in the British Army. After his discharge in 1947 he and his brother arrived in New York. He worked for theatres, performed press duties for

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

, then moved to Hollywood in 1952.

Ed Wood

In Hollywood, Gordon met

and they collaborated on a script for a low-budget Western for

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

, ''The Outlaw Marshall''. The production was a difficult one and Gordon needed a lawyer; he ended up hiring Samuel Z. Arkoff who later established

. The film became '' The Lawless Rider'' (1954). Gordon had written two scripts, ''The Atomic Monster'' and ''The Hidden Face''. Wood co-wrote the final screenplays and filmed them as '' Bride of the Monster'' (1955) and '' Jail Bait'' (1954), respectively.

American International

Arkoff set up a company, American Releasing Company which became

. Gordon was one of their most important producers in the early days, usually collaborating with writer Lou Rusoff and director Edward L. Cahn. Gordon's first film for the company was '' Apache Woman'' (1955), written by Rusoff and directed by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

. Gordon and Corman collaborated again on '' Day the World Ended'' (1955), a science fiction film that was very successful, and '' The Oklahoma Woman'' (1956), another Western. All these films were written by Rusoff. Gordon's first movie with Cahn was '' Girls in Prison'' (1956), a women in prison film. Cahn also directed ''

The She-Creature ''The She-Creature'', or ''The She Creature'', is a 1956 American black-and-white science fiction horror film, released by American International Pictures from a script by Lou Rusoff (brother-in-law of AIP executive Samuel Z. Arkoff). It wa ...

'' (1956), a science fiction horror movie with Marla English and

Tom Conway Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders; 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor. He is remembered for playing suave adventurer The Falcon in a series of 1940s films; and his appearances in three h ...

, and ''

Flesh and the Spur ''Flesh and the Spur'' is a 1956 American western film directed by Edward L. Cahn. The film stars John Agar as Lucius Random, Marla English as Wild Willow and Mike Connors (billed here as Touch Connors) as Stacy Tanner. The film was released ...

'' (1956), a Western with English and

Mike Connors Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor. He was best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series ''Mannix'' from 1967 to 1975. This role ...

co written by Charles B. Griffith. Gordon, Rusoff and Cahn then made '' Shake, Rattle & Rock!'' (1956), a musical with Connors and

Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically ...

and Douglas Dumbrille (film buff Gordon always liked to put older actors in his movies), and '' Runaway Daughters'' (1956), with English, Anna Sten and John Litel. Rusoff did not write '' Voodoo Woman'' (1957), with English and Conway, but he did '' Dragstrip Girl'' (1957) and its semi-remake ''

Motorcycle Gang An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purpo ...

'' (1957). Cahn directed '' Jet Attack'' (1958), a war film. Gordon helped with the casting on ''

Reform School Girl ''Reform School Girl'' is a 1957 American drama film starring Gloria Castillo as a teenage girl who is sent to a reformatory. The film was directed by Edward Bernds and was produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff. ''Reform School Girl'' was one of many s ...

'' (1957) directed by

Edward Bernds Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois. Career While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur li ...

. Gordon worked with a new director,

Spencer Gordon Bennet Spencer Gordon Bennet (January 5, 1893 – October 8, 1987) was an American film producer and director. Known as the "King of Serial Directors", he directed more film serials than any other director. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Benne ...

, on the war film, '' Submarine Seahawk'' (1958). It was his last movie for AIP. He was unhappy with the company and left.

Later Films

Gordon produced '' The Atomic Submarine'' (1959) for Allied Artists, directed by Bennett. He wrote and produced '' The Underwater City'' (1962), directed by Frank McDonald. His last feature film credits were two Westerns directed by Bennett, '' Requiem for a Gunfighter'' (1965) and ''

The Bounty Killer ''The Ugly Ones'' ( es: ''El precio de un hombre'', lit. "The Price of a Man", it: ''The Bounty Killer'', later ''La morte ti segue... ma non ha fretta'', lit. "Death follows you... but not in a hurry") is a 1966 Spanish-Italian spaghetti West ...

'' (1965). In 1968 he went into TV producing at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

. He later wrote the documentary, ''Gene Autry: America's Singing Cowboy'' (1993).

References

External links

*
Alex Gordon
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Alex 1922 births 2003 deaths 20th-century British screenwriters