Bert I. Gordon

Director

September 24, 1922 (100 years)

† March 8, 2023

Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA

Biography

Bert Ira Gordon (born September 24, 1922 in Kenosha, WI) was an American film director most famous for such science fiction and horror B-movies as The Amazing Colossal Man and Village of the Giants. Most of Gordon's work was in the idiom of giant monster films, for which he used rear-projection to create the special effects. His nickname "Mister B.I.G." was a reference both to his initials and to his preferred technique for making super-sized creatures. Gordon held a degree from the University…

Filmography

4.8

Earth vs. the Spider

Teenagers from a small town and their high school science teacher join forces to battle a giant mutant spider, living in a cave nearby and getting hungry.

4.9

Empire of the Ants

A Florida real estate developer and her captain lure investors to a property in the Everglades called Dreamland Shores, under false pretenses that the swampland will soon be developed. After the group arrives on a small island, they find it has been overrun by giant mutated ants, brought on by the dumping of toxic waste in the area.

4.3

The Magic Sword

The son of a sorceress, armed with weapons, armour and six magically summoned knights, goes on a quest to save a princess from a vengeful wizard.

5.0

The Food of the Gods

Morgan and his friends are on a hunting trip on a remote Canadian island when they are attacked by a swarm of giant wasps. Looking for help, Morgan stumbles across a barn inhabited by an enormous killer chicken. After doing some exploring, they discover the entire island is crawling with animals that have somehow grown to giant size. The most dangerous of all of these, however, are the rats, who are mobilizing to do battle with the human intruders.

4.8

The Big Bet

A high school student obsessed with sex tries to seduce both his beautiful older neighbor and the shy new girl in school over a bet, only to end up falling in love.

3.9

Beginning of the End

An attractive reporter investigating the mysterious destruction of an Illinois town stumbles upon a secret government laboratory conducting radiation experiments on vegetables. The lead scientist is eager to help find out what happened. Together they discover that giant grasshoppers are behind the devastation. Worse yet, thousands of them are headed toward Chicago! Can they be stopped... or is this the BEGINNING OF THE END?

5.0

Tormented

A jazz pianist is haunted by his dead ex-lover's crawling hand and floating head.

3.6

Village of the Giants

"Genius" accidentally invents "goo" which causes living things to rapidly grow to an enormous size. Seeing an opportunity to get rich, some delinquent teenagers steal the "goo" and, as a result of a sophomoric dare, consume it themselves and become thirty feet tall. They then take over control of the town by kidnapping the sheriff's daughter and dancing suggestively.

5.2

The Mad Bomber

Los Angeles detectives Minelli and Blake must track down a serial rapist who may know the identity of a mentally disturbed bomber.

4.5

The Cyclops

A test pilot is missing and a search party is sent out in the jungles of Mexico; however, while searching they uncover a monster in the jungle who became this way due to a dose of radioactivity.

5.1

Attack of the Puppet People

A deranged scientist creates a ray that can shrink people down to doll size.

N/A

The Witching

This is Gordon's re-edit of his 1972 horror film Necromancy starring Orson Welles and Pamela Franklin. This version features brand new scenes (mostly to up to exploitation factor) filmed in 1983 and added by Gordon himself. It also features a brand new score and other changes and the whole thing differs greatly from the original 82-minute theatrical version.

4.5

Necromancy

After Lori suffers a stillbirth, her husband Frank obtains a job with a northern California toy company. Frank's new boss, the mysterious Mr. Cato, explains that Frank's position will involve magic. Cato, who seemingly holds enormous influence over the town, pursues the power of necromancy and believes that Lori holds the key that will help him resurrect his own dead son.

5.7

The Boy and the Pirates

Jimmy desires to be a pirate when one day he discovers a magic bottle on the beach. He makes a wish and suddenly finds himself aboard Blackbeard's ship. Soon he realizes that being a pirate isn't what he expected.

4.6

The Amazing Colossal Man

Lt. Col. Glenn Manning is inadvertently exposed to a plutonium bomb blast and although he sustains burns over 90% of his body, he survives. Then he begins to grow, but as he grows he starts losing his mind. By the time he stops he is 50 ft tall, insane and is on the rampage.

4.2

War of the Colossal Beast

Glenn Manning, "The Amazing Colossal Man," believed dead after falling from the Hoover Dam, reemerges in rural Mexico, brain damaged, disfigured, and very angry.

5.7

Picture Mommy Dead

Susan Shelley is released from an asylum where she's been confined to after the shock suffered over the fiery death of her mother. Her father has a new wife, who has only married him for the money left to him by his dead wife. Susan is still haunted by her mother's memory, and her step-mother is conspiring with her lover to get the troubled girl to lead them to her mother's missing diamond necklace.

5.7

Burned at the Stake

In 1692 Salem, Ann Putnam accuses those who have angered her of witchcraft; they are tried and put to death. In 1980, Loreen Graham is on a school outing to the Salem Witch Museum when a wax figure of a man from 1692 comes to life and accosts her. It seems that she may be the reincarnation of Ann, who had accused the man's 5-year-old daughter of witchcraft and the girl is scheduled to be burned at the stake. Loreen must fight against Ann's possession and confront the corrupt 17th century minister consorting with Ann to falsely accuse people of witchcraft.

3.3

Let's Do It!

Haunted by his mother’s overbearing presence, reluctant young virgin Freddie embarks on a hilarious journey of self-discovery in order to please his girlfriend Melody. With the help of his eccentric buddies and an assortment of others, Freddie hilariously navigates romance, confronting fears and finding love along the way.

6.0

Famous Ghost Stories

A TV pilot masterminded by B movie auteur Bert I. Gordon and cable production company Herts-Lion International. Vincent Price hosts as a poltergeist introducing the ghost story to follow. It's really an edited version of Gordon's 1960 film Tormented, starring Richard Carlson as a jazz musician haunted by the spirit of an old flame he let fall from a lighthouse.