Throughout history, the brandishing of “worst film director of all time” has been bandied about so often that it has lost value. One of the more notorious examples is Edward D. Wood, Jr., the powerhouse schlockmeister behind such turgid affairs as Plan 9 from Outer Space and Bride of the Monster. Wood’s films are a tour de force of poor editing, direction, acting and special effects. However, Wood at least gave the impression that he genuinely wanted to produce a quality product.
From the other side of the tracks and a much different time was the little known, but nevertheless intriguing director of “B” western dramas, Robert J. Horner. Horner was a producer and director of cheap horse operas who operated on Hollywood’s “Poverty Row,” a group of independent producers and studios whose primary source of income was made from cheap westerns, horror pictures and mystery films from the silent era until the collapse of the studio system in the mid-1950’s.
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