Directors: Artists Who Made Only One Film

Directors who made only one feature–for a variety of reasons.

Death

Barbara Loden, Wanda (1971); died of cancer

Steve Gordon, Arthur (1981); died a year after film release

 

Writers into Directors

Robert Riskin, When You’re in Love (1937)

Ernest Lehman, Portnoy’s Complaint (1972)

George S. Kaufman, The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)

 

Actors into Directors

Charles Laughton, Night of the Hunter (1955)

Peter Sellers, I Like Money (1961)

Dom De Louise, Hot Stuff (1979)

Patricia Birch, Grease II (1982)

 

Cinematographers into Directors

John Alonzo, F.M. (1978)

William Fraker, The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)

J. Kaminski, Lost Souls (2000)