Film Director William Girdler: A Short Biography

By all accounts Girdler was just a good ole boy from Kentucky who obsessively loved the movies and wanted to be a filmmaker. Having grown up in a prominent family just outside of Louisville, Girdler would get his chance to make his mark on the world of film. In the 1970's Girdler created nine movies in just six years with his body of work covering genres from the blaxploitation to science-fiction to horror. Girdler served as writer and composer on several of his movies as well.

William Girdler had no illusions as to the quality of his movies. He would start each movie one of two ways, with the barest thread of an idea stretched out or, if he had no ideas, would simply take a huge hit of the time and mold it into his own vision. It wasn't the quality Girdler enjoyed so much as it was seeing the film on the big screen. And that is a good thing because it is widely believed that William Girdler was the Ed Wood for the post-Vietnam era.

To look at Girdler's films today one is struck by the cheapness of the productions and the awful dialogue most of the characters were forced to speak. One thing Girdler usually had going for him that Wood, and most other below Grade B movie directors didn't have, was his films featured at least one named actor that lent credibility to the proceedings. But it wasn't long into each movie before one realized what they were in for.

Girdler felt the need to work fast and cheap because of an almost obsessive pre-occupation with death. From his childhood Girdler believed that he would not live to see the age of thirty so he worked often hoping to cement his name into the annuls of Hollywood history, not knowing that the less then mediocre results might land him in a different circle then he originally anticipated.

Girdler was also known as a good man who may have dreamt greater then his abilities could carry him but still remembered those who helped him when in need. When he found himself on hard time's actor Leslie Nielsen invited Girdler to stay in his guest house which Girdler accepted - for more then a year. But Girdler would cast Nielsen in three of his movies thus truly never re-paying the actor fully but instead padding his resume with projects that are long forgotten and better unmentioned.

Girdler was somehow allowed to shoot five of his nine movies in Louisville instead of closer to California where producers might have had a better chance of keeping a closer eye on him. When Girdler did shoot away from home he often brought his old friends along as crewman.

Let's take a look at the works of William Girdler and if you feel daring enough you may wish to defy odds and try to hunt down some of these titles and have a look for yourself. They may be bad but you can always remind yourself that the films were made with great love and hope that carried beyond the talents of its director.

ASYLUM OF SATAN (1972)- Made on a budget of $50,000 Girdler's first film hardly comes close to accomplishing what Orson Welles did with Citizen Kane.Asylum tells the story of a woman held against her will in a mental institution by the psychotic Dr. Specter and his assistant (both played by the same actor). Soon it becomes apparent the good doctor plans to sacrifice the woman to the devil. Girdler's first effort falls short of true horror thanks in part to the rubber spiders and snakes on display and Girdler's refusal to direct a single scene that wasn't over the top and attempting to be scary. The film first opened in 1972 in Girdler's native Louisville and the reaction was not positive. It would take almost three years before Asylum would get a larger release and that was mostly as a second or third feature at drive-ins.

THREE ON A MEATHOOK (1973) - Having learned their lessons the first time around Girdler found some local business owners more then a little hesitant to put up more money for him after losing money the first time around. This time he was only able to scrape up a mere $20,000 but that was more then enough to get the wunderkind moving on his next film. Three on a Meathook opens with four girls taking a leisurely drive out to the country just for the sake of skinny dipping and, wouldn't you know it, their car breaks down. Enter Billy, a weird farm boy who may or may not have a craving for the blood of women. He invites the women back to his house for the night and they eagerly agree as apparently none of them notice anything odd about the young man. Billy's father strenuously objects to these arrangements and we discover it is because Billy has killed before. And before the night is over these women are dead and dad has convinced Billy he did them in. But being a good, protective dad, Billy is sent into downtown Louisville to help the demons escape him for a while. He goes to a bar and meets a lovely lady who apparently is touched by Billy's ability to pass out and urinate in his pants. Before long Billy has wooed his new girlfriend back to dad's with another girl in tow apparently having forgotten about the four women from the night before. Once again dad objects but Billy insists and the film concludes with a "twist" ending that, if you can't anticipate in the first 30 minutes, you dozed, went to the bathroom or raided the refrigerator. Not that you can be blamed for any of those but should have happened to miss a "key" scene early on the twist might play more like The Sixth Sense. For everyone else it is a yawner. Not surprisingly the film didn't exactly pack them into theaters and drive-ins and barely received a wide theatrical release. But William Girdler would press forward.

THE ZEBRA KILLER (1973) - This film is considered Girdler's long lost "classic" that has never been seen on video or DVD. With this film Girdler entered the world of the blaxploitation film and tells the story of a black policeman who can only be described as a straight, serious version of Barney Fife. Our hero is tracking a serial killer who will eventually kidnap the officer's girlfriend who turns out to be so dumb she makes her boyfriend look positively intelligent. This officer is so stupid that the clues Girdler provides him (and the audience) are so obvious that it takes him an hour longer then anyone watching to figure things out. In the meantime he argues and argues and argues with his white partner, hangs out in bars reflecting on his life and even takes a break from the strenuous investigation long enough to eat some fried chicken and watermelon. Yes you read that right. Happily, after the killer is caught (and the audience has likely left the theater) there is a last scene reminiscent of Dirty Harry in which our hero walks away from the job thus allowing the people in his neighborhood to rest easier knowing one less idiot is employed by the police department. The film barely received a limited release in 1973 and would re-appear in 1974 as the second feature at drive-ins under the title Combat Cops. The title change did little good to mask the garbage that the film is. Girdler's desire for success remained undaunted and his next project would finally take him there thanks to an independent producer he met while shooting this movie. That meeting would lead to William Girdler getting a chance to work for a studio (American International) on a slightly higher budget then he was accustomed.

"Anybody should be able to make a good movie with a $20 million budget the way they did on "The Exorcist." Comparatively speaking, for what we spent on it, "Abby" was probably a better picture then "The Exorcist."

Girdler - Speaking of Abby, one of his few hits. IMDB.com

ABBY (1974) - Anyone interested in getting to view any of Girdler's films ought to start with this one - if you can find it anywhere. Quite simply Abby is nothing but a shameless rip-off of The Exorcist with an all black cast. Carol Speed, who was one notch below Pam Grier of popular actresses in the blaxploitation genre, starred in the title role as a prim and proper preacher's daughter who is unwittingly possessed by an African sex demon unleashed by her father in-law (William Marshall) while on an archeological dig in Africa. Soon the preacher's daughter begins dropping the F-bomb and taking to bed any man willing while speaking in a deep voice that sounds mixed with Pee Wee Herman. Interestingly audiences swallowed up Abby and the film made over $4 million in its first month of wide release on a budget of just over $100,000. Warner Brothers, distributor of The Exorcist, was none too pleased to see a plethora of rip-offs coming out including Beyond The Door and House of Exorcism along with this film. Warner's sued the makers of all three but only Abby would ultimately be removed from theaters while still in first run as apparently even the law realized this was nothing more then a copy of the classic film. Litigation would continue for the next few years and Girdler never saw a dime of the profits. Undeterred, Girdler then seeked out and found the queen of blaxploitation films.

SHEBA, BABY (1975) - Girdler's final film to be shot in Kentucky brought him together with the queen of blaxploitation, Pam Grier. Grier had established herself as a sexy tough you didn't mess with unless she wanted to be messed with in a string of big hits including Coffy, Foxy Brown and Friday Foster. Here Grier played a variation of the same role as a Chicago detective who comes home to Louisville to take on some tough local thugs out to take her father's loan company. Co-writer David Sheldon admitted later that he and Girdler sat down and wrote the whole script in one night and it shows. Girdler evidently never saw the other films that made Grier so popular. While she looks as stunning as ever, Girdler concentrates more on a believable story then action and sex which were staples in Grier's films. Girdler reportedly even went so far as to cut a Grier nude scene to attain a PG rating which was unheard of for this type of film in 1975. Despite the mediocrity of it all Sheba, Baby was another solid hit for both Girdler and Grier. Girdler later admitted he felt this to be his weakest film while Grier refused to re-sign with American International Pictures after this film because, some believe, the poor working relationship she and Girdler had. Her decision would cause her career to take a massive downward spiral until Quentin Tarantino resurrected it twenty years later with Jackie Brown.

"Here I am not pinned down by clichés or lousy material. It's the only picture I'm really proud of."

William Girdler on "Project Kill" before its release in 1975

PROJECT KILL (1975) - As you read this article you may find yourself wondering why you haven't heard of many, if any, of these movies. Quality is surely one reason but how about murder? Shortly after the Kentucky premiere of Project Kill the distributor was found murdered gangland style in what many called a mafia hit thus making the film's title that much more prophetic. After that the film was caught up in an estate dispute for several years and the film saw the light of day only in scattered cities throughout the United States. The film is an action/thriller starring Leslie Nielsen (in the days when Nielsen was still known as a dramatic actor) as a government killer who quits the agency only to find his best student (Gary Lockwood from 2001) has been hired to kill him. The film has Girdler's usual cheap look and some takes that the editor must have mistakenly chosen to fight choreography that a nine year old could improve upon. Still some believe this to be Girdler's best film which isn't saying much but it could be reasoned this is the case because Girdler had nothing to do with the writing of the script. One day while grousing about the fate of his latest movie Girdler went to see a new box office sensation called Jaws and soon would create his own (to a lesser degree) box office sensation.

GRIZZLY (1976) - The first of the Jaws rip-offs would come less then a year after its initial release and William Girdler spearheaded the production. Girdler came up with the script idea and handed the reigns over to two others to write while he secured financing. A week later the script was ready(!) and the financing was in place thanks to a small time producer named Edward Montoro. Unbeknownst to Girdler, Warner Brothers was very interested in doing the movie and allowing Girdler to direct with twice the budget but Girdler had made the deal and was a man of his word. The film turns out to be a shameless cheat from start to finish. The ads proclaimed, 18 Feet of Gut-Crunching Terror but Girdler never shows his actors and the bear in the same shot, instead clumsily editing the attacks with what appears to be a fake grizzly bear paw swinging at the helpless victims. One key scene involving the bear's destruction of a park ranger tower is filmed so poorly as to not notice the strength of the bear but the flimsiness of the tower. As in Jaws the film opens with a helpless naked woman being attacked. The film's similar theme is that the park owners will not close down for fear of severe financial loss. And three men (Christopher George, Richard Jaeckal and Andrew Prine) hunt the mighty beast. Grizzly was a smash it despite the negative critical response. It was the highest grossing independent film of the year making over $30 million on a budget of just $750,000. Unfortunately Girdler never saw any of the profits. Montoro decided to keep all the profits for himself. Girdler, his co-writers and co-producers sued Montoro but Girdler would not live to see a judge side with them. Montoro appealed and in 1985 stole over $1 million from his own studio and was never seen again.

DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977) - Before Girdler knew that Montoro was going to screw him out of Grizzly's profits, the two re-teamed for what many consider a sequel. This time the film concerns a group of vacationing hikers and their guides trying to survive a sudden onslaught on them by any animal alive due to a hole in the ozone layer which has turned the animals into vicious attackers. Christopher George and Richard Jaeckal saddle up again along with Leslie Nielsen, Ruth Roman and Lynda Day George among others. As usual the film is filled with cheap looking shots, bad special effects and fake animals that are a joy for any bad movie lover. The film was a box office disappointment but Girdler, who had already dissolved his work relationship with Montoro during production, had has sights set on what he felt would be his masterpiece.

THE MANITOU (1978) - While doing post-production work on Animals, Girdler found Graham Masterson's best selling 1976 novel in an airport bookstore. Girdler read the entire book on his flight and called his associates imploring them to "sell everything" to secure the rights to the film. Girdler got them for $50,000 and within three months was in production. The story tells of a tarot card reading psychic, who happens to be a hustler, who falls for a woman who soon has a tumor growing from her neck that soon grows to epic sized proportions until an Indian medicine man emerges and sets his sights on murder. Girdler adapted the script himself and, sadly, it shows with clunky dialogue and ridiculous situations. The film's big ending is made laughable by its awful special effects. Girdler also served as sole producer for the first and only time but was able to secure a first rate list of actors including Tony Curtis, Michael Ansara, Susan Strasberg, Stella Stevens, Burgess Meredith, Ann Sothern and Jeanette Nolan. Most of them look lost in completely underwritten roles sometimes performing in scenes that could only be described as embarrassing.

Despite this Girdler was convinced he had made his masterpiece and believed the film would be a smash hit. Sadly, Girdler never lived to see The Manitou be released in theaters. On January 21, 1978, Girdler was in the Philippines scouting locations for what was to be his next film, The Overlords. The helicopter Girdler was riding in hit power lines electrocuting everyone on board. William Girdler, 30, outlived his premonition of death by just a few months. He returned home one last time to Louisville and was laid to rest. Alas the smash box office results Girdler predicted for his magnum opus was not to be. The Manitou was a box office bomb.

William Girdler's untimely death robbed the world of what could have been a number of future films. Less then two years after he died the mad slasher film was re-born and one can only wonder what Girdler may have contributed to that genre as well. He may have been a bad director who made bad movies but he shared a love of film that may be unequaled. When you watch his films you may unintentionally laugh but you should also smile because William Girdler tried his hardest to entertain his audience and never worried about box office grosses. He truly was one of a kind.