Byron Haskin

Byron Conrad Haskin (April 22, 1899 – April 16, 1984) was an American film and television director. He was born in Portland, Oregon.

Haskin is known for directing The War of the Worlds (1953), one of many films where he teamed with producer George Pal. In his early career, he was a special effects artist, with a number of credits on Warner Bros. films, eventually becoming the head of the studio's special effects department. During his tenure there he earned three Oscar nominations for his effects work, and was even recognized with a Scientific and Technical Award citation for developing a rear-projection system useful in effects photography. In the late 1940s he turned to directing, helming the low budget film-noir "Too Late for Tears" (1949) starring Lizabeth Scott and Treasure Island (1950), one of Walt Disney's earliest live-action features. Following The War of the Worlds, he continued his collaboration with George Pal, with The Naked Jungle (1954), Conquest of Space (1955), and The Power (1968). His other significant film is the science fiction adventure Robinson Crusoe on Mars, released in 1964. Haskin also worked as a cinematographer and producer.

His career in television included directing six episodes of The Outer Limits (1963–65), including two highly regarded episodes, "The Architects of Fear" (1963) and "Demon with a Glass Hand" (1964). He also co-produced the original Star Trek pilot episode, "The Cage" (1965).

Haskin appeared as an interviewee in a documentary series, Hollywood (1980), on the silent film era, which was co-produced by Kevin Brownlow. Haskin died in Montecito, California six days before his 85th birthday.

Director

• Matinee Ladies (1927)
• Ginsberg the Great (1927)
• Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
• I Walk Alone (1948)
• Too Late for Tears (1949)
• Treasure Island (1950)
• Denver and Rio Grande (1952)
• The War of the Worlds (1953)
• Long John Silver (1954)
• His Majesty O'Keefe (1954)
• The Naked Jungle (1954)
• Conquest of Space (1955)
• The First Texan (1956)
• The Boss (1956)
• From the Earth to the Moon (1958)
• The Little Savage (1959)
• Jet Over the Atlantic (1959)
• September Storm (1960)
• Captain Sindbad (1963)
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)
• The Power (1968)

Special effects

• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
• Dodge City (1939)
• The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
• The Roaring Twenties (1939)
• The Sea Hawk (1940)
• They Drive by Night (1940)
• Knute Rockne, All American (1940)
• Santa Fe Trail (1940)
• High Sierra (1941)
• The Sea Wolf (1941)
• The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
• Captains of the Clouds (1942)
• Across the Pacific (1942)
• Passage to Marseille (1944)
• Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)