Richard E. Cunha
Born March 4th, 1922 – Died Sept. 18th, 2005

While some of the directors that worked in the low budget film markets might not have their names remembered, the movies they created usually are more than remembered. Mr. Cunha is one of those. During WWII, he served as an aerial photographer, later making training films, newsreels, and even documentaries, which is where he learned his craft. Once he got to Hollywood, he worked on a few films that would cement his name in horror history.

Keep in mind, he made these four features which were all released by Astor Pictures, in 1958. Pretty amazing when you think how long it takes to make feature films today. Cunha told Mary Baumann in his book The Astounding B-Movie Monster that “these films were made in six 10-hour days and had a lot of fun doing them. These films are: Giant from the Unknown, She Demons, Missile to the Moon, and Frankenstein’s Daughter.

Are these high quality made films? No. But are they entertaining? Damn straight! So the next time you are watching one of these, make sure you give note to the director’s name (not to mention the countless others that worked on it) and give a little acknowledgement to their hard work!