Paul Wendkos

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Paul Wendkos (September 20, 1922; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – November 12, 2009; Malibu, California) was an American television and film director. Following wartime service in the US Navy and attending Columbia University on the GI Bill Wendkos made his first feature, a documentary on a school for the blind called Dark Interlude in 1953. Wendkos's first feature film was The Burglar . Wendkos's fluid camera technique caught the attention of the head of Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn who not only wished to distribute the film, but put Wendkos on a contract. A variety of films followed for Columbia beginning with the hard-hitting crime drama The Case Against Brooklyn, two suspenseful war dramas Tarawa Beachhead and Battle of the Coral Sea, the youth-oriented Gidget and two sequels Gidget Goes Hawaiian, Gidget Goes to Rome as well as Because They're Young. Wendkos also directed many episodes of Playhouse 90, Alcoa Theatre, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, Route 66, The Rifleman, Mr. Novak, Honey West, The Big Valley, I Spy, The Invaders and Hawaii Five-O. With I Spy, Wendkos filmed several interesting episodes but was deemed too "arty" by the pro…

Directed

1. Hawaii Five-O (1968) — Director
2. Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969) — Director
3. The Mephisto Waltz (1971) — Director
4. The Invaders (1967) — Director
5. Gidget (1959) — Director
6. The Burglar (1957) — Director
7. The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) — Director
8. The Bad Seed (1985) — Director
9. The F.B.I. (1965) — Director
10. Face of a Fugitive (1959) — Director
11. Cannon for Cordoba (1970) — Director
12. Hell Boats (1970) — Director
13. Battle of the Coral Sea (1959) — Director
14. Attack on the Iron Coast (1968) — Director
15. Honey West (1965) — Director
16. The Case Against Brooklyn (1958) — Director
17. Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) — Director
18. Gidget Goes to Rome (1963) — Director
19. The Brotherhood of the Bell (1970) — Director
20. Special Delivery (1976) — Director
21. The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988) — Director
22. A Match Made in Heaven (1997) — Director
23. Angel Baby (1961) — Director
24. Haunts of the Very Rich (1972) — Director
25. The Death of Richie (1977) — Director
26. Message from Nam (1993) — Director
27. Fear No Evil (1969) — Director
28. A Tattered Web (1971) — Director
29. A Woman Called Moses (1978) — Director
30. Good Against Evil (1977) — Director
31. Terror on the Beach (1973) — Director
32. Guilty Until Proven Innocent (1991) — Director
33. Because They're Young (1960) — Director
34. Six Against the Rock (1987) — Director
35. Cross of Fire (1989) — Director
36. Cocaine: One Man's Seduction (1983) — Director
37. The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980) — Director
38. The Strangers in 7A (1972) — Director
39. Celebrity (1984) — Director
40. Tarawa Beachhead (1958) — Director

Also appeared in

1. A Man of Potential: Visions of Paul Wendkos, the Godard of Gidget (2026) — Self