Naftuli Hertz 'Nathan' Juran (September 1, 1907 – October 23, 2002) was a Romanian-born film art director, and later film and television director. In the former, he won the Oscar for Best Art Direction in 1942 for How Green Was My Valley , alongside Richard Day and Thomas Little. His work on The Razor's Edge (1946) also received an Oscar nomination. In the 1950s, he began to direct, and was known for sci-fi and fantasy films, including The Deadly Mantis (1957), Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (both 1958), and Jack the Giant Killer (1962). The Black Castle (1952) Englishman Sir Ronald Burton enters the castle of Austrian nobleman Count von Bruno, complete with torture chamber and moat, while investigating the disappearance of two friends. Gunsmoke (1953) Reb Kittridge is hired by the villans but turns to defend the rancher Saxon after learning the true situation. Kittrige wins Saxon's ranch with a cut of the cards but Saxon has other reasons for loosing the gamble. Telford and Lake try everything from bushwacking to wildfire starting to stop the Saxon/Kittridge herd of cattle from reaching the railhead. Law and Order (1953) Wild West lawman Frame Johnson arrests a notorious outlaw, but, after the locals threaten to break into the prison and hang the crook without a trial, Johnson gets fed up with injustice. He decides to put his days of gunslinging behind him in favor of a simple domestic life with his lover, Jeannie. The couple move to the supposedly idyllic Cottonwood — only to find that their new home has been overrun by a rogue rancher who has unfinished business with Frame. The Golden Blade (1953) A dashing merchant uses the magic sword of Damascus to free a Baghdad princess from the clutches of a grand vizier and his son. Tumbleweed (1953) Jim Harvey is hired to guard a small wagon train as it Yaqui fighters surround a wagon train, so Jim Harvey, the man guiding the pioneers, steps out to negotiate. They ignore his pleas and overrun the wagons, leaving him for dead. He manages to escape to the nearest town, but there, the law accuses him of deserting the settlers. The townspeople try to lynch him, so he flees to a ranch owned by kindly Nick, who lends Jim a trusty horse named Tumbleweed that may just be fast enough to save the day. Highway Dragnet (1954) Ex-Marine Jim Henry, on the lam from a murder charge, hitches a ride with a glamour-magazine photographer, who is journeying cross-country with her principal model. Tensions rise, however, when the women realize their traveling companion may be a killer. The Big Moment (1954) A trilogy of individual stories depicting an account of crucial moments in the lives of three different individuals given a chance to live with dignity and self-respect: one, a young thief from Casablanca; another, an immigrant doctor brought to the United States; and the third, a Holocaust survivor. Drums Across the River (1954) All the gold in a small Colorado town has been panned, save for a bit on land belonging to the Ute. Greedy Frank Walker rounds up the locals and makes plans to raid the territory, but even-tempered settler Sam Brannon tries to dissuade Walker. As the battle nears, Sam's conflicted son, Gary, is torn between his belief in his father's morality and his hatred of the Utes, who killed his mother. The Crooked Web (1955) Following World War II, ex-G.I. Stan Fabian opens a drive-in restaurant, where his girlfriend, Joanie, is a car hop. They want to get married someday, but less-than-stellar business puts a hold on that. One day, Joanie's ne’er-do-well brother Frank blows into town with a money-making scheme. She's against it, but inveterate gambler Stan finds the promise of riches too seductive to resist. The Deadly Mantis (1957) When a melting iceberg releases a prehistoric giant praying mantis, a palaeontologist works alongside the military to kill it after it attacks scientific outposts on its way to Washington and New York. Hellcats of the Navy (1957) Captain Casey Abbott commands an American submarine in the Pacific during World War II. When a perilous mission to retrieve a new Japanese mine for study goes awry, he's forced to abandon a likable combat diver. Abbott's orders to leave a man behind appear to be justified, but his second-in-command believes he had ulterior motives: 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) When the first manned flight to Venus returns to Earth, the rocket crash-lands in the Mediterranean near a small Italian fishing village. The locals manage to save Colonel Robert Calder, the mission commander. A young boy also recovers what turns out to be a specimen of an alien creature. Growing at a fantastic rate, it manages to escape and eventually threatens the city of Rome. The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) A malevolent alien brain, bent on world domination, takes over the body of an atomic scientist, while a 'good' alien brain inhabits the body of the scientist's dog and waits for an opportunity to defeat the evil brain. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) When an abused wife grows to giant size following an alien encounter and an aborted murder attempt, she goes after her philandering husband with revenge on her mind. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) When the lovely Princess Parisa is shrunken by wicked Sokurah the Magician, Sinbad must embark on a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war. Good Day for a Hanging (1959) When the local sheriff is killed after a bank robbery, ex-lawman Ben Cutler collars the apparent killer, Eddie Campbell. Because of his background as a local youth who spent time living with the Cutlers, Eddie gets the benefit of the doubt from Ben's daughter and his wife-to-be. Ben is firm that Eddie is guilty, and as the matter is debated in a divisive court battle, it will soon become clear whether he's right. Flight of the Lost Balloon (1961) A top-hatted Englishman and his fiancée set off on an adventure to rescue a colleague from a Hindu on the Nile. Jack the Giant Killer (1962) Desiring control of the kingdom, evil wizard Pendragon devises a cunning machination to usurp the throne. By abducting and forcing Princess Elaine to marry him, Pendragon will coerce the king into abdicating his power. When Pendragon sends a giant to kidnap Elaine, a simple farmer named Jack witnesses the abduction, and bravely slays the beast. Undeterred, Pendragon has more power and creatures at his disposal. Siege of the Saxons (1963) King Arthur learns one of his knights is plotting to take over and marry his daughter. Following the King's death, the Knight wishing to marry the princess is ordered by the great wizard Merlin to remove the sword from the scabbard and prove his right to the throne. First Men in the Moon (1964) The world is delighted when a spacecraft containing a crew comprised of the world's astronauts lands on the moon, but are shocked when the astronauts discover an old British flag and a document declaring that the moon is taken for Queen Victoria, proving that the astronauts were not the first men on the moon. East of Sudan (1964) An English trooper leads a governess, her native charge and a stuffy officer downriver to Khartoum. Land Raiders (1969) An outlaw committing a string of robberies and murders manages to blame the crimes on Apaches, bringing about an Indian war. The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973) Little Richie Bridgestone goes to spend the weekend with his father at his secluded mountain cabin, and witnesses his father being attacked by 'a creature' that the boy recognizes as a werewolf. He tries to convince his mother and his therapist that his father is now a werewolf.
