Jack Arnold reigns supreme as one of the great directors of 1950s science-fiction features. His films are distinguished by moody black and white cinematography, solid acting, smart, thoughtful scripts, snappy pacing, a genuine heartfelt enthusiasm for the genre and plenty of eerie atmosphere. Arnold was born on October 14, 1916, in New Haven, Connecticut. He began his show business career as an actor in both on- and off-Broadway stage productions in the late 1930s and early 1940s; among the plays he appeared in are "The Time of Your Life," "Juke Box Jenny," "Blind Alibi," "China Passage," and "We're on the Jury." Arnold served in the US Army in the Signal Corps during World War II. He apprenticed under famous documentary filmmaker 'Robert J. Flaherty' , Jack Arnold died at age 75 on March 17, 1992.
As a director, he said he liked to think of the movie screen as a traditional proscenium-arch stage into which people and objects could abruptly enter as if coming in from the wings. He often used this technique for shock effect, as in It Came from Outer Space when Russell Johnson s hand suddenly reaches in from the side of the screen to touch a startled Barbara Rush on the shoulder.
Father of two daughters: Susan Arnold Jacobson (casting director Susan Arnold ) and Kathy Arnold.
He was the director of The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special special on CBS; it won an Emmy for outstanding variety special of 1967.
Some time after The Lost World came out, Universal Pictures planned to remake the Arthur Conan Doyle classic in the U. K. with Arnold directing. It was a project he wanted badly to do, but according to friend and former star John Agar , the studio canceled the project because of Arnolds health issues.
