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Ludwig came to America as a child and was acting in films and working on scripts by the '20's. He debuted as a director in 1932, and made a series of low-budge genre films, most notably The Man Who Reclaimed His Head with Claude Rains and The Last Gangster with Edward G. Robinson. Action and adventure films dominated his work of the '40s and '50s, starting with Swiss Family Robinson. He directed John Wayne in the World War Two flag-waver The Fighting Seabees, and reteamed with the Duke for Wake of the Red Witch and Big Jim McLain. Ludwig is also remembered fondly for helming the superior science-fictioner The Black Scorpion, which boasts special effects by the legendary Willis O'Brien.