Gordon Hessler

Who was Gordon Hessler?

Gordon Hessler was a British film and television director, screenwriter, and producer.

Born in Berlin, Germany, he was raised in England and studied at the University of Reading. While a teenager, he moved to the United States and directed a series of short films and documentaries. Universal Studios hired Hessler as a story reader for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series. He became story editor for two seasons for that series, then served as the associate producer for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour from 1962 until its cancellation in 1965. He directed episodes of that series and several other shows.

In 1969, he directed his debut feature film, The Oblong Box, starring Vincent Price. It was the first of three horror films Hessler would direct with the veteran horror star, the other two being Cry of the Banshee and Scream and Scream Again. Hessler's other films include Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Pray For Death and The Girl in a Swing starring Meg Tilly, an adaptation of Richard Adams's ghost story novel. The majority of Hessler's directorial work from the late-1970s to date has been in television.