Harry L. Fraser

Harry L. Fraser (31 March 1889 – 8 April 1974) was an American film director and screenplay writer.

Biography

Born in 1889 in San Francisco, Fraser directed over 80 films between 1925 and 1951, including the 1934 John Wayne film Randy Rides Alone and the Frank Buck 1937 cliffhanger serial Jungle Menace. He had a small acting role in the John Wayne film 'Neath the Arizona Skies. He also wrote screenplays, including Chick Carter, Detective (1946).

In his autobiography, Fraser described filming a scene in Jungle Menace in which a boa constrictor attacks the heroine Dorothy (Charlotte Henry). The villain has tied Dorothy hand and foot and she thrashes about wildly, terrified when she suddenly sees the huge snake:

The snake was in no hurry. Slowly he slithered across the girl's body, while she screamed and struggled. He turned, looking for a spot to slip under her to make his first wrap. I motioned to the reptile crew to get ready, and a split-second later gave them the signal to move in. But now, the maddened snake fought them and did its best to coil around one of the men. Before that happened, however, I had cut, and we had a good cliff-hanger with our terror-stricken heroine to close the episode.

Fraser died in 1974 in Pomona, California, eight days past his 85th birthday.

Partial filmography

• The Iron Claw (1916)
• The Mystery of the Double Cross (1917)
• Sky's the Limit (1925)
• Soft Cushions (1927)
• Cactus Trails (1927)
• The Lone Defender (1930)
• The Montana Kid (1931)
• Land of Wanted Men (1931)
• The Savage Girl (1932)
• Without Honor (1932)
• Border Devils (1932)
• Mason of the Mounted (1932)
• Law of the North (1932)
• Vanishing Men (1932)
• Honor of the Mounted (1932)
• The Night Rider (1932)
• Broadway to Cheyenne (1932)
• Breed of the Border (1933)
• The Wolf Dog (1933)
• Diamond Trail (1933)
• The Return of Casey Jones (1933)
• The Gallant Fool (1933)
• Galloping Romeo (1933)
• Randy Rides Alone (1934)
• 'Neath the Arizona Skies (1934)
• Social Error (1935)
• The Tonto Kid (1935)
• Five Bad Men (1935)
• Ghost Town (1936)
• Hair-Trigger Casey (1936)
• Aces Wild (1936)
• Heroes of the Alamo (1937)
• Jungle Menace (1937)
• Spirit of Youth (1938)
• Songs and Saddles (1938)
• Lure of the Wasteland (1939)
• The Spider Returns (1941)
• The Old Chisholm Trail (1942)
• The Valley of Vanishing Men (1942)
• Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground (1943)
• Batman (1943 serial)
• Captain America (1944 serial)
• Brand of the Devil (1944)
• Gunsmoke Mesa (1944)
• I Accuse My Parents (1944)
• The Whispering Skull (1944)
• Enemy of the Law (1945)
• The White Gorilla (1945)
• Flaming Bullets (1945)
• Navajo Kid (1945)
• Six Gun Man (1946)
• Chick Carter, Detective (1946)
• Son of the Guardsman (1946)
• Tex Granger (1948)
• Chained for Life (1951)
• Abilene Trail (1951)