Dwain Atkins Esper (October 7, 1894 – October 18, 1982) was an American director and producer of

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

Biography

Esper who was born in

Snohomish, Washington Snohomish () is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 10,126 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located on the Snohomish River, southeast of E ...

was a veteran of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and worked as a building contractor before switching to the film business in the mid-1920s. He produced and directed inexpensive pictures including '' Sex Maniac'', ''

Marihuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has been used as a drug for both recr ...

'', and '' How to Undress in Front of Your Husband''. To enhance the appeal of these low-budget features, he included scenes containing gratuitous nudity and violence that led some to label him the "father of modern exploitation." Esper's wife, Hildagarde Stadie, wrote many of the scripts for his films. They employed extravagant promotional techniques that included exhibiting the mummified body of notorious Oklahoma outlaw

Elmer McCurdy Elmer J. McCurdy (January 1, 1880 – October 7, 1911) was an American outlaw who was killed in a shoot-out with police after robbing a train in Oklahoma in October 1911. Dubbed "The Bandit Who Wouldn't Give Up", his mummified body was first put ...

before it was acquired by

Dan Sonney Dan Sonney (23 January 1915 – 3 March 2002) was a producer and distributor of exploitation films. He was the son of Louis Sonney, who founded Sonney Amusements, the husband of Margaret Sonney, and a long-term business partner of David F. ...

''Maniac'' (1934)

Maniac __NOTOC__ The MANIAC I (Mathematical Analyzer Numerical Integrator and Automatic Computer Model I) was an early computer built under the direction of Nicholas Metropolis at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. It was based on the von Neumann arc ...

'', also known as ''Sex Maniac'', an

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of Animals *Exploitation of labour **Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery **Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts an ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by Esper, is a loose adaptation of the

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

story " The Black Cat" and follows a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

impersonator who becomes an assistant to a

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...

. It is considered by many film critics and historians to be one of the worst films of all time.

Danny Peary Dannis Peary (born August 8, 1949) is an American film critic and sports writer. He has written and edited many books on Film, cinema and sports-related topics. Peary is most famous for his book ''Cult Movies (book), Cult Movies'' (1980), which s ...

believes that ''Maniac'' is the worst film made, Charlie Jane Anders of

Gawker Media Gawker Media LLC (formerly Blogwire, Inc. and Gawker Media, Inc.) was an American internet media company and Link farm#Blog network, blog network. It was founded by Nick Denton in October 2003 as Blogwire, and was based in New York City. Incorpor ...

io9 ''io9'' is a sub-blog of the technology blog ''Gizmodo'' that focuses on science fiction and fantasy pop culture, with former focuses on science, technology and futurism. It was created as a standalone blog in 2008 by editor Annalee Newitz under ...

described it as "possibly the worst movie in history" and ''Chicago Tribune'' critic Michael Wilmington wrote that it may be the worst film he had seen, writing: "There are some voyages into ineptitude, like Dwain Esper's anti-classic ''Maniac,'' that defy all reason." Rotten Tomatoes placed ''Maniac'' on its list of movies "So Bad They're Unmissable", the Italian ''Vanity Fair'' included the film on its list of the 20 worst movies, and it is featured in ''

The Official Razzie Movie Guide ''The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst'' is a 2005 book about the booby prize award show the Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies), written by John J. B. Wilson, founder of the awards ceremony. The book was publishe ...

''. Esper died in San Diego, California at the age of 88. He and Hildagarde had two children.

Filmography

Director credits

* ''Sinister Harvest'' (1930) * '' The Seventh Commandment'' (1932) : a.k.a. ''Sins of Love'' (US: reissue title) : a.k.a. ''The 7th Commandment'' (US: poster title) * ''Narcotic'' (1933) : a.k.a. ''Narcotic Racket'' (US: reissue title) : a.k.a. ''Narcotic!'' (US: promotional title) : a.k.a. ''Narcotic: As Interpreted by Dwain Esper'' (US: closing credits title) * ''

'' (1934) : a.k.a. ''Sex Maniac'' * '' Modern Motherhood'' (1934) * ''

'' (1936) : a.k.a. ''Marihuana, the Devil's Weed'' : a.k.a. ''Marihuana, the Weed with Roots in Hell!'' * '' How to Undress in Front of Your Husband'' (1937) * ''

Sex Madness ''Sex Madness'' is a 1938 American exploitation film directed by Dwain Esper, along the lines of ''Reefer Madness'', supposedly to warn teenagers and young adults of the dangers of venereal diseases, specifically syphilis.Reefer Madness ''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1938/1939 American exploitation film about drugs, revolving around the me ...

'' * ''Hell-a-Vision'' : a.k.a. ''Hell-o-Vision'' (US) * ''

Man's Way with Women ''Man's Way with Women'' () is a 1934 Swedish romantic drama film directed by Per-Axel Branner. It is based on the 1905 Finnish novel '' The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'' by Johannes Linnankoski. The interior shots of the film were shot at ...

'' * '' Freaks'' (uncredited) as ''Forbidden Love'', and later ''Natures Mistakes'' with Sam Alexander providing a live appearance with some disfigured members of his 'troupe' * ''Cain: Aventures des mers exotiques'' : a.k.a. ''Cain''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esper, Dwain Film directors from Washington (state) Esper, Dwain Esper, Dwain Film producers from Washington (state) People from Snohomish, Washington American military personnel of World War I