Jerry Warren was born on 10 March 1925.
Warren is a unique filmmaker — even by psychotronic standards. He produced and directed a small number of films. But mostly, he purchased foreign-language films and edited them for American audiences.
La Momia Azteca — better known here as The Aztec Mummy — is a great example of this. He created Attack of the Mayan Mummy. As usual when he did this, he did not simply dub the film. He shot new scenes with American actors and added voice-over to explain the significantly different plot. The original Godzilla was the same. This is why you really need to see the Japanese- and English-language versions. I don’t think the same about The Aztec Mummy.
The Wild World of Batwoman got the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment. I’m sure I’ve seen it since it was during the Comedy Central days and I’ve seen all of those. It isn’t one of Warren’s better outings despite (or because of) his writing the screenplay.
Some other titles are worth a look. But they can be hard to get through. The Incredible Petrified World is pretty boring. But it does show that you can make a film in which almost nothing happens. Terror of the Bloodhunters is a more interesting specimen. It features two men and a woman escaping from an island prison. You’d think it would be exciting! It’s really not.
My directing is what is adequate for the type of films I wanted to put together.
–Jerry Warren
And then there is Teenage Zombies. I think it is one of Warren’s better films. There’s nothing in it that stands out. But it works. Warren’s wife that that time was Brianne Murphy. She had a small role in this film. But she would go on to be an important cinematographer. She was the first woman to join the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Guild. They divorced around the time that film was released.
But I am currently writing a book about Frankenstein on film. So we have to watch Jerry Warren’s last film, Frankenstein Island. Well… It is dorky in a charming way. And it has a surprisingly good cast. The sets are terrible. And for the husband of one of the most important cinematographers of the late 20th century, it is shot in a strikingly dull way. But it’s fun — especially if you know what you are getting into!
Jerry Warren image cropped from a larger picture in Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers under Fair Use.