Richard E. Cunha(1922-2005)

Hawaiian-born Richard E. Cunha received his film training in the newsreel and motion picture units of the US Army Air Corps during World War II. He made his first step into the civilian film business by making industrial films and commercials, and then moved on to write, shoot and direct such early TV shows as "The Adventures of Marshal O'Dell" and "Captain Bob Steele and the Border Patrol" for Toby Anguish Productions. Cunha and his friend Arthur A. Jacobs then plunged into the adventurous arena of shoestring 1950s exploitation by forming Screencraft Enterprises and cranking out the horror/sci-fi films Giant from the Unknown (1958) and Démons femelles (1958) (both directed by Cunha). Cunha later added to his legend by helming two more well-remembered schlock titles, La fille de Frankenstein (1958) and Fusée pour la lune (1958).