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Nathan Juran(1907-2002)

  • Director
  • Art Director
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Austrian-born Nathan Juran was a professional architect before entering the film industry as an art director in 1937. He won an Academy Award for art direction on How Green Was My Valley (1941). World War II interrupted his film career, and he spent his war years with the OSS. Returning to Hollywood, he turned to directing films in the 1950s. He handled mostly low-budget westerns and sci-fi opuses, his most famous (or infamous) being Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) (which he filmed under the name "Nathan Hertz"). On the other hand, he was also responsible for the superb fantasy adventure The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). In the early 1960s, he journeyed to Europe, where he spent several years piloting adventure epics and spaghetti westerns.
BornSeptember 1, 1907
DiedOctober 23, 2002(95)
BornSeptember 1, 1907
DiedOctober 23, 2002(95)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels
  • Won 1 Oscar
    • 2 wins & 2 nominations total

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Known for

Maureen O'Hara, Roddy McDowall, Sara Allgood, Donald Crisp, John Loder, Walter Pidgeon, and Evan S. Evans in How Green Was My Valley (1941)
How Green Was My Valley
7.7
  • Art Director
  • 1941
Richard Eyer, Dal McKennon, Kathryn Grant, Enzo Musumeci Greco, and Kerwin Mathews in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
7.0
  • Director
  • 1958
Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)
Doctor Blood's Coffin
4.9
  • Writer(as Jerry Juran)
  • 1961
James Stewart, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake, Josephine Hull, and Cecil Kellaway in Harvey (1950)
Harvey
7.9
  • Art Director
  • 1950

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director



  • The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973)
    The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
    5.1
    • Director (as Nathan H. Juran)
    • 1973
  • Fess Parker in Daniel Boone (1964)
    Daniel Boone
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1965–1970
  • Stefan Arngrim, Gary Conway, Kurt Kasznar, Deanna Lund, Don Marshall, Don Matheson, and Heather Young in Land of the Giants (1968)
    Land of the Giants
    7.1
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1968–1970
  • Land Raiders (1969)
    Land Raiders
    5.3
    • Director (as Nathan H. Juran)
    • 1969
  • June Lockhart, Angela Cartwright, Mark Goddard, Jonathan Harris, Marta Kristen, Bill Mumy, Dick Tufeld, and Guy Williams in Lost in Space (1965)
    Lost in Space
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1965–1968
  • The Time Tunnel (1966)
    The Time Tunnel
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1967
  • Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964)
    Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1965–1966
  • A Man Called Shenandoah (1965)
    A Man Called Shenandoah
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1965–1966
  • Jenny Agutter, Derek Fowlds, and Sylvia Syms in East of Sudan (1964)
    East of Sudan
    5.1
    • Director
    • 1964
  • Martha Hyer and Edward Judd in First Men in the Moon (1964)
    First Men in the Moon
    6.5
    • Director
    • 1964
  • Janette Scott in Siege of the Saxons (1963)
    Siege of the Saxons
    4.8
    • Director
    • 1963
  • Kerwin Mathews, Judi Meredith, and Torin Thatcher in Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
    Jack the Giant Killer
    6.3
    • Director
    • 1962
  • Flight of the Lost Balloon (1961)
    Flight of the Lost Balloon
    4.5
    • Director
    • 1961
  • Men Into Space (1959)
    Men Into Space
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1959–1960
  • World of Giants (1959)
    World of Giants
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1959

Art Director



  • Joseph Cotten, Shelley Winters, Suzan Ball, and Scott Brady in Untamed Frontier (1952)
    Untamed Frontier
    6.1
    • Art Director
    • 1952
  • Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters, and Alex Nicol in Meet Danny Wilson (1952)
    Meet Danny Wilson
    6.2
    • Art Director
    • 1952
  • Bend of the River (1952)
    Bend of the River
    7.2
    • Art Director
    • 1952
  • Macdonald Carey, Victor Jory, and Alexis Smith in Cave of Outlaws (1951)
    Cave of Outlaws
    5.9
    • Art Director
    • 1951
  • The Strange Door (1951)
    The Strange Door
    6.2
    • Art Director (uncredited)
    • 1951
  • Peggy Dow, Gigi Perreau, and Mark Stevens in Reunion in Reno (1951)
    Reunion in Reno
    6.4
    • Art Director
    • 1951
  • Claudette Colbert, Robert Douglas, Ann Blyth, Anne Crawford, Philip Friend, and Michael Pate in Thunder on the Hill (1951)
    Thunder on the Hill
    6.8
    • Art Director
    • 1951
  • Peggy Dow and Arthur Kennedy in Bright Victory (1951)
    Bright Victory
    7.3
    • Art Director
    • 1951
  • James Stewart, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake, Josephine Hull, and Cecil Kellaway in Harvey (1950)
    Harvey
    7.9
    • Art Director
    • 1950
  • James Stewart and Shelley Winters in Winchester '73 (1950)
    Winchester '73
    7.6
    • Art Director
    • 1950
  • Jeff Chandler, Marina Berti, and Märta Torén in Deported (1950)
    Deported
    6.2
    • Art Director
    • 1950
  • Scott Brady, Dorothy Hart, and John Russell in Undertow (1949)
    Undertow
    6.6
    • Art Director
    • 1949
  • Ann Blyth, Robert Cummings, and Percy Kilbride in Free for All (1949)
    Free for All
    6.2
    • Art Director
    • 1949
  • The Pecos Pistol (1949)
    The Pecos Pistol
    Short
    • Art Director
    • 1949
  • Susan Hayward and Robert Preston in Tulsa (1949)
    Tulsa
    6.1
    • Art Director
    • 1949

Writer



  • Fess Parker in Daniel Boone (1964)
    Daniel Boone
    7.3
    TV Series
    • writer
    • 1969
  • Kerwin Mathews, Judi Meredith, and Torin Thatcher in Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
    Jack the Giant Killer
    6.3
    • screenplay
    • 1962
  • Flight of the Lost Balloon (1961)
    Flight of the Lost Balloon
    4.5
    • Writer
    • 1961
  • Don Beddoe, Wanda Hendrix, and Roger Mobley in Boy Who Caught a Crook (1961)
    Boy Who Caught a Crook
    5.5
    • written by
    • 1961
  • Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)
    Doctor Blood's Coffin
    4.9
    • screenplay
    • story (as Jerry Juran)
    • 1961
  • Chevron Hall of Stars (1956)
    Chevron Hall of Stars
    6.8
    TV Series
    • original screenplay
    • 1956

Personal details

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  • Alternative names
    • Nathan Hertz
  • Born
    • September 1, 1907
    • Gura Humora, Bukovina, Austria-Hungary [now Gura Humorului, Bukovina, Romania]
  • Died
    • October 23, 2002
    • Palos Verdes Estates, California, USA(natural causes)
  • Spouses
      Catherine Van Ortwick (Wilson)1994 - October 23, 2002 (his death, 1 child)
  • Children
    • Warren Juran
  • Parents
      Jacob Juran
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Interviews

Did you know

Edit
  • Quotes
    [regarding his love for his job in a rare interview for the science-fiction fan magazine "Starlog" in 1989] I approached the picture business as a business. I always did pictures for the money, and for the creative challenges. I wasn't a born director. I was just a technician who could transfer the script from the page to the stage and could get it shot on schedule and on budget. I never became caught up in the "romance" of the movies.
  • Nicknames
    • Jerry
    • Nathan Hertz

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