Arthur C. Pierce (September 8, 1923 – November 17, 1987) was an American

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 specialising in low budget

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

films.

Biography

Pierce, a native of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, enlisted in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the Second World War serving as a combat photographer in the Pacific under

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography. Steichen was credited with tr ...

. Following the war, Pierce unsuccessfully attempted to produce a film about US Navy submarines entitled ''The Silent Service'' starring Robert Montgomery. He studied drama and worked as an actor and stage manager in various stage productions. Beginning in 1948, Pierce worked for Raphael G. Wolff Studios, an

industrial film Sponsored film, or ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is a film made by a particular sponsor for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited ...

production company, for three years. Pierce acted as a cameraman contributing to over 100 industrial films made throughout North America. In 1952 he joined the Howard Anderson Company that produced

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual w ...

for various motion pictures where he acquired a strong knowledge of optical effects. Pierce entered the world of screenwriting through his friend Mark Hanna, a screenwriter and actor. His first work was 1959's ''

The Cosmic Man ''The Cosmic Man'' is a 1959 independently made black-and-white science fiction film, directed by Herbert S. Greene and produced by Robert A. Terry. The film stars John Carradine, Bruce Bennett and Angela Greene. The narrative concerns an extra ...

'' starring

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

that had many of the same ideas as ''

The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (a.k.a. ''Farewell to the Master'' and ''Journey to the World'') is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Renn ...

''. Pierce then wrote the screenplay for ''

Beyond the Time Barrier ''Beyond the Time Barrier'' is a 1960 American science fiction film. It was released in September 1960 on a double bill with ''The Angry Red Planet''.Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. . Page 730 It star ...

'' for

Robert Clarke Robert Irby Clarke (June 1, 1920 – June 11, 2005) was an American actor best known for his cult classic science fiction films of the 1950s. Early life Clarke was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He decided at an early age that h ...

and

Edgar G. Ulmer Edgar Georg Ulmer (; September 17, 1904 – September 30, 1972) was a Jewish- Moravian, Austrian- American film director who mainly worked on Hollywood B movies and other low-budget productions, eventually earning the epithet 'The King of PRC ...

. This was a low-budget film designed to exploit ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively fo ...

''. Pierce also appeared as one of the mutants. Renowned and typecast for low budget science fiction, Pierce worked his way up to producing and directing ''

The Human Duplicators ''The Human Duplicators'' is a 1965 American science fiction film by Woolner Brothers Pictures Inc. Produced and directed by Hugo Grimaldi and Arthur C. Pierce (the latter uncredited as director), the film stars George Nader, Barbara Nichols, G ...

'' and ''

Mutiny in Outer Space ''Mutiny in Outer Space'' is a 1965 black-and-white independent American science fiction film, written, produced, and directed by Hugo Grimaldi and Arthur C. Pierce, although Pierce was not credited as directing. It stars William Leslie, Dolor ...

'' both without credit. Pierce's first directorial credits were ''

Women of the Prehistoric Planet ''Women of the Prehistoric Planet'' is a 1966 independently made American science fiction/ action film directed by Arthur C. Pierce, with Wendell Corey receiving the top billing among the cast. Plot A spacefaring crew from an advanced civili ...

'' (1965) and the non-science fiction ''

The Las Vegas Hillbillys ''The Las Vegas Hillbillys'' is a 1966 American country music comedy film directed by Arthur C. Pierce and starring Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. The 1967 sequel film ''Hillbillys in a Haunted House'' soon followed with a similar cast. ...

'' (1966). Pierce also wrote several spy-fi films including ''

'' (1965), '' Dimension 5'' (1966), and ''

The Destructors "The Destructors" is a 1954 short story written by Graham Greene, first published in ''Picture Post'' and subsequently collected in ''Twenty-One Stories'' later that year.Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo ...

'' and '' The Next Step Beyond''.

References

External links

Arthur C. Pierce at IMDB https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0682287/ 1923 births 1987 deaths American male screenwriters Mass media people from Dallas Film directors from Texas United States Navy personnel of World War II Screenwriters from Texas 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters World War II photographers {{US-film-director-1920s-stub