William Berke
William Berke | |
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![]() Nancy Kelly and William Berke on the set of Betrayal from the East - publicity still, 1945 | |
Born | (1903-10-03)October 3, 1903 Milwaukee, United States |
Died | February 15, 1958(1958-02-15) (aged 54) Los Angeles, United States |
Occupation(s) | Film director, film producer, actor, screenwriter |
Years active | 1922–1958 |
William A. Berke (October 3, 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – February 15, 1958 in Los Angeles, California) was an American film director, film producer, actor and screenwriter.[1] He wrote, directed, and/or produced some 200 films over a three-decade career.
Biography
Berke broke into motion pictures in 1922 as a writer for silent westerns. For these assignments, he used the pseudonym William Lester. In the early 1930s, he formed a partnership with independent producer Bernard B. Ray to make feature films at Ray's Reliable Pictures studio, next door to Columbia Pictures. Berke, now using his own name for screen credits, was equally capable in making comedies, mysteries, action adventures, and westerns. In 1942, he joined Columbia, initially directing that studio's westerns with Charles Starrett and Russell Hayden, and then branching into more mainstream fare. In 1944, he moved to RKO Radio Pictures, handling a variety of movies, including detective fiction (Dick Tracy, The Falcon), musical comedies, and Zane Grey westerns.
His RKO colleague Richard Fleischer later recalled that William Berke "was known as King of the B's. For years and years he had made nothing but pictures with 10- or 12-day shooting schedules, minuscule budgets of about $100,000, and no stars. Without bothering with editing or any postproduction chores and with short shooting schedules, he was able to squeeze in eight or ten pictures a year. And he was going nuts."[2] According to Fleischer, Berke eventually pestered RKO executives enough to be assigned an A picture with a long shooting schedule and stars, and he still shot it in twelve days.[2]
William Berke also worked independently for the Pine-Thomas unit at Paramount, and then for producer Robert L. Lippert. Like many seasoned directors, Berke moved into television in the 1950s. He directed the 1954 comedy series Life with Elizabeth, starring Betty White.
Berke died in harness, suffering a heart attack on the set of The Lost Missile (1958); the film was completed by his son, Lester William Berke.
Partial filmography
- The Double O (1921)
- The Firebrand (1922)
- The Crow's Nest (1922)
- Barb Wire (1922)
- Back Fire (1922)
- The Forbidden Trail (1923)
- Gallopin' Through (1923)
- The Love Pirate (1923)
- Wolf Tracks (1923)
- Gentle Julia (1923) (actor)
- Flashing Spurs (1924)
- The Back Trail (1924)
- Trigger Fingers (1924)
- Pioneer's Gold (1924)
- The Hellion (1924) (actor)
- The Terror of Pueblo (1924) (actor)
- Galloping Vengeance (1925) (writer)
- Riding Romance (1925) (writer)
- Barriers of the Law (1925) (writer)
- Unseen Enemies (1926) (writer)
- The Broncho Buster (1927) (writer)
- Hard Fists (1927) (writer)
- Rough and Ready (1927) (writer)
- Desert Dust (1927) (writer)
- The Fighting Three (1927) (writer)
- The Golden Stallion (1927) (story by)
- Straight Shootin' (1927) (story by)
- The Price of Fear (1928)
- The Flaming Signal (1933) (producer)
- The Woman Who Dared (1933) (producer)
- Social Error (1935) (producer)
- Adventurous Knights (1935) (producer)
- Rustler's Paradise (1935) (producer)
- Wagon Trail (1935) (producer)
- Aces Wild (1936) (producer)
- Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941) (producer)
- The Lone Prairie (1942) (director)
- Law of the Northwest (1943) (director)
- Frontier Fury (1943) (director)
- Tornado (1943) (director)
- The Fighting Buckaroo (1943) (director)
- Minesweeper (1943) (director)
- Hail to the Rangers (1943) (director)
- Dangerous Passage (1944) (director)
- Riding West (1944) (director)
- Sailor's Holiday (1944) (director)
- Dark Mountain (1944) (Director)
- Betrayal from the East (1945) (director)
- High Powered (1945) (director)
- Dick Tracy (1945) (director)
- The Falcon's Alibi (1946) (producer)
- Sunset Pass (1946) (producer)
- Shoot to Kill (1947) (director and producer)
- Jungle Jim (1949)
- Treasure of Monte Cristo (1949) (director)
- On the Isle of Samoa (1950) (director)
- The Bandit Queen (1950) (director and producer)
- I Shot Billy the Kid (1950) (director)
- Roaring City (1951) (director)
- FBI Girl (1951) (director and producer)
- Kaadu (The Jungle) (1952) (director and producer)
- Four Boys and a Gun (1957)
- Street of Sinners (1957)
- Island Women (1958)
- Cop Hater (1958) (director and producer)
- The Mugger (1958) (director and producer)
References
- ^ "William Berke". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ a b Fleischer, Richard (1993). Just Tell Me When to Cry: A Memoir. Carroll and Graf. p. 47. ISBN 9780881849448.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- William A. Berke at IMDb
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- Toll of the Desert (1935)
- Gun Grit (1936)
- Desert Justice (1936)
- Lawless Plainsmen (1942)
- Down Rio Grande Way (1942)
- Riders of the Northland (1942)
- Bad Men of the Hills (1942)
- Overland to Deadwood (1942)
- The Lone Prairie (1942)
- Riding Through Nevada (1942)
- Pardon My Gun (1942)
- A Tornado in the Saddle (1942)
- Frontier Fury (1943)
- Tornado (1943)
- Minesweeper (1943)
- Saddles and Sagebrush (1943)
- Law of the Northwest (1943)
- Hail to the Rangers (1943)
- The Fighting Buckaroo (1943)
- Silver City Raiders (1943)
- The Vigilantes Ride (1943)
- The Navy Way (1944)
- That's My Baby! (1944)
- Wyoming Hurricane (1944)
- Sailor's Holiday (1944)
- Dark Mountain (1944)
- Dangerous Passage (1944)
- Double Exposure (1944)
- The Last Horseman (1944)
- Betrayal from the East (1945)
- High Powered (1945)
- Dick Tracy (1945)
- Renegade Girl (1946)
- Rolling Home (1946)
- Shoot to Kill (1947)
- Caged Fury (1948)
- Speed to Spare (1948)
- Highway 13 (1948)
- Waterfront at Midnight (1948)
- Arson, Inc. (1949)
- Deputy Marshal (1949)
- Jungle Jim (1949)
- The Lost Tribe (1949)
- Sky Liner (1949)
- Zamba (1949)
- Treasure of Monte Cristo (1949)
- Captive Girl (1950)
- Mark of the Gorilla (1950)
- Border Rangers (1950)
- On the Isle of Samoa (1950)
- Train to Tombstone (1950)
- The Bandit Queen (1950)
- Operation Haylift (1950)
- Pygmy Island (1950)
- I Shot Billy the Kid (1950)
- Gunfire (1950)
- Danger Zone (1951)
- FBI Girl (1951)
- Pier 23 (1951)
- Savage Drums (1951)
- Roaring City (1951)
- The Jungle (1952)
- Valley of the Head Hunters (1953)
- Four Boys and a Gun (1957)
- Street of Sinners (1957)
- Island Women (1958)
- Cop Hater (1958)
- The Mugger (1958)