Writing

Harry Essex

Born — Died

1910-11-29 — 1997-02-06

Place of birth

New York City, New York, USA

Known for

Writing

Credits

29 titles

Known for

The Sons of Katie Elder poster
7.0

The four sons of Katie Elder reunite in their hometown of Clearwater, Texas for her funeral and discover that the family ranch is now in the hands of Morgan Hastings, a corrupt businessman who wants to exploit the area around the town.

The Sons of Katie Elder

1965

Kansas City Confidential poster
7.0

An ex-convict sets out to uncover who framed him for an armored car robbery.

Kansas City Confidential

1952

Creature from the Black Lagoon poster
6.8

When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.

Creature from the Black Lagoon

1954

The Lonely Man poster
6.1

Aging gunslinger Jacob Wade hopes to settle down with his estranged son, but his old enemies have other plans for him. Gunslinger Jacob Wade finds his long-abandoned son Riley, now a young man who hates his father but has nowhere else to go. Hoping to settle down, Jacob finds no town will have him. They end at Monolith, the ranch of Jacob's former girlfriend Ada, to whom he had no intention of returning. A mustang hunt finds Riley himself attracted to the shapely Ada...and Jacob having trouble with his eyesight. And his visions of a quiet life are doomed by the re-appearance of enemies from his past...

The Lonely Man

1957

Wyoming Mail poster
5.2

In 1869, the United States begins a railroad mail service to the West Coast which proves highly tempting to train robbers, in particular an organized gang with one of the mail's supposed guardians in their pay. Prizefighter Steve Davis, a former army intelligence man, is hired to track down the gang and save the Territorial Mail Service. Steve goes undercover in territorial prison, leans Morse Code from a fellow prisoner, breaks jail, infiltrates the gang...and finds time to romance dance-hall singer Mary, who proves to have hidden depths...

Wyoming Mail

1950

The Killer That Stalked New York poster
6.2

In New York, Sheila Bennet and her spouse, Matt Krane, are trying to unload a trove of rare jewels they smuggled into America from Cuba, but the police are hot on the couple's trail. Meanwhile, government officials begin a desperate search for an unknown individual who is infecting the city with smallpox.

The Killer That Stalked New York

1950

Behind the camera

The Sons of Katie Elder poster
7.0

The four sons of Katie Elder reunite in their hometown of Clearwater, Texas for her funeral and discover that the family ranch is now in the hands of Morgan Hastings, a corrupt businessman who wants to exploit the area around the town.

The Sons of Katie Elder

1965

Kansas City Confidential poster
7.0

An ex-convict sets out to uncover who framed him for an armored car robbery.

Kansas City Confidential

1952

Creature from the Black Lagoon poster
6.8

When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.

Creature from the Black Lagoon

1954

The Lonely Man poster
6.1

Aging gunslinger Jacob Wade hopes to settle down with his estranged son, but his old enemies have other plans for him. Gunslinger Jacob Wade finds his long-abandoned son Riley, now a young man who hates his father but has nowhere else to go. Hoping to settle down, Jacob finds no town will have him. They end at Monolith, the ranch of Jacob's former girlfriend Ada, to whom he had no intention of returning. A mustang hunt finds Riley himself attracted to the shapely Ada...and Jacob having trouble with his eyesight. And his visions of a quiet life are doomed by the re-appearance of enemies from his past...

The Lonely Man

1957

Wyoming Mail poster
5.2

In 1869, the United States begins a railroad mail service to the West Coast which proves highly tempting to train robbers, in particular an organized gang with one of the mail's supposed guardians in their pay. Prizefighter Steve Davis, a former army intelligence man, is hired to track down the gang and save the Territorial Mail Service. Steve goes undercover in territorial prison, leans Morse Code from a fellow prisoner, breaks jail, infiltrates the gang...and finds time to romance dance-hall singer Mary, who proves to have hidden depths...

Wyoming Mail

1950

The Killer That Stalked New York poster
6.2

In New York, Sheila Bennet and her spouse, Matt Krane, are trying to unload a trove of rare jewels they smuggled into America from Cuba, but the police are hot on the couple's trail. Meanwhile, government officials begin a desperate search for an unknown individual who is infecting the city with smallpox.

The Killer That Stalked New York

1950

Desperate poster
6.5

An innocent trucker takes it on the lam when he's accused of robbery.

Desperate

1947

It Came from Outer Space poster
6.3

Author and amateur astronomer John Putnam and schoolteacher Ellen Fields witness an enormous meteorite come down near a small town in Arizona. Putnam becomes a local object of scorn when, after examining the object up close, he announces that it is a spacecraft, and that it is inhabited...

It Came from Outer Space

1953

I, the Jury poster
5.9

After his best friend and war buddy is mysteriously gunned down, Mike Hammer will stop at nothing to settle the score for the man who sacrificed a limb to save his own life during combat. Along the way, Hammer rides a fine line between gumshoe and a one-man jury, staying two-steps ahead of the law—and trying not to get bumped off in the process.

I, the Jury

1953

I, the Jury poster
5.9

After his best friend and war buddy is mysteriously gunned down, Mike Hammer will stop at nothing to settle the score for the man who sacrificed a limb to save his own life during combat. Along the way, Hammer rides a fine line between gumshoe and a one-man jury, staying two-steps ahead of the law—and trying not to get bumped off in the process.

I, the Jury

1953

It Came from Outer Space II poster
3.9

Aliens crashland near a small desert town, strewing odd bluish-glowing rocks throughout the area. Townfolk notice something is amiss when temperatures begin to soar, water disappears, power goes down and people seem not to be themselves.

It Came from Outer Space II

1995

Octaman poster
3.7

A scientific team in Mexico discover a pool of unusual baby "octopus-like" specimens. Gathering a few for analysis back at the lab, it is soon discovered that the critters belong to a gangly six-foot half man/half octopus-like creature, that's pretty angry and wants her 'babies' returned…

Octaman

1971

Octaman poster
3.7

A scientific team in Mexico discover a pool of unusual baby "octopus-like" specimens. Gathering a few for analysis back at the lab, it is soon discovered that the critters belong to a gangly six-foot half man/half octopus-like creature, that's pretty angry and wants her 'babies' returned…

Octaman

1971

Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears poster
5.1

Two friends help Sam Houston work for Texas statehood. Johnny Ears and his deaf-mute sidekick Erastus "Deaf" Smith go after a Mexican general under orders from Germany to agitate the populace.

Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears

1973

The Cremators poster
2.8

An alien life form, resembling glowing rocks, summons forth a huge, rolling ball of fire, whenever threatened, that incinerates people.

The Cremators

1972

The Cremators poster
2.8

An alien life form, resembling glowing rocks, summons forth a huge, rolling ball of fire, whenever threatened, that incinerates people.

The Cremators

1972

The Cremators poster
2.8

An alien life form, resembling glowing rocks, summons forth a huge, rolling ball of fire, whenever threatened, that incinerates people.

The Cremators

1972

Bodyguard poster
6.1

A cop on suspension is framed for murder when he noses in on a murder investigation.

Bodyguard

1948

Teen-Age Crime Wave poster
4.9

In this story of stolen cars, stolen guns, and stolen thrills, a delinquent girl lures middle-aged, would-be Romeos into a setup, and waits for her equally delinquent boyfriend to make their "score." When one of their schemes goes awry, the pair implicate an innocent girl in an armed robbery. A jailbreak and hostage situation follow.

Teen-Age Crime Wave

1955

Raw Edge poster
6.2

A Texan arrives in Oregon and seeks justice for his innocently-hanged brother.

Raw Edge

1956

The Las Vegas Story poster
6.0

When newlyweds visit Las Vegas, the wife's shady past comes to the surface.

The Las Vegas Story

1952

Undercover Girl poster
5.5

After her father is murdered, a girl joins the police force in an effort to track down the killers.

Undercover Girl

1950

Mad at the World poster
5.9

A neighborhood is terrorized by group of young juvenile delinquents called The WolfPack. When a young father's infant child is seriously injured because of the WolfPack, he decides that the police aren't working fast enough to catch the ones who hurt his baby and sets out to infiltrate the gang himself and mete out the punishment they deserve.

Mad at the World

1955

Mad at the World poster
5.9

A neighborhood is terrorized by group of young juvenile delinquents called The WolfPack. When a young father's infant child is seriously injured because of the WolfPack, he decides that the police aren't working fast enough to catch the ones who hurt his baby and sets out to infiltrate the gang himself and mete out the punishment they deserve.

Mad at the World

1955

Southwest Passage poster
6.3

As the Cavalry tests the viability of bringing camels to US deserts, a surveyor, Arab drivers, and fugitive bank robbers confront Apaches and thirst. Originally filmed in 3-D

Southwest Passage

1954

The Fat Man poster
5.8

A innocent dentist is murdered and the only apparent motive seems to be to steal a set of dental x-rays. To the police it looks like an accident, but private eye Brad Runyan thinks there's more to it.

The Fat Man

1951

Boston Blackie and the Law poster
6.6

Blackie performs in a magic show at a women's prison, which gives an inmate an opportunity to escape.

Boston Blackie and the Law

1946

Dragnet poster
7.3

Scotland Yard Inspector Geoffrey James comes to the United States looking for a band of international gem-thieves who have smuggled a rich load of jewels from England to America via a trans-ocean airline. Anne Hogan, an airline hostess, aids him in his quest.

Dragnet

1947

The 49th Man poster
6.5

Two federal agents do not believe an atomic-bomb threat is just another war game.

The 49th Man

1953