Fred F. Sears

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.