Robert M. Young

Directing

Robert M. Young

Born — Died

1924-11-22 — 2024-02-06

Place of birth

New York City, New York, USA

Known for

Directing

Credits

40 titles

Robert Milton Young (November 22, 1924 – February 6, 2024) was an American film and television director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and producer. Young was considered a trailblazer in the independent filmmaking sector and for frequently casting Edward James Olmos in his movies, directing him in Alambrista! (1977), The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982), Saving Grace (1986), Triumph of the Spirit (1989), Talent for the Game (1991), Roosters (1993), Slave of Dreams (1995), and Caught (1996). He produced Olmos's directorial debut, American Me (1992).

Known for

American Me poster
7.5

During his 18 years in Folsom Prison, street-gang leader Santana rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits.

American Me

1992

Extremities poster
6.2

A woman escapes from the man who is about to rape her, but leaves her purse behind. Afraid that her attacker might come after her, she goes to the police, but with no proof of the incident, they can do nothing. In fact, the man does use the information in her bag and comes to her apartment with the intent of rape, but she sprays him in the face with insect repellent, and then holds him captive. She is then faced with deciding whether to go to the police who might not believe her and release him, or to kill him.

Extremities

1986

Caught poster
5.7

A middle-aged couple has a drifter enter their lives. The fish-store owners find that the mysterious young man awakens the couple in ways they didn't expect. Things get tense when the drifter begins an affair with the woman of the house.

Caught

1996

Triumph of the Spirit poster
6.5

During World War II, Salamo Arouch, a passionate boxer, is arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Soon, he is forced to box against his fellow prisoners for the sake of entertainment.

Triumph of the Spirit

1989

J.T. poster
8.0

J. T. Gamble, a shy, withdrawn Harlem youngster, shows compassion and responsibility when he takes on the care of an old, one-eyed, badly injured alley cat days before Christmas and secretly nurses it back to health.

J.T.

1971

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez poster
7.0

In 1901, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez is forced on the run from Texas Rangers, evading a massive manhunt on horseback for days following a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez

1983

Behind the camera

American Me poster
7.5

During his 18 years in Folsom Prison, street-gang leader Santana rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits.

American Me

1992

Extremities poster
6.2

A woman escapes from the man who is about to rape her, but leaves her purse behind. Afraid that her attacker might come after her, she goes to the police, but with no proof of the incident, they can do nothing. In fact, the man does use the information in her bag and comes to her apartment with the intent of rape, but she sprays him in the face with insect repellent, and then holds him captive. She is then faced with deciding whether to go to the police who might not believe her and release him, or to kill him.

Extremities

1986

Caught poster
5.7

A middle-aged couple has a drifter enter their lives. The fish-store owners find that the mysterious young man awakens the couple in ways they didn't expect. Things get tense when the drifter begins an affair with the woman of the house.

Caught

1996

Triumph of the Spirit poster
6.5

During World War II, Salamo Arouch, a passionate boxer, is arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Soon, he is forced to box against his fellow prisoners for the sake of entertainment.

Triumph of the Spirit

1989

J.T. poster
8.0

J. T. Gamble, a shy, withdrawn Harlem youngster, shows compassion and responsibility when he takes on the care of an old, one-eyed, badly injured alley cat days before Christmas and secretly nurses it back to health.

J.T.

1971

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez poster
7.0

In 1901, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez is forced on the run from Texas Rangers, evading a massive manhunt on horseback for days following a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez

1983

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez poster
7.0

In 1901, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez is forced on the run from Texas Rangers, evading a massive manhunt on horseback for days following a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez

1983

Alambrista! poster
5.9

After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man, slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.

Alambrista!

1977

Alambrista! poster
5.9

After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man, slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.

Alambrista!

1977

One Trick Pony poster
5.5

An aging rock star trying to put together a new album in the face of an indifferent record label and a talentless producer. At the same time, he's struggling to save his failing marriage.

One Trick Pony

1980

Nothing But a Man poster
7.4

Railroad laborer Duff Anderson struggles to maintain his dignity and marriage to a preacher's daughter in the racially segregated South.

Nothing But a Man

1964

Nothing But a Man poster
7.4

Railroad laborer Duff Anderson struggles to maintain his dignity and marriage to a preacher's daughter in the racially segregated South.

Nothing But a Man

1964

Talent for the Game poster
7.0

Virgil Sweet is on the verge of losing his job as a talent scout with the California Angels when he discovers Sammy Bodeen, a country boy with no pro ball experience, but with a pitching arm no one has seen the like of.

Talent for the Game

1991

To Fly! poster
6.2

Early IMAX documentary about the development of human flight.

To Fly!

1976

The Plot Against Harry poster
6.4

Deadpan, small-time Kosher Nostra mobster Harry Plotnick goes meshugga when he gets into the catering biz with his ex-brother-in-law.

The Plot Against Harry

1971

We Are the Children poster
7.5

A doctor and a photo-journalist try to help famine victims in Africa.

We Are the Children

1987

Saving Grace poster
6.4

A newly-elected Pope Leo XIV finds himself accidentally locked out of the Vatican. Unknown to the outside world, he winds up in an impoverished Italian village, where his adventures ultimately teach the Pope and his new friends some important lessons about friendship and self-esteem. Written by Chris DeSantis

Saving Grace

1986

Solomon & Sheba poster
7.0

In the land of Israel, Solomon (Jimmy Smits) is trying to figure out a way to become the world’s supplier of frankincense. He sends an envoy to the tiny country of Sheba to announce his intentions. The Queen of Sheba, Nikaule (Halle Berry), is outraged by Solomon’s greedy plan.

Solomon & Sheba

1995

Human Error poster
9.0

A comic story of three corporate drones trapped unaware in a decrepit and crumbling third world factory that's filled with corruption and deceit.

Human Error

2004

Short Eyes poster
6.6

A young man who is charged with child molestation is placed in New York City’s infamous Tombs prison. When the other inmates in his cell block find out what he is charged with, life becomes extremely difficult for him.

Short Eyes

1977

Cortile Cascino poster
6.5

This long-suppressed and controversial documentary was produced in 1961 for network television but never broadcast. Co-mingling cinema verité and narrative techniques, the film offers a sensitive but critical look at the slum called Cortile Cascino in the center of Palermo, Sicily where poverty and early death are constants and where the church and the Mafia compete for the inhabitants' fealty. The established church, largely ignoring the plight of its parishioners, nonetheless voices its outrage when a faith healer draws large crowds. The Mafia runs an illegal slaughterhouse and controls the concession to funerals but also distributes free food to the district's hungry residents. In the face of relentless adversity, the women provide the only stabilizing force. The neighborhood's despair is tragically foregrounded in a sequence depicting the burial of baby who died of malnutrition. The soundtrack is composed of comments by the people, recorded and translated by the filmmakers.

Cortile Cascino

1962

Cortile Cascino poster
6.5

This long-suppressed and controversial documentary was produced in 1961 for network television but never broadcast. Co-mingling cinema verité and narrative techniques, the film offers a sensitive but critical look at the slum called Cortile Cascino in the center of Palermo, Sicily where poverty and early death are constants and where the church and the Mafia compete for the inhabitants' fealty. The established church, largely ignoring the plight of its parishioners, nonetheless voices its outrage when a faith healer draws large crowds. The Mafia runs an illegal slaughterhouse and controls the concession to funerals but also distributes free food to the district's hungry residents. In the face of relentless adversity, the women provide the only stabilizing force. The neighborhood's despair is tragically foregrounded in a sequence depicting the burial of baby who died of malnutrition. The soundtrack is composed of comments by the people, recorded and translated by the filmmakers.

Cortile Cascino

1962

China: The Panda Adventure poster
6.0

Experience the world of the magnificent and rare Giant Panda as you travel back in time on an exciting expedition through the breathtaking splendor of 1936 China. Inspired by the true-life story of widowed New York socialite Ruth Harkness, a fiercely independent woman who dared to take up her late husband's expedition, journeying deep into the forests of China to study the Giant Panda.

China: The Panda Adventure

2001

The Eskimo: Fight for Life poster
7.0

An authentic record of the life of the Netsilik Inuit of the Pelly Bay region of the Canadian Arctic during their last migratory camp. It shows the old Inuit culture and their complete adaptation to their environment.

The Eskimo: Fight for Life

1970

The Eskimo: Fight for Life poster
7.0

An authentic record of the life of the Netsilik Inuit of the Pelly Bay region of the Canadian Arctic during their last migratory camp. It shows the old Inuit culture and their complete adaptation to their environment.

The Eskimo: Fight for Life

1970

Dominick and Eugene poster
6.8

Dominick and Eugene are twins, but Dominick is a little bit slow due do an accident in his youth. They live together, with Dominick working as garbage man to put Eugene through medical school. Their relationship becomes strained when Eugene must decide between his devotion to his brother, or his need to go away to complete his training. Things are also not helped by Dominick's co-worker, or Eugene's budding romance.

Dominick and Eugene

1988

At the End of the Santa Fe Trail poster
NR

The true story of Sister Blandina Segale, a young and innocent nun sent by the Catholic Church to the western territories in 1872.

At the End of the Santa Fe Trail

2025

No artwork available
NR

An investigative documentary on the Angolan conflict, filmed on location in Portuguese-controlled Africa by Robert M. Young and first broadcast in 1961. (Note: Originally broadcast as an episode of NBC’s White Paper series (1961), but listed separately due to its independent documentary production, hazardous field filming, major journalistic impact, and sustained scholarly treatment as a standalone documentary work.)

NBC White Paper: Angola – Journey to a War

1961

No artwork available
NR

An investigative documentary on the Angolan conflict, filmed on location in Portuguese-controlled Africa by Robert M. Young and first broadcast in 1961. (Note: Originally broadcast as an episode of NBC’s White Paper series (1961), but listed separately due to its independent documentary production, hazardous field filming, major journalistic impact, and sustained scholarly treatment as a standalone documentary work.)

NBC White Paper: Angola – Journey to a War

1961

No artwork available
6.3

A late-spring sequence documenting domestic life, craft production, and a coordinated seal hunt on the sea ice.

Netsilik Eskimos, IV: Group Hunting on the Spring Ice

1967

No artwork available
NR

Short film presented by the American Federation of Arts about the physics and characteristics of abstraction. Distorting physical items from science, nature, and intangible items in math and art can all be understood as abstraction. Abstract concepts in design, art, and language are shown.

Abstraction

1967

No artwork available
NR

Short film presented by the American Federation of Arts about the physics and characteristics of abstraction. Distorting physical items from science, nature, and intangible items in math and art can all be understood as abstraction. Abstract concepts in design, art, and language are shown.

Abstraction

1967

Rich Kids poster
4.9

Two 12-year-olds, the products of Upper West Side broken homes, struggle to make sense of their parents lives and their own adolescent feelings.

Rich Kids

1979

Slave of Dreams poster
4.2

The Egyptian executioner's wife tries to seduce Hebrew slave Joseph to fulfill a dream they are experiencing simultaneously.

Slave of Dreams

1995

Roosters poster
3.8

Gallo Morales is the proud patriach returning home after a seven-year stint for manslaughter. Seeking to re-establish his legendary status as a champion breeder, he comes back for the rooster bred by his father. But it is Hector, his son who inherits the prize-winning bird and neither are about to give in. The fall-out from their conflict has consequences for the whole family, especially for Angela, the sensitive 14-year-old daughter unable to cope with the brutal world that surrounds her and her own emerging womanhood, despite the best efforts of Juana, her strong but long-suffering mother.

Roosters

1993

The Maze poster
NR

William Kurelek's The Maze is a documentary film about the life of celebrated Canadian artist William Kurelek, "dramatically told through his paintings and his on-camera revelations." The film documents the artist's struggles with attempted suicide and what he called a "spiritual crisis."

The Maze

2011

No artwork available
NR

Children of the Fields (1973), was produced for a television series on children sponsored by the Xerox Corporation and dealt with migrant farmworkers. To make it, Young immersed himself in the lives of Mexican American migrant laborers in the Southwest. He befriended the Galindo family—Polo; his wife, Lili; and their five young children—who all toiled in the fields. They agreed to permit Young to follow them during the harvesting season and to be the subjects of his film.

Children of the Fields

1973

No artwork available
7.0

A BAFTA award nominated underwater documentary exploring the life of the ocean-bed inhabitants off the Florida coast.

Secrets of the Reef

1956

No artwork available
7.0

A BAFTA award nominated underwater documentary exploring the life of the ocean-bed inhabitants off the Florida coast.

Secrets of the Reef

1956

Sit-In poster
NR

SIT-IN (1960) is filmmaker Robert M. Young’ (Nothing But A aman, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez) seminal documentary on how the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Students of Fisk University desegregated the lunch counters in Nashville, TN.

Sit-In

1960