Richard Fleischer was born on 8 December 1916 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of animator Max Fleischer, who invented the rotoscope and created Betty Boop. I could go on and on about him, but it isn’t his birthday. Father and son are both icons of psychotronic film.
Why is Richard a psychotronic icon? He certainly wasn’t as important as his father. Instead, he was a studio director. He is most notable in this regard because he was highly successful for decades. He directed a lot of genre films, which may explain his success.
Fleischer served a short time in the Army Pictorial Service during World War II. After leaving, he went to work for RKO, where he worked mostly on documentaries. This eventually led to Design for Death. The Academy gave the film the Best Documentary (Feature) award in 1948.
But Fleischer directed his first feature in 1946. Child of Divorce was a drama starring Sharyn Moffett, which did very well at the box office. From there, he directed films of various genres. Early ones included the musical Make Mine Laughs and many film noir like his first, Bodyguard.
In 1954, Fleischer made the big time when Walt Disney hired him to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It is probably his best-known film. I remember watching it in the theater as a child, despite its original release date being a decade before my birth. I was thrilled by the scene where Kirk Douglas eats with a knife.
After this, Richard Fleischer worked frequently with 20th Century Fox. In the early 1960s, he directed two films in Europe for Darryl Zanuck. On his return to Hollywood, Richard Zanuck (now head of Fox) gave him Fantastic Voyage. He followed it with Doctor Dolittle, The Boston Strangler, and Tora! Tora! Tora!
During the 1970s, Fleischer made a number of other notable psychotronic films: See No Evil, The Last Run, 10 Rillington Place, and Soylent Green. In the 1980s, he made a number of big-budget films: The Jazz Singer, Conan the Destroyer, and Red Sonja.
Let’s celebrate Richard Fleischer’s birthday by watching 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Like most of his work, it holds up remarkably well.
Richard Fleischer via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.
