A scriptwriter by the '40s, Harry J. Essex wrote such memorable '50s crime films as The Killer That Stalked New York, The Fat Man, and Kansas City Confidential, as well as two which he directed, I, the Jury and Mad at the World. He also scripted Jack Arnold's landmark science-fictioners It Came from Outer Space and The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and several sturdy westerns, including Henry Hathaway's The Sons of Katie Elder with John Wayne. Essex started out in the theater after graduation from St. John's University. During WW II, he served in the U.S. army. In addition to writing screenplays, Essex wrote for the stage and for television series such as The Untouchables and Playhouse 90. He has also written three novels, which became the following films: Henry Levin's The Lonely Man, Man and Boy with Bill Cosby, and the spaghetti western Los Amigos/Deaf Smith and Johnny Ears with Anthony Quinn. Essex died of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 86.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
It Came from Outer Space 2
Screenwriter |
1996 | |||
|
Hostage Flight
Screen Story |
1985 | |||
|
Dragnet
Screenwriter |
1974 | |||
|
Punto e Capo
Screenwriter |
1973 | |||
|
The Cremators
Director, Producer |
1972 | |||
|
Man and Boy
Screenwriter |
1971 | |||
|
Octaman
Director, Screenwriter |
1971 | |||
|
I Dream of Jeannie: The Moving Finger
Screenwriter |
1965 | |||
|
The Sons of Katie Elder
Screenwriter |
1965 | |||
|
The Untouchables: The Larry Fay Story
Screenwriter |
1961 | |||
|
The Untouchables: The Artichoke King
Screenwriter |
1959 | |||
|
The Lonely Man
Screenwriter |
1957 | |||
|
Raw Edge
Screenwriter |
1956 | |||
|
Mad at the World
Director, Screenwriter |
1955 | |||
|
Teenage Crime Wave
Screenwriter |
1955 | |||
|
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Screenwriter |
1954 | |||
|
Southwest Passage
Screenwriter |
1954 | |||
|
Devil's Canyon
Screenwriter |
1953 | |||
|
I, the Jury
Director, Screenwriter |
1953 | |||
|
It Came from Outer Space
Screenwriter |
1953 | |||
|
The 49th Man
Screenwriter |
1953 | |||
|
Kansas City Confidential
Screenwriter |
1952 | |||
|
Models, Inc.
Screenwriter |
1952 | |||
|
The Las Vegas Story
Screenwriter |
1952 | |||
|
The Fat Man
Screenwriter |
1951 | |||
|
The Killer That Stalked New York
Screenwriter |
1950 | |||
|
Undercover Girl
Screenwriter |
1950 | |||
|
Wyoming Mail
Screenwriter |
1950 | |||
|
Bodyguard
Screenwriter |
1949 | |||
|
He Walked by Night
Screenwriter |
1948 | |||
|
Desperate
Screenwriter |
1947 | |||
|
Dragnet
Screenwriter |
1947 | |||
|
Boston Blackie and the Law
Screenwriter |
1946 | |||
|
Dangerous Business
Play Author |
1946 | |||
|
Man Made Monster
Screen Story |
1941 |

