Lambert Hillyer


Lambert Harwood Hillyer was an American film director and screenwriter.

Biography

Lambert Harwood Hillyer was born July 8, 1893, in Tyner, Indiana. His mother was character actress Lydia Knott. A graduate of Drake College, he worked as a newspaper reporter and an actor in vaudeville and stock theater. During World War I he began working in motion pictures and became a prolific director and screenwriter, working on many silent-era Westerns by William S. Hart, Buck Jones, Tom Mix and others. Often associated with producer Thomas H. Ince, Hillyer expanded into romantic melodramas and crime films in the 1920s. In 1936 he directed two chillers for Universal, the science-fiction film The Invisible Ray and the cult horror film Dracula's Daughter. He directed the first screen depiction of Batman, a 15-part serial produced in 1943 that was re-released as a theatrical feature in 1965. He directed many B movies for Columbia Pictures in the 1930s and early 1940s, including the Westerns that were his specialty. Hillyer finished his career directing low-budget dramas and Westerns for Monogram Pictures. In the early days of television, Hillyer also directed episodes of the syndicated Western,The Cisco Kid.
Hillyer died July 5, 1969, in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Director

YearTitleNotes
1917'Also screenwriter
1917Strife
1917'
1918Riddle Gawne
1919Breed of Men
1919'
1919'Also screenwriter
1919Square Deal SandersonAlso screenwriter
1919Wagon Tracks
1919John Petticoats
1920'Also screenwriter
1920Sand!Also screenwriter
1920'Also screenwriter
1920'Also screenwriter
1921O'Malley of the Mounted
1921The WhistleAlso screenwriter
1921Three Word BrandAlso screenwriter
1921White Oak
1922White HandsAlso screenwriter
1922Travelin' OnAlso screenwriter
1922Caught Bluffing
1922Skin Deep
1922The Super-SexAlso screenwriter
1922'
1923Scars of JealousyAlso screenwriter
1923'
1923Temporary MarriageAlso screenwriter
1923'
1923The Lone Star RangerAlso screenwriter
1923Eyes of the Forest
1923Mile-a-Minute Romeo
1924Those Who DanceAlso screenwriter
1924Barbara FrietchieAlso screenwriter
1924Idle Tongues
1925I Want My Man
1925The Making of O'Malley
1925The Knockout
1925The Unguarded Hour
1926Her Second Chance
1926Miss Nobody
192630 Below Zero
1927The War HorseAlso screenwriter
1927Hills of Peril
1927Chain LightningAlso screenwriter
1928The Branded SombreroAlso screenwriter
1928FleetwingAlso screenwriter
1930Beau Bandit
1931The DeadlineAlso screenwriter
1931One Man LawAlso screenwriter
1932The Fighting Fool
1932South of the Rio Grande
1932Hello TroubleAlso screenwriter
1932White Eagle
1932Forbidden Trail
1932Sundown RiderAlso screenwriter
1933The California TrailAlso screenwriter
1933Unknown ValleyAlso screenwriter
1933Dangerous Crossroads
1933Police Car 17Also screenwriter
1933Master of Men
1933Before Midnight
1933'Also screenwriter
1934Once to Every Woman
1934Man TrailerAlso screenwriter
1934'
1934'
1934Against the Law
1934Men of the NightAlso screenwriter
1935Behind the Evidence
1935In Spite of Danger
1935Men of the Hour
1935The Awakening of Jim Burke
1935Superspeed
1935Guard That GirlAlso screenwriter
1936The Invisible Ray
1936Dangerous Waters
1936Dracula's Daughter
1937Speed to SpareAlso screenwriter
1937Girls Can PlayAlso screenwriter
1937All American Sweetheart
1938Women in Prison
1938My Old Kentucky Home
1938ExtortionAlso screenwriter
1938Gang Bullets
1939Convict's Code
1939Should a Girl Marry?
1939Girl from Rio
1940'
1940Beyond the Sacramento
1940'
1941The Pinto Kid
1941'Second-unit director
1941North from the Lone Star
1941Hands Across the Rockies
1941'
1941'Also screenwriter
1941Thunder over the Prairie
1941King of Dodge City
1941Prairie Stranger
1941Roaring Frontier
1941'
1942'
1942North of the Rockies
1942Prairie Gunsmoke
1942Vengeance of the West
1943Fighting Frontier
1943BombardierAerial action sequences
1943'
1943Six Gun Gospel
1943Smart Guy
1943'The Texas Kid
1943Batman15-part serial
1944Partners of the Trail
1944Law Men
1944Range Law
1944West of the Rio Grande
1944Land of the Outlaws
1944Ghost Guns
1945Beyond the Pecos
1945Flame of the West
1945Stranger from Santa Fe
1945South of the Rio Grande
1945'
1945Frontier Feud
1946Border Bandits
1946Under Arizona Skies
1946'
1946Silver Range
1946Trigger Fingers
1946Shadows on the Range
1947Raiders of the South
1947Valley of Fear
1947Land of the Lawless
1947'
1947Trailing Danger
1947'
1947'
1947Flashing Guns
1947Gun Talk
1948Overland Trails
1948Song of the Drifter
1948Oklahoma Blues
1948Crossed Trails
1948Partners of the Sunset
1948Frontier Agent
1948Range Renegades
1948'
1948
1948Outlaw Brand
1948Sundown Riders
1949Gun Runner
1949Gun Law Justice
1949Trails End
1949Haunted Trails
1949Riders of the Dusk
1949Range Land''

Screenwriter

In addition to writing screenplays for many of the films he directed, as noted above, Hillyer wrote or contributed to the screenplays for these motion pictures.
YearTitleNotes
1917They're Off
1917'
1917'
1917'
1917Love or Justice
1917'
1917One Shot Ross
1917'
1921'
1930Hide-Out
1933Straightaway
1933State Trooper
1935Law Beyond the Range
1937'
1938Highway Patrol
1939Parents on Trial
1939'