Godspeed Bert I. Gordon, Mr. B.I.G.

Producer and director Bert I. Gordon, nicknamed "Mr. B.I.G." by sci-fi legend Forrest Ackerman both due to his initials and the frequent subject matter of his movies, died on March 8 2023 at the age of 100. Throughout his career he produced, wrote, and directed such low-budget sci-fi films as The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) and Earth vs. the Spider (1958).

Bert I. Gordon was born on September 24 2022 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was given his first camera when he was only nine years old and became fascinated with visual effects. His aunt gave him a 16mm movie camera when he was 13 and he was soon making his own amateur films. He served in the Army Air Forces during World War II. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin.

Bert I. Gordon made television commercials before producing the movie Serpent Island (1954). The first film produced, written, and directed by Bert I. Gordon was King Dinosaur (1955). The film only had a budget of $18,000 and its "dinosaur" was merely an iguana. In the Fifties Bert I. Gordon would produce, write, and direct other low budget movies, including Beginning of the End (1957), The Cyclops (1957), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Attack of the Puppet People (1958), War of the Colossal Beast (1958), Earth vs. the Spider (1958), The Boy and the Pirates (1960), and Tormented (1960).

The Sixties saw Bert I. Gordon produce and direct two television pilots: Famous Ghost Stories and Take Me to Your Leader. He made the movies The Magic Sword (1962), Village of the Giants (1965), Picture Mommy Dead (1966), and How to Succeed with Sex (1970). In the Seventies he made the movies Necromancy (1972), The Mad Bomber (1973), The Food of the Gods (1976), and Empire of the Ants (1977). In the Eighties he made the films Burned at the Stake (1982), Let's Do It! (1982), The Big Bet (1987), and Satan's Princess (1989). His final film was Secrets of a Psychopath in 2015.

Many directors are called "auteurs," but Bert I. Gordon truly was one. He not only produce, directed, and often wrote his movies, but he even provided the special effects on many of them. What is more, his movies were often a family affair. His wife Flora often helped him with the visual effects. His daughter, actress Susan Gordon, appeared in this films Attack of the Puppet People (1958), The Boy and the Pirates (1960), Tormented (1960), and Picture Mommy Dead (1966). Although he was best known for his giant animal movies, Bert I. Gordon actually directed movies in a variety of genres, including supernatural horror, fantasy, psychological thriller, action, and even sex comedy. What is more, he was responsive to trend. In the Fifties, when the fear of nuclear annihilation resulted in a slough of movies about giant monsters, he made movies featuring oversized critters. In the Sixties, when fantasy movies were popular he directed The Magic Sword. The Seventies saw Satanic horror and action movies were all the rage, he directed the films Necromancy and The Mad Bomber. Bert I.Gordon's films weren't known for their quality--the budgets were tiny and the special effects were often cheesy--but they were nearly always entertaining.