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William Girdler is a Director, Scriptwriter, Producer and Music American born on 22 october 1947 at Louisville (USA)

William Girdler

William Girdler
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Birth name William Brent Girdler
Nationality USA
Birth 22 october 1947 at Louisville (USA)
Death 21 january 1978 (at 30 years) at Manila City (Philippines)

William Girdler (October 22, 1947 - January 21, 1978) was an American filmmaker. In a span of seven years, from 1972 to 1978, he directed nine feature films in such genres as horror and action. Girdler also wrote and produced three of his features, Abby, Sheba, Baby and The Manitou.

Girdler, born in Louisville, Kentucky started Studio One Productions in his early twenties, and directed his first feature a low-budget film entitled Asylum of Satan which was briefly released to theaters. Girdler's second effort was a gory, if overlong slasher thriller entitled Three on a Meathook. Both Asylum of Satan and Three on a Meathook were filmed in his home town, and although both films received little notice, the films got the attention of Samuel Z. Arkoff and American International Pictures (AIP).

Girdler next directed three "blaxploitation" films. The first, in 1973, was a long lost thriller titled The Zebra Killer starring Austin Stoker. By coincidence, another Louisville native, Rich Miles, appeared in this picture in a small role as the local cop who discovers some of the bodies. Girdler's next feature was an Exorcist clone titled Abby with Carol Speed in the lead role and co-starring William H. Marshall (from Blacula) and Oscar nominee Juanita Moore. Abby became Girdler's breakthrough film. The picture opened in 1974 to major box office success, earning nearly $9 million. Warner Brothers thought Abby was too derivative of Exorcist and the film was suddenly pulled from theaters after two weeks. The last "blaxploitation" film Girdler directed was the Pam Grier vehicle Sheba, Baby and his first effort in the action genre. Sheba, Baby was another major hit in theaters, even though it is often cited as one of Pam Grier's weaker vehicles when compared to her similarly themed action films Coffy and Foxy Brown. Girdler was then finished with his contract with Arkoff and AIP.

Girdler's sixth feature was another action themed film reminiscent of The Killer Elite starring Leslie Nielsen, in one of his more serious roles as an agent tracked by the government in the political thriller Project: Kill, which was given a limited theatrical release.

Grizzly, released in 1976, was Girdler's most financially successful film. A Jaws clone from start to finish, the film was about an oversized grizzly bear terrorizing a National Park. The movie starred Christopher George, Andrew Prine and Richard Jaeckel and went on to become one of the most successful motion pictures of the year, earning an impressive $39 million worldwide. After this triumph, Grizzly's producer and distributor, Edward L. Montoro and Film Ventures International decided to keep the financial profits. Girdler (and the film's screenwriters/producers Harvey Flaxman and David Sheldon, who also worked with Girdler on previous films) sued Montoro and Film Ventures to have the profits returned. Girdler directed Day of the Animals, another effort for Montoro which is sometimes cited as a sequel to Grizzly. The film had an all-star cast including Christopher George, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Jaeckel, and Lynda Day George. It was Girdler's second approach to nature-versus-man films, but was not as successful as Grizzly.

The Manitou was the last film directed by Girdler. Based on a best selling novel by Graham Masterton, and starring Tony Curtis and Susan Strasberg, The Manitou was perhaps Girdler's most expensive production. It was acquired by AVCO Embassy Pictures and released in 1978 and was also a major hit in theaters. He was killed in a helicopter crash in Manila, Philippines on January 21, 1978, while scouting locations for his tenth film project.

Usually with

Jon Cedar
Jon Cedar
(2 films)
Austin Stoker
Austin Stoker
(2 films)
Paul Mantee
Paul Mantee
(2 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of William Girdler (7 films)

Display filmography as list

Director

The Manitou, 1h44
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Horror
Actors Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Stella Stevens, Jon Cedar, Ann Sothern, Burgess Meredith
Rating53% 2.6528452.6528452.6528452.6528452.652845
A woman named Karen (Susan Strasberg), who is suffering from a growing tumor on her neck, enters a hospital in San Francisco. After a series of X-rays, the doctors begin to think it is a living creature: a fetus being born inside the tumor. Eerie and grisly occurrences begin; the tumorous growth perceives itself – himself – to be under attack as a result of the X-rays used to ascertain its nature, which are starting to stunt and deform its development. The growth is actually the old Native American shaman, Misquamacus; he is reincarnating himself through the young woman to exact his revenge on white men who invaded North America and exterminated its native peoples. A second Native American shaman is contacted and hired to help fight the reincarnating medicine man, but the kind of spirits he can summon and control appear to be too weak to match his opponent's abilities.
Day of the Animals, 1h37
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Horror
Themes Films about animals, Natural horror films
Actors Leslie Nielsen, Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Richard Jaeckel, Michael Ansara, Ruth Roman
Rating53% 2.6513552.6513552.6513552.6513552.651355
A battle for survival begins as a group of mountain hikers in Northern California encounter a chemically imbalanced forest. The recent depletion of the Earth's ozone layer causes the sun to shine powerful ultraviolet light carrying some kind of solar radiation that somehow causes all animals above the altitude of 5,000 feet to run amok and kill, which is very unfortunate for a group of hikers (including Christopher George, Lynda Day George, and Leslie Nielsen) who get dropped off up there by helicopter just before a quarantine is announced for all the surrounding towns. This has a dramatic effect on the rest of the nation, turning common household pets and pests into vicious attackers.
Grizzly
Grizzly (1976)
, 1h37
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Adventure, Horror
Themes Films about animals, Natural horror films, Mise en scène d'un ours, Mise en scène d'un mammifère
Actors Christopher George, Andrew Prine, Richard Jaeckel, Joe Dorsey, Joan McCall, Bart l'ours
Rating51% 2.5994552.5994552.5994552.5994552.599455
The film opens with a military veteran helicopter pilot and guide Don Stober (Andrew Prine) flying individuals above the trees of a vast national park. He states that the woods are untouched and remain much as they did during the time when the Native Americans lived there.
Project: Kill, 1h30
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Spy
Themes Spy films
Actors Leslie Nielsen, Gary Lockwood, Nancy Kwan, Vic Díaz, Vic Silayan
Rating38% 1.946321.946321.946321.946321.94632
Nielsen plays John Trevor, who for six years has been training and leading a team of highly trained special forces men (Code Name: Project: Kill) whose performance is enhanced by drugs. Over time Trevor realises that his men, who work independently, are being used as assassins rather than to protect government installations and individuals.
Sheba, Baby, 1h30
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action
Actors Pam Grier, Austin Stoker, D'Urville Martin, Rudy Challenger
Rating56% 2.8030452.8030452.8030452.8030452.803045
In the film, Private investigator Sheba Shayne (Grier) returns from Chicago, Illinois to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, to confront thugs who are trying to intimidate her father into dissolving or handing over his family insurance company business.
Three on a Meathook, 1h25
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Horror
Themes Serial killer films
Actors Linda Diane Thompson
Rating44% 2.2124752.2124752.2124752.2124752.212475
When four girls go on a weekend trip to a lake, they start to have car problems on the way home and meet a local young man named Billy Townsend who takes them back to his farm where he lives with his father Frank. Later, Frank begins to murder three of the girls and tries to pin the crimes on his son by convincing him he is responsible for their deaths and is insane.

Scriptwriter

The Manitou, 1h44
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Horror
Actors Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Stella Stevens, Jon Cedar, Ann Sothern, Burgess Meredith
Rating53% 2.6528452.6528452.6528452.6528452.652845
A woman named Karen (Susan Strasberg), who is suffering from a growing tumor on her neck, enters a hospital in San Francisco. After a series of X-rays, the doctors begin to think it is a living creature: a fetus being born inside the tumor. Eerie and grisly occurrences begin; the tumorous growth perceives itself – himself – to be under attack as a result of the X-rays used to ascertain its nature, which are starting to stunt and deform its development. The growth is actually the old Native American shaman, Misquamacus; he is reincarnating himself through the young woman to exact his revenge on white men who invaded North America and exterminated its native peoples. A second Native American shaman is contacted and hired to help fight the reincarnating medicine man, but the kind of spirits he can summon and control appear to be too weak to match his opponent's abilities.
Sheba, Baby, 1h30
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action
Actors Pam Grier, Austin Stoker, D'Urville Martin, Rudy Challenger
Roles Story
Rating56% 2.8030452.8030452.8030452.8030452.803045
In the film, Private investigator Sheba Shayne (Grier) returns from Chicago, Illinois to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, to confront thugs who are trying to intimidate her father into dissolving or handing over his family insurance company business.
Three on a Meathook, 1h25
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Horror
Themes Serial killer films
Actors Linda Diane Thompson
Roles Writer
Rating44% 2.2124752.2124752.2124752.2124752.212475
When four girls go on a weekend trip to a lake, they start to have car problems on the way home and meet a local young man named Billy Townsend who takes them back to his farm where he lives with his father Frank. Later, Frank begins to murder three of the girls and tries to pin the crimes on his son by convincing him he is responsible for their deaths and is insane.

Producer

The Manitou, 1h44
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Horror
Actors Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Stella Stevens, Jon Cedar, Ann Sothern, Burgess Meredith
Roles Producer
Rating53% 2.6528452.6528452.6528452.6528452.652845
A woman named Karen (Susan Strasberg), who is suffering from a growing tumor on her neck, enters a hospital in San Francisco. After a series of X-rays, the doctors begin to think it is a living creature: a fetus being born inside the tumor. Eerie and grisly occurrences begin; the tumorous growth perceives itself – himself – to be under attack as a result of the X-rays used to ascertain its nature, which are starting to stunt and deform its development. The growth is actually the old Native American shaman, Misquamacus; he is reincarnating himself through the young woman to exact his revenge on white men who invaded North America and exterminated its native peoples. A second Native American shaman is contacted and hired to help fight the reincarnating medicine man, but the kind of spirits he can summon and control appear to be too weak to match his opponent's abilities.

Sound

Three on a Meathook, 1h25
Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Horror
Themes Serial killer films
Actors Linda Diane Thompson
Roles Music
Rating44% 2.2124752.2124752.2124752.2124752.212475
When four girls go on a weekend trip to a lake, they start to have car problems on the way home and meet a local young man named Billy Townsend who takes them back to his farm where he lives with his father Frank. Later, Frank begins to murder three of the girls and tries to pin the crimes on his son by convincing him he is responsible for their deaths and is insane.