Anecdotes

Preferred to film his westerns around Lone Pine, California.

When the Third Army under General George S. Patton got ahead of its supply lines during World War II, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to send the Red Ball Express, the nickname of a transportation unit comprised of African-American troops to race ahead of the advancing American forces to catch up with and supply Patton's tank division. The unit became famous for overcoming tremendous odds, and sustaining severe casualties, to successfully supply Patton's forces, a feat memorialized in Boetticher's film Les conducteurs du diable (1952). In 1979 Boetticher, at a symposium at UCLA, revealed that the U.S. Department of Defense pressured Universal Pictures--the film's producer--to alter its portrayal of the tense race relations that existed at the time and to emphasize an upbeat, positive spirit. Commenting on the studio's whitewashing of history, Boetticher said, "The army wouldn't let us tell the truth about the black troops because the government figured they were expendable. Our government didn't want to admit they were kamikaze pilots. They figured if one out of ten trucks got through, they'd save Patton and his tanks".

Died the same day as character actor John Mitchum (younger brother of Robert Mitchum) and former Beatle George Harrison.

Attended Ohio State University.

Interviewed in "The Director's Event: Interviews with Five American Filmmakers", by Eric Sherman and Martin Rubin.

In July 1951, Hollywood Reporter reported that Universal had set Budd Boetticher as director of Le Fils d'Ali-Baba (1952), but replaced him with Kurt Neumann when Boetticher moved over to Les rois du rodéo (1952).

Children: daughters Georgia and Helen.

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 32-37. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.

Uncle of Robert M. Boetticher.