Bert I. Gordon

{{Infobox person

| name = Bert I. Gordon

| image =Bert I. Gordon nonfree.png

| birth_name = Bert Ira Gordon

| birth_date = {{birth date|1922|9|24}}

| birth_place = Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|3|8|1922|9|24}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| other_names =

| occupation = Film director

| spouse = {{Ubl

| {{marriage|Flora Lang|1945|July 28, 1979|end=divorced}}

| {{marriage|Eva Marklstorfer|1980}}}}

| children = 4, including Susan

| website = [http://www.bertigordon.com/ www.bertigordon.com]}}

Bert Ira Gordon (September 24, 1922 – March 8, 2023) was an American filmmaker and visual effects artist. He is best known for screenwriting and producing and/or directing science fiction and horror B-movies such as King Dinosaur (1955), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Earth vs. the Spider (1958), Village of the Giants (1965), The Food of the Gods (1976), and Empire of the Ants (1977).{{Cite web |last=Bartlett |first=Rhett |date=2023-03-09 |title=Bert I. Gordon, Director of Cult (and Cheap) Sci-Fi Classics, Dies at 100 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/bert-i-gordon-dead-director-cult-cheap-sci-fi-classics-1235346478/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Bert I. Gordon {{!}} Director, Producer, Writer |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0330026/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}

Most of Gordon's work is in the idiom of giant monster films, for which he used rear-projection to create the special effects. He was nicknamed "Mr. B.I.G." by Forrest J Ackerman, a reference to both his initials and his films' tendency to feature super-sized creatures.{{cite book|author=Don Glut|title=I Was a Teenage Movie Maker: The Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rfmiEwNoprkC&pg=PA94|date=18 June 2007|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3041-3|pages=94}}

The 20th Insect Fear Film Festival at UIUC in 2003 honored Gordon with a retrospective and showcase of his iconic films featuring giant insects. With at least ten titles focused on oversized bugs, Gordon was celebrated as the festival's special guest and received a plaque and certificate in recognition of his lasting contributions to the "big bug" genre.{{Cite web |last=Berenbaum |first=May |year=2004 |title=Newsletter 2003-2004, Department of Entomology at the UIUC |url=https://sib.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/2023-02/newsletter2003.pdf |publisher=University of Illinois |publication-place=Urbana, IL}}

Career

Gordon was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on September 24, 1922,{{cite book|author=Dixon, Wheeler W|author-link=Wheeler Winston Dixon|title=Lost in the Fifties: Recovering Phantom Hollywood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NlFWWKnjXwC&pg=PA119|publisher=SIU Press|isbn=978-0-8093-8844-8|pages=119–}}{{cite web| url= https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/1074901 | title= Bert I. Gordon | publisher= Turner Classic Movies | access-date= September 26, 2017| archive-date= April 23, 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150423230943/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/1074900%7C1074901/Bert-I-Gordon.html|url-status=live}} the son of Sadeline (Barnett) and Charles Abraham Gordon.{{cite news |last1=McFadden |first1=Robert D. |title=Bert I. Gordon, Auteur of Mutant Monster Movies, Dies at 100 |work=The New York Times |date=8 March 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/movies/bert-gordon-dead.html |access-date=March 8, 2023}} He began making home movies in 16mm after his aunt gave him a camera for his 13th birthday. He dropped out of college to join the Army Air Forces in World War II. After the war, he married and he and his wife began making television commercials. He later edited British feature films to fit half-hour time slots and became a production assistant on Racket Squad and camera man on Serpent Island (1954).{{cite book|first=Mark|last= McGee|title=Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures|publisher= McFarland & Co.|year= 1996 |page=105}}

In 1955, Gordon made his first feature, King Dinosaur, followed by The Cyclops in 1957, which co-starred Lon Chaney Jr. and Gloria Talbot. In 1957, he began his prolific association with American International Pictures, beginning with The Amazing Colossal Man and its 1958 sequel, War of the Colossal Beast.[https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/war-of-the-colossal-beast DVD of the Week: "War of the Colossal Beast|The New Yorker] AIP distributed some of his other late-50s opuses, such as Earth vs the Spider, Beginning of the End (featuring Peter Graves),[https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s747end.html DVD Savant Review: Beginning of the End - DVD Talk] and Attack of the Puppet People.

In October 1960 Gordon sued AIP for fraud over four films they made together.{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety220-1960-10/page/n236/mode/1up?q=arkoff|magazine=Variety|title=Bert I Gordon Sues Nicholson, Arkoff|date=26 October 1960|page=13}}

After filming Tormented (1960), he wrote, produced and directed The Boy and the Pirates, starring active and popular child star of the time Charles Herbert and Gordon's own daughter, Susan Gordon (who died in 2011 from thyroid cancer). All three appeared together in the celebrity lineup at the 2006 Monster Bash, held June 23–25 at the Pittsburgh International Airport Four Points Hotel. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released a Midnite Movies double DVD set with the rarely seen The Boy and the Pirates, and Crystalstone (1987), on June 27, 2006.[http://www.kiddiematinee.com/b-boypirates.html kiddiematinee.com / The Boy and the Pirates] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218035855/http://www.kiddiematinee.com/b-boypirates.html |date=2005-12-18 }}

Gordon held a degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[http://www.sfsite.com/gary/gord01.htm Bert I. Gordon] from Gary Westfahl Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Films

In 2012, he hosted and moderated a screening of The Amazing Colossal Man in Dallas, Texas.[http://www.fangoria.com/index.php/home/all-news/1-latest-news/6973-dallas-qamazing-colossal-manq-in-35mm-and-meet-fantasy-film-legend-bert-i-gordon-tonight Dallas! "AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN" in 35mm and meet fantasy film legend Bert I. Gordon tonight!] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915105833/http://www.fangoria.com/index.php/home/all-news/1-latest-news/6973-dallas-qamazing-colossal-manq-in-35mm-and-meet-fantasy-film-legend-bert-i-gordon-tonight |date=September 15, 2012 }}

Personal life and death

Gordon was married from 1945 to 1979 to Flora Lang (1925–2016); the two divorced in 1979. They had three daughters: Susan (who predeceased her parents), Carol, and Patricia.{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/flora-gordon-dead-directors-wife-860292 |title=Flora Gordon, Wife of Sci-Fi Director Bert I. Gordon, Dies at 90 |date=January 28, 2016 |first=Mike |last=Barnes |work=The Hollywood Reporter |archive-date=February 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215185320/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/flora-gordon-dead-directors-wife-860292 |url-status=live |access-date=September 3, 2016}} Gordon had a fourth daughter, Christina, with his second wife, Eva.{{cite book|author=Dennis Fischer|title=Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895–1998|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7msrAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA241|date=17 June 2011|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-8505-5|page=248}}

Gordon died in Los Angeles on March 8, 2023, at the age of 100.

Filmography

As director-producer. Source for credits, years and primary titles:{{cite web | url= http://www.allmovie.com/artist/bert-i-gordon-p92090/filmography | title= Bert I. Gordon Filmography | publisher=AllMovie.com | access-date= February 15, 2016}} Note: Source erroneously lists Gordon as co-screenwriter of The One and Only, solely written by Steve Gordon.

class="wikitable" ! Year !! Title !! Comments
1954	Serpent Island	Producer, screenwriter, and co-director with Tom Gries[http://www.allmovie.com/movie/serpent-island-v43769/cast-crew Serpent Island Cast & Crew] at AllMovie.com. Retrieved on February 15, 2016.
1955	King Dinosaur
rowspan=3 \|1957	The Cyclops	Also screenwriter, special effects
The Amazing Colossal Man	Also screenwriter, special effects
Beginning of the End	Also special effects
rowspan=3 \|1958	Earth vs. the Spider	a.k.a. The Spider[http://www.allmovie.com/movie/earth-vs-the-spider-v15131 Earth vs. the Spider] at AllMovie.com. Retrieved on February 15, 2016.
War of the Colossal Beast	a.k.a. Terror Strikes. Also screenwriter, special effects
Attack of the Puppet People	Also screenwriter
rowspan=2 \|1960	Tormented	Also special effects
The Boy and the Pirates
1962	The Magic Sword
1965	Village of the Giants	Based on "The Food of the Gods" by H. G. Wells. Also special effects
1966	Picture Mommy Dead	a.k.a. Color Mommy Dead[http://www.allmovie.com/movie/picture-mommy-dead-v38089 Picture Mommy Dead] at AllMovie.com. Retrieved on February 15, 2016.
1970	How to Succeed with Sex	Director and screenwriter only
rowspan=2 \|1972	The Witching	a.k.a. Necromancy.[http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-witching-v54967/releases The Witches Releases] at AllMovie.com. Retrieved on February 15, 2016. Also screenwriter.
The Mad Bomber	a.k.a. Detective Geronimo, The Police Connection[http://allmovie.com/work/the-mad-bomber-30646 The Mad Bomber (1972)] at AllMovie.com. Retrieved on February 15, 2016.
1976	The Food of the Gods	Also screenwriter. Based on "The Food of the Gods" by H. G. Wells
1977	Empire of the Ants	Also screenwriter. Based on "Empire of the Ants" by H. G. Wells
1981	Burned at the Stake	a.k.a. The Coming.[http://www.allmovie.com/movie/burned-at-the-stake-v87671 Burned at the Stake] at AllMovie.com. Retrieved on February 15, 2016. Director only
1982	Let's Do It!	Director only
1985	The Big Bet	Also screenwriter
1990	Satan's Princess	a.k.a. Heat from Another Sun, Princess of Darkness, Malediction.{{cite book\| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RxHbPxbBM1AC&q=satan%27s+princess+malediction&pg=PA19 \| title= Variety Television Reviews, Vol. 17 (1991-92) \| page= 19, Title Index \| publisher=Routledge \|year= 1994 \|isbn=978-0824037963}} Also producer
2014	Secrets of a Psychopath	Also screenwriter

Legacy

Of these titles, King Dinosaur, The Amazing Colossal Man, Earth Vs. The Spider, War of the Colossal Beast, The Magic Sword, Tormented, Beginning of the End, and Village of the Giants were featured on the film-spoofing series Mystery Science Theater 3000.{{Cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/best-mst3k-episodes/ranking-every-mst3k-episode-from-worst-to-best/?p=2 |title=Ranking Every MST3K Episode, From Worst to Best - Paste |access-date=2021-07-12 |archive-date=2022-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614154741/https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/best-mst3k-episodes/ranking-every-mst3k-episode-from-worst-to-best/?p=2 |url-status=dead }} Later, Attack of the Puppet People was featured on the spin-off to MST3K, Rifftrax, as was a redux of The Magic Sword.[https://www.rifftrax.com/the-magic-sword The Magic Sword|Rifftrax][https://www.rifftrax.com/attack-of-the-puppet-people Attack of the Puppet People|Rifftrax]