Crossed Swords

Richard O. Fleischer was an American film director. Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Essie and animator/producer Max Fleischer. He started in motion pictures as director of animated shorts produced by his father including entries in the Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman series. His... live-action film career began in 1942 at the RKO studio, directing shorts, documentaries, and compilations of forgotten silent features, which he called Flicker Flashbacks. He won an Academy Award as producer of the 1947 documentary Design for Death, co-written by Theodor Geisel , which examined the cultural forces that led to Japan's imperial expansion through World War II. Fleischer directed his first feature in 1946. His early films were taut film noir thrillers such as Bodyguard , The Clay Pigeon , Follow Me Quietly , Armored Car Robbery , and The Narrow Margin . In 1948, Fleischer also directed So This Is New York, a cynically sophisticated comedy starring acerbic humorist Henry Morgan based upon a Ring Lardner novel.
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