Ray Taylor (director)

American film director (1888–1952)

Ray Taylor

Born| 1 December 1888

Perham, Minnesota, United States

Died| 15 February 1952 (aged 63)

Hollywood, California, United States

Occupation| Film director
Years active| 1926–1949

Raymond Edgar Taylor (1 December 1888 - 15 February 1952) was an American film director. He directed 159 films between 1926 and 1949. His debut was the 1926 film serial Fighting with Buffalo Bill.

Ray Taylor was one of the few Hollywood directors who specialized in a single type of film: he was an action specialist. Many action directors would be called upon at one time or another to helm a mainstream drama, romance, or mystery, but Ray Taylor established himself early in westerns and action fare, and he worked in this capacity throughout his career. Even a brief tenure directing the campus-capers "Collegians" shorts for Universal was appropriate for Taylor, as these two-reel subjects often emphasized visual action.

In the 1920s he worked for Fox as an assistant, and soon moved to Universal, where he was given a chance to direct. His effective staging of action scenes earned him a permanent berth at Universal, where he was entrusted with the studio's popular westerns and serials. The project that won Taylor the most notice was Flash Gordon, the Buster Crabbe serial that was phenomenally successful in theaters; unlike most serials that were reserved for weekend juvenile matinees, Flash Gordon played to adult audiences on weeknights alongside prestigious feature films.

Taylor's success with Flash Gordon earned him an invitation to direct serials for Republic Pictures, but his stay was short. Taylor's assistant, William Witney, recalled in his 1996 memoir that Taylor had a drinking problem, which caused him to miss too much work.[1] This was inexcusable on Republic's tight production schedules, and Witney was promoted to full-time director, replacing Taylor.

Taylor's reputation for quality work took precedence over his personal problem, and in 1938 he joined Columbia's new serial unit to co-direct The Spider's Web with James W. Horne. Taylor and Horne joined forces to create one of the best serials of all time; it was easily the most popular serial of 1938, according to a tally of theater bookings.[2] Taylor's Columbia stay was also relatively brief; he returned to his home base at Universal.

Universal kept Taylor extremely busy with westerns and serials for the next six years. Perhaps his best Universal serial is Gang Busters, an action-packed police procedural and, like Flash Gordon, a bid for adult audiences. When Universal had a change of management in 1946, it discontinued its "B" pictures, westerns, and serials, leaving Taylor idle.

For the rest of his career Ray Taylor worked in the movies' minor leagues, making western features for PRC (which shut down in 1947) and Monogram Pictures. He retired in 1949 and died in 1952.

## Selected filmography[edit]

* Son of Billy the Kid (1949)
* Hidden Danger (1948)
* Stage to Mesa City (1947)
* Law of the Lash (1947)
* Shadow Valley (1947)
* Black Hills (1947)
* Return of the Lash (1947)
* Lost City of the Jungle (1946)
* The Scarlet Horseman (1946)
* The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945)
* Secret Agent X-9 (1945)
* The Master Key (1945)
* Jungle Queen (1945)
* Mystery of the River Boat (1944)
* Raiders of Ghost City (1944)
* Adventures of the Flying Cadets (1943)
* The Lone Star Trail (1943)
* The Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1943)
* Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (1943)
* Junior G-Men of the Air (1942)
* Gang Busters (1942, co-director, with Noel M. Smith))
* Don Winslow of the Navy (1942)
* Treat 'Em Rough (1942)
* Law and Order (1940)
* Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
* Flying G-Men (1939, co-director, with James W. Horne)
* Rawhide (1938)
* Frontier Town (1938)
* The Spider's Web (1938, co-director, with James W. Horne)
* Boss of Lonely Valley (1937)
* The Three Mesquiteers (1936)
* Chandu on the Magic Island (1935)
* The Return of Chandu (1934)
* Heroes of the West (1932)
* Battling with Buffalo Bill (1931)
* The Ace of Scotland Yard (1929)
* The Pirate of Panama (1929)
* Tarzan the Mighty (1928)
* The Avenging Shadow (1928)
* A Final Reckoning (1928)
* The Vanishing Rider (1928)
* Whispering Smith Rides (1927)
* Fighting with Buffalo Bill (1926)

## References[edit]

1. ^ William Witney, In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, Into a Chase: Moviemaking Remembered by the Guy at the Door, McFarland, 1996.
2. ^ Martin Quigley, The Film Daily (January 2, 1940). Quigley Publishing, Inc. p. 2.

## External links[edit]

* Ray Taylor at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Ray Taylor

* Fighting with Buffalo Bill (1926)
* Whispering Smith Rides (1927)
* The Avenging Shadow (1928)
* Beauty and Bullets (1928)
* The Crimson Canyon (1928)
* A Final Reckoning (1928)
* Greased Lightning (1928)
* Quick Triggers (1928)
* Tarzan the Mighty (1928)
* The Vanishing Rider (1928)
* The Ace of Scotland Yard (1929)
* Come Across (1929)
* Eyes of the Underworld (1929)
* The Pirate of Panama (1929)
* The Jade Box (1930)
* Battling with Buffalo Bill (1931)
* Danger Island (1931)
* Detective Lloyd (1931)
* Finger Prints (1931)
* The One Way Trail (1931)
* The Airmail Mystery (1932)
* Heroes of the West (1932)
* Jungle Mystery (1932)
* Clancy of the Mounted (1933)
* Gordon of Ghost City (1933)
* The Perils of Pauline (1933)
* The Phantom of the Air (1933)
* Pirate Treasure (1934)
* The Return of Chandu (1934)
* The Ivory-Handled Gun (1935)
* Outlawed Guns (1935)
* The Roaring West (1935)
* Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery (1935)
* The Throwback (1935)
* The Cowboy and the Kid (1936)
* Flash Gordon (1936)
* The Phantom Rider (1936)
* Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island (1936)
* Silver Spurs (1936)
* Sunset of Power (1936)
* The Three Mesquiteers (1936)
* The Vigilantes Are Coming (1936)
* Boss of Lonely Valley (1937)
* Dick Tracy (1937)
* Drums of Destiny (1937)
* The Painted Stallion (1937)
* Raw Timber (1937)
* Flaming Frontiers (1938)
* Frontier Town (1938)
* Hawaiian Buckaroo (1938)
* Panamint's Bad Man (1938)
* Rawhide (1938)
* The Spider's Web (1938)
* Flying G-Men (1939)
* Scouts to the Rescue (1939)
* Bad Man from Red Butte (1940)
* Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
* The Green Hornet (1940)
* Law and Order (1940)
* Pony Post (1940)
* Ragtime Cowboy Joe (1940)
* Riders of Pasco Basin (1940)
* West of Carson City (1940)
* Winners of the West (1940)
* Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie (1941)
* Fighting Bill Fargo (1941)
* Man from Montana (1941)
* Rawhide Rangers (1941)
* Riders of Death Valley (1941)
* Sky Raiders (1941)
* Don Winslow of the Navy (1942)
* Gang Busters (1942)
* Junior G-Men of the Air (1942)
* Stagecoach Buckaroo (1942)
* Treat 'Em Rough (1942)
* The Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1943)
* Adventures of the Flying Cadets (1943)
* Cheyenne Roundup (1943)
* Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (1943)
* Boss of Boomtown (1944)
* The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944)
* Mystery of the River Boat (1944)
* Raiders of Ghost City (1944)
* Jungle Queen (1945)
* The Master Key (1945)
* The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945)
* Secret Agent X-9 (1945)
* Lost City of the Jungle (1946)
* The Scarlet Horseman (1946)
* Black Hills (1947)
* Border Feud (1947)
* Cheyenne Takes Over (1947)
* The Fighting Vigilantes (1947)
* Ghost Town Renegades (1947)
* Law of the Lash (1947)
* The Michigan Kid (1947)
* Range Beyond the Blue (1947)
* Return of the Lash (1947)
* West to Glory (1947)
* Check Your Guns (1948)
* Dead Man's Gold (1948)
* Gunning for Justice (1948)
* Hidden Danger (1948)
* The Return of Wildfire (1948)
* The Tioga Kid (1948)
* Tornado Range (1948)
* The Westward Trail (1948)
* Crashing Thru (1949)
* Law of the West (1949)
* Outlaw Country (1949)
* Range Justice (1949)
* Shadows of the West (1949)
* Son of a Bad Man (1949)
* Son of Billy the Kid (1949)
* West of El Dorado (1949)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Spain
* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Poland

People|

* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* SNAC
* IdRef

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template