Albert Band (May 7, 1924 – June 14, 2002) was a French-born American film director and film producer.
He was the son of artist Max Band, father of filmmaker Charles Band and of film composer Richard Band and the grandfather of singer and songwriter Alex Band.
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Life and career
Band was born in Paris, France, the son of Lithuanian Jewish parents Bertha (née Finkelstein) and Max Band, an artist. His mother was born in Marijampolė, and his father was from Kudirkos Naumiestis. His family is Jewish. He escaped from Paris to the United States with his family prior to the occupation of France during World War II. He graduated from Hollywood High School.
Interested in film, he became an apprentice at Warner Bros. where he developed contacts eventually becoming an assistant director on John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle, then adapting the story The Red Badge of Courage for Huston's film of the same name.
He made his debut as a producer and director in The Young Guns (1956), combining the two then-popular genres of Westerns and juvenile delinquent films. In the late 1950s, he moved to Europe, producing a variety of films, beginning in Sweden with Face of Fire (1959), based on another of Stephen Crane's stories, The Monster.
Filmography
Producer
The Young Guns (1956) (producer) (uncredited)
I Bury the Living (1958) (producer)
Face of Fire (1959) (producer)
The Avenger (dir. Giorgio Venturini, 1962) (producer)
Gunfight at Red Sands (dir. Ricardo Blasco, 1963) (producer)
Grand Canyon Massacre (dir. Sergio Corbucci, 1964) (producer)
Hercules and the Princess of Troy (1965) (TV) (producer)
The Tramplers (1965) (producer)
The Hellbenders (dir. Sergio Corbucci, 1967) (producer)
A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (dir. Franco Giraldi, 1968) (producer)
Little Cigars (dir. Chris Christenberry, 1973) (producer)
Mansion of the Doomed (dir. Michael Pataki, 1976) (supervising executive producer)
Cinderella (dir. Michael Pataki, 1977) (producer)
Dracula's Dog (1978) (producer)
She Came to the Valley (1979) (producer)
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (dir. Charles Band, 1983) (executive producer)
Ghost Warrior (aka Swordkill) (dir. J. Larry Carroll, 1984) (executive producer)
Director
The Young Guns (1956)
I Bury the Living (1958)
Face of Fire (1959)
Hercules and the Princess of Troy (1965) (TV)
The Tramplers (1965)
Dracula's Dog (1978)
She Came to the Valley (1979)
Ghoulies II (1987)
Joey Takes a Cab (1991)
Doctor Mordrid (1992)
Robot Wars (1993)
Prehysteria! (1993)
Prehysteria! 2 (1994)
Prehysteria! 3 (1995)
Actor
Specter of the Rose (1946) (uncredited) .... Man
The Red Badge of Courage (1951) (uncredited) .... Union Soldier Fording River
End of the World (1977) .... Awards Party Guest
Tourist Trap (1979) (uncredited) .... Waxwork Grandfather
Troll (1986) .... Older Couple on TV
Trancers II (1991) .... Chili Man
Writer
The Red Badge of Courage (1951) (adaptation)
Footsteps in the Night (1957) (screenplay) (story)
Face of Fire (1959)
The Avenger (1962) (adaptation)
Gunfight at Red Sands (1963) (screenplay)
Grand Canyon Massacre (1964)
The Tramplers (1965) (as Alfredo Antonini)
The Hellbenders (1967) (story)
A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Auditions (1978)
She Came to the Valley (1979)
Other
From Beyond (1986) (production manager)
