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Nicholas Ray
Director 1911 - 1979

Nicholas Ray

Galesville, Wisconsin, USA

Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle; 7 August 1911 – 16 June 1979) was an American film director best known for the films Rebel Without a Cause and Johnny Guitar. Described by the Harvard Film Archive as "Hollywood's last romantic" and "one of postwar American... Read full bio →

Directed Films

Every film this person directed

21 titles
Lightning Over Water

Lightning Over Water

Nicholas Ray, Wim Wenders 1980 1h 31m 8.0

Director 'Nicholas Ray' is eager to complete a final film before his imminent death from cancer. Wim Wenders is working on his own film Hammett (1983) in Hollywood, but flies to New York to help Ray realize his final wish. Ray's original intent is to make a fiction film about a dying painter who sails to China to find a cure for his disease.

We Can't Go Home Again

We Can't Go Home Again

Nicholas Ray 1973 1h 33m

Nicholas Ray plays himself, acting as mentor, friend, and artistic inspiration to his students at Binghamton. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation.

55 Days at Peking

55 Days at Peking

Nicholas Ray 1963 2h 34m 7.3

Diplomats, soldiers and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International Compound in Peking during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. The disparate interests unite for survival despite competing factions, overwhelming odds, delayed relief and tacit support of the Boxers by the Empress of China and her generals.

King of Kings

King of Kings

Nicholas Ray 1961 2h 51m 6.3

Who is Jesus, and why does he impact all he meets? He is respected and reviled, emulated and accused, beloved, betrayed, and finally crucified. Yet that terrible fate would not be the end of the story.

The Savage Innocents

The Savage Innocents

Nicholas Ray 1960 1h 50m 7.5

An Eskimo who has had little contact with white men goes to a trading post where he accidentally kills a missionary and finds himself being pursued by the police.

Wind Across the Everglades

Wind Across the Everglades

Nicholas Ray 1958 1h 34m 8.0

An ornithologist battles a family of bird poachers in the Florida Everglades.

Party Girl

Party Girl

Nicholas Ray 1958 1h 39m 7.8

Slick lawyer Thomas Farrell has made a career of defending mobsters in trials. It's not until he meets a lovely showgirl at a mob party that he realizes that there's more to life then winning trials. Farrell tries to quit the racket, but mob boss Rico Angelo threatens to hurt the showgirl if Farrell leaves him.

The True Story of Jesse James

The True Story of Jesse James

Nicholas Ray 1957 1h 32m 6.7

Biopic loosely based on the last 18 years of Jesse James' life and focused on the relationship between brothers Jesse and Frank James.

Bitter Victory

Bitter Victory

Nicholas Ray 1957 1h 42m 6.5

A commander receives a citation for an attack on Rommel's headquarters, which is actually undeserved as the commander is unfit for his job. On top of that, unbeknownst to him, his wife is having an affair with one of his officers.

Bigger Than Life

Bigger Than Life

Nicholas Ray 1956 1h 35m 7.4

Bigger Than Life is an American film made in 1956 directed by Nicholas Ray and starring James Mason, who also co-wrote and produced the film, about a school teacher and family man whose life spins out of control upon becoming addicted to cortisone.

Run for Cover

Run for Cover

Nicholas Ray 1955 1h 33m 7.0

Odd little Western that gets off to a snappy start when a man (Matt Dow) is mistaken as a train robber.

Rebel Without a Cause

Rebel Without a Cause

Nicholas Ray 1955 1h 51m 8.1

After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz.

Johnny Guitar

Johnny Guitar

Nicholas Ray 1954 1h 50m 8.2

On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover.

The Lusty Men

The Lusty Men

Nicholas Ray 1952 1h 53m 9.0

Retired rodeo champion Jeff McCloud agrees to mentor novice rodeo contestant Wes Merritt against the wishes of Merritt's wife who fears the dangers of this rough sport.

On Dangerous Ground

On Dangerous Ground

Nicholas Ray 1952 1h 22m 7.2

A big-city cop is reassigned to the country after his superiors find him too angry to be an effective policeman. While on his temporary assignment he assists in a manhunt of a suspected murderer.

Flying Leathernecks

Flying Leathernecks

Nicholas Ray 1951 1h 42m 5.7

Major Daniel Kirby takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers just before they are about to go into combat. While the men are well meaning, he finds them undisciplined and prone to always finding excuses to do what is easy rather than what is necessary. The root of the problem is the second in command, Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin.

In a Lonely Place

In a Lonely Place

Nicholas Ray 1950 1h 33m 8.3

A violent screenwriter and a female neighbor fall in love after she clears him of murder, but she begins to have second thoughts.

Born to Be Bad

Born to Be Bad

Nicholas Ray 1950 1h 34m 8.5

An ambitious girl steals a rich husband but keeps her lover on the side.

Knock on Any Door

Knock on Any Door

Nicholas Ray 1949 1h 40m 7.3

Bogart plays a crusading lawyer fighting to save a juvenile delinquent charged with murder.

A Woman's Secret

A Woman's Secret

Nicholas Ray 1949 1h 24m 7.0

Susan is laying in the hospital with a bullet near her heart. Marian has told the police that she shot Susan in a rage as Susan was giving up her singing.

They Live by Night

They Live by Night

Nicholas Ray 1948 1h 36m 8.6

An escaped convict, injured during a robbery, falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.

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