Fred F. Sears(1913-1957)
- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
A graduate of Boston College, Fred F. Sears got his show-business start
in regional theater, where he was an actor, director and producer. He
started "little theater" groups and was a drama instructor at
Southwestern University when Columbia Pictures hired him as a dialogue
director. He also worked in front of the cameras, mostly as a sidekick
in the studio's low-budget westerns. He made the leap to director on
the studio's "Durango Kid" series of westerns starring
Charles Starrett. He spent his entire
career at Columbia and was a favorite of quickie producer
Sam Katzman because he knew how to bring in
films on time and under budget. Those were two major considerations for
a low-buck producer like Katzman, who released through Columbia, and
for him Sears made juvenile-delinquent crime films, rock musicals,
action thrillers and sci-fi "epics". His best film is generally
considered to be the sci-fi classic
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956),
which--in addition to containing spectacular special effects by the
legendary Ray Harryhausen--is a
well-paced, tightly made effort without the chintzy, rushed look so
common in much of Sears' output. It's somewhat ironic that a sci-fi
picture is also considered to be Sears'
worst--The Giant Claw (1957), a
clunky mishmash with hilariously awful special effects (the "giant
claw" turns out to be a spectacularly inept marionette that looks like
a mutant turkey and sounds like a crow choking to death).
Fred Sears died of a heart attack on November 30, 1957, at the young age of 44. His last five films were released after his death.
Fred Sears died of a heart attack on November 30, 1957, at the young age of 44. His last five films were released after his death.