Robert Peterson

Birth : 1909-08-15, Los Angeles, California, USA

Death : 1979-01-10

History

Art director under contract at Columbia, 1940-1947 and 1948-1964. A specialist in gritty black & white drama, he created realistic sets for several notable crime films and minor films noir in the 1950's. Afterwards mostly active in television.

Movies

The Legend of the Golden Gun
Art Direction
In Kansas during the middle of the Civil War, John Golden is left for dead and his family has been killed by the ruthless Confederate outlaw William Quantrill. Rescued by runaway slave Joshua Brown, Golden is determined to get revenge. With the help of a legendary gunfighter and a special gun, Golden must not only deal with Quantrill and his men, but has to dodge General Custer and his army, as well.
The Courage and the Passion
Art Direction
The lives and loves of a group of U.S. Air Force test pilots on a sprawling airbase called "Joshua Tree."
A Killing Affair
Art Direction
A white female detective is partnered with a black male detective to find the person who is committing a series of particularly vicious murders. During the course of the investigation the two begin to develop an attraction to each other, but the situation is complicated by the fact that he is married.
Cover Girls
Art Direction
Two beautiful fashion models work undercover as secret agents.
Kiss Me, Kill Me
Art Direction
A female investigator in the district attorney's office sets out to track down the person who murdered a young schoolteacher.
Cop on the Beat
Art Direction
An aging street cop goes after a gang of toughs involved in several robbery-rapes on his beat in this pilot (a spin-off from "Police Story") for the 1975-76 series. The veteran cop concept also was the basis for "The Blue Knight" series at the same time — and that, too, was based on a Joseph Wambaugh creation. Also known as "The Return of Joe Forrester."
A Matter of Wife... and Death
Art Direction
A private investigator is confronted by the police AND the mob about the killing of a former private-eye associate.
The Last Angry Man
Art Direction
In the midst of the Depression, a crotchety doctor, whose practice is in the Brooklyn slums, takes an interest in a local teenager, whose hostility and erratic behavior the doctor believes is due to more than just his environment.
In Name Only
Art Direction
In this romantic comedy, an unwed couple who run a wedding planning business discover, to their horror, that the Justice of the Peace who had officiated their first three weddings was only an actor. Hilarity ensues as they set about trying to get these marrieds married...again.
Scalplock
Art Direction
This Western is a pilot for the series "The Iron Horse," in which a dapper frontier gambler wins a railroad line in a poker game and has his hands full holding it from the clutches of various conniving bad guys.
I'll Take Sweden
Art Direction
Bob Holcomb will do anything to stop his daughter JoJo from tying the knot with her lazy boyfriend, even move her all the way to Sweden! But once they're "safely" out of the country, JoJo falls for a sly Swedish playboy.
The Outlaws Is Coming
Art Direction
Rance Roden plans to kill off all the buffalo and thus cause the Indians to riot. After they destroy the US Cavalry, Rance and his gang will take over the West. Meanwhile, a Boston magazine gets wind of the buffalo slaughter and sends editor Kenneth Cabot and his associates to Casper, Wyoming to investigate.
Gidget Goes to Rome
Art Direction
Francis, now 17, is still in love with Moondoggy. She can persuade her parents to allow them a journey to Rome, together with two of her and two of his friends. However they have to take an adult with them, so they choose Peter's eccentric aunt. In Rome they get the beautiful guide Daniela, who's fascinating the guys and making especially Gidget jealous. She starts looking elsewhere herself.
Zotz!
Art Direction
Jonathan Jones, a professor of ancient languages, comes into possession of an ancient coin. He translates its inscription, which gives him three powers: to inflict pain, slow down time or kill. Soon, he's pursued by enemy spies who have learned about the magic coin.
Experiment in Terror
Art Direction
A man with an asthmatic voice telephones and assaults clerk Kelly Sherwood at home and coerces her into helping him steal a large sum from her bank.
Two Rode Together
Art Direction
Two tough westerners bring home a group of settlers who have spent years as Comanche hostages.
Underworld U.S.A.
Art Direction
A bitter young man sets out to get back at the gangsters who murdered his father.
Let No Man Write My Epitaph
Art Direction
Nick Romano lives in a poor tenement building on the south side of Chicago with his well-meaning but drug-addicted mother, Nellie. She encourages him to pursue his piano-playing talent in hopes that it will bring him a better life. Nellie's neighbors, like the alcoholic ex-lawyer who secretly loves her, help her in keeping Nick away from Louie, the resident drug dealer. But a chance meeting between Nick and Louie could change things forever.
The Gene Krupa Story
Art Direction
The story of legendary jazz drummer, Gene Krupa. Since his youth, all Gene ever wanted to do is play the drums and make music. This is something his parents would not approve of- they want him to be a priest. When Gene's father dies he promises to enter the priesthood. He soon realizes that he doesn't belong there and leaves to join his friend, Eddie's band. Ethel, Eddie's girlfriend, convinces Gene to go to New York and make it big. The 3 of them head to New York. Here Ethel and Gene soon fall in love and Gene makes a name for himself. Gene starts to live in the fast lane, with drugs, alcohol, women and parties. Ethel, unhappy with Gene's lifestyle, leaves him. Gene soon "hits rock bottom" where he has to face reality and choose where to take his life.
Edge of Eternity
Art Direction
Helped by socialite Janice Kendon and barkeeper Scott O'Brien, Arizona deputy sheriff Les Martin works to solve three brutal murders in and around the Grand Canyon. His efforts leads to the killer fleeing with Janice as a hostage and a chase by car and helicopter lead to a climax on a miner's bucket on cables a mile above the canyon floor.
Face of a Fugitive
Art Direction
A man who was falsly accused for murder escapes the sheriffs and starts a new life in a town at the border of the States to Mexico. But he cannot settle in peace as his chasers are trying to find him.
Ride Lonesome
Art Direction
On the way to pick up the bounty on a wanted murderer, a bounty hunter stops at a staging post where he is forced to continue his journey with two outlaws who want the murderer for their own reasons and a recently-widowed woman, with the murderer's brother and his men in hot pursuit.
Good Day for a Hanging
Art Direction
As a youth, Eddie came into the town with his gang to rob the bank, but was caught and convicted. Marshal Ben helped him to become a honorable citizen. Now, many years later, the gang returns to again rob the bank. On their flight they shoot the Marshal. Eddie is the only one to identify the murderer - but is in doubt if he shall be loyal to his new or his old friends.
The Last Hurrah
Art Direction
In a changing world where television has become the main source of information, Adam Caulfield, a young sports journalist, witnesses how his uncle, Frank Skeffington, a veteran and honest politician, mayor of a New England town, tries to be reelected while bankers and captains of industry conspire in the shadows to place a weak and manageable candidate in the city hall.
Decision at Sundown
Art Direction
Bart Allison arrives in Sundown after a three year search for Tate Kimbrough. Although it is Kimbrough's wedding day, Allison makes it clear he blames him for the death of his wife and is out to kill him. A shoot-out in the church puts the wedding on hold and Allison and his trail-buddy hole up in the livery stable. But the reasons for his actions become increasingly unclear, while the town starts to wonder about the grip Kimbrough has over them.
The Edge of Innocence
Art Direction
An unscrupulous criminal lawyer falls in love with a wealthy widow and becomes involved with her brother's disappearance and murder.
The Garment Jungle
Art Direction
Alan Mitchell returns to New York to work for his father Walter, the owner of a fashion house that designs and manufactures dresses. To stay non-union, Walter has hired Artie Ravidge, a hood who uses strong-arm tactics to keep the employees in line.
The Shadow on the Window
Art Direction
Three delinquents murder a prosperous farmer at an isolated farm house. One witness to the crime - the dead man's secretary - is then taken hostage. The other witness - her young son - is thrown into state of shock. Can he recover soon enough to help the police - and his father - rescue his mother before it's too late?
Count Three and Pray
Art Direction
A pastor with a shady past moves into a rural town just after the Civil War.
5 Against the House
Art Direction
Former war-time Army buddies now students in college decide to rip off a Reno casino.
Cell 2455 Death Row
Art Direction
A Death Row inmate uses his prison law studies to fight for his life. Based on a true story.
The Long Gray Line
Art Direction
The life story of a salt-of-the-earth Irish immigrant, who becomes an Army Noncommissioned Officer and spends his 50 year career at the United States Military Academy at West Point. This includes his job-related experiences as well as his family life and the relationships he develops with young cadets with whom he befriends. Based on the life of a real person.
Human Desire
Art Direction
Jeff Warren, a Korean War vet just returning to his railroad engineer's job, boards at the home of co-worker Alec Simmons and is charmed by Alec's beautiful daughter. He becomes attracted immediately to Vicki Buckley, the sultry wife of brutish railroad supervisor Carl Buckley, an alcoholic wife beater with a hair-trigger temper and penchant for explosive violence. Jeff becomes reluctantly drawn into a sordid affair by the compulsively seductive Vicki. After Buckley is fired for insubordination, he begs her to intercede on his behalf with John Owens, a rich and powerful businessman whose influence can get him reinstated.
The Big Heat
Art Direction
Tough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
The Juggler
Art Direction
A Holocaust survivor moves to Israel and experiences difficulty adjusting to life.
Eight Iron Men
Art Direction
During the World War II in Italy, Sergeant Joe Mooney is leading his small squad on the front-lines but is ordered to avoid rescuing a soldier trapped in no man's land.
Scandal Sheet
Art Direction
A tabloid editor assigns a young reporter to solve a murder the editor committed himself.
Sirocco
Art Direction
A mysterious American gets mixed up with gunrunners in Syria.
Saturday's Hero
Art Direction
A talented high school football player encounters trouble in a college program.
The Fuller Brush Girl
Art Direction
A daffy door-to-door saleswoman blunders into a murder investigation.
In a Lonely Place
Art Direction
An aspiring actress begins to suspect that her temperamental and mentally impaired boyfriend is a murderer.
A Woman of Distinction
Art Direction
Ice-cold college dean Susan Middlecott feels there's no room in her life for romance. Enter Prof. Alec Stevenson, British lecturer on astronomy, touring North America and in possession of a keepsake of Susan's he wants to return. Desperate for publicity, lecture bureau press agent Teddy Evans magnifies this into a great romance. The efforts of both dignified principals to quash the story have the opposite effect; matters get more and more involved.
Tokyo Joe
Art Direction
An American returns to Tokyo to try to pick up threads of his pre-World War II life there but finds himself squeezed between criminals and the authorities.
The Walking Hills
Art Direction
A study in greed in which treasure hunters seek a shipment of gold buried in Death Valley.
Knock on Any Door
Art Direction
An attorney defends a hoodlum of murder, using the oppressiveness of the slums to appeal to the court.
Ladies of the Chorus
Art Direction
Former burlesque star May and her daughter Peggy dance in the chorus. When May has a fight with featured dancer Bubbles, Bubbles leaves the show and Peggy takes her place. When Peggy falls in love with wealthy Randy, May fears class differences may lead to misery.
The Wreck of the Hesperus
Art Direction
The story of an ex-sea captain who uses devious means to make his salvage company a success. Based on Longfellow's famous poem.
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
Art Direction
Captain Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond investigates the murder of the C.I.D. man who had been tracing validity of rival claims to a large estate.
Backlash
Art Direction
In a series of flashbacks, shows that attorney John Morland has given a lift to a hitchhiker who turns out to be a murderer. As a result, Morland himself is implicated in a killing. A pair of detectives discover that Morland has been having business problems and no end of difficulties with his wife Catherine. The trail of clues leads to a surprising revelation.
Dangerous Millions
Art Direction
Eight strangers meet in Shanghai to stake claims to the fortune of a late shipping magnate, then must evade a murderer in their midst.
Strange Journey
Art Direction
Reformed racketeer "Lucky" Leeds flees from the police when he thinks they are about to arrest him for a murder he didn't commit. He and his wife Patti fly to his privately-owned remote island and have to crash land. Also on the island is a group of shipwrecked people, including a German professor, his daughter, an English journalist, a wealthy widow, a sailor and a Nazi Agent.
Dangerous Business
Art Direction
Two young lawyers open an office together. They are hired to defend a utilities magnate who claims he has been framed. He is kidnapped by a gangster, and a battle royal ensues when the lawyers try to rescue him.
The Devil's Mask
Art Direction
A San Francisco airplane bound for South America crashes, and among the scorched debris is found a shrunken native human head, neatly packaged. The perplexed police contact a local anthropology museum about this unclaimed piece of grisly baggage, where they intersect with Jack and Doc, two private eyes, called there to meet a mysterious woman who had a case for them and wanted to meet in private.
The Phantom Thief
Art Direction
Boston Blackie, in the 11th film of the Columbia series, indulges in some wit-trading with a squirmy spiritualist who deals in blackmail, murder and the occult. "Blackie" out to help his pal, "Runt," recover some jewels, finds himself involved in the homicides, and also finds himself as the prime suspect, and now has to find the real culprit in order to clear himself. So "Blackie,", a man of many talents and already a proved magician from cases past, shows he knows a little bit about dancing skeletons, walking phantoms and spiritualism himself, and holds a séance to unmask the murderer.
Night Editor
Art Direction
A daily news editor recalls a married detective and the deadly woman behind his downfall.
A Night to Remember
Art Direction
A woman rents a gloomy basement apartment in Greenwich Village thinking it will provide the perfect atmosphere for her mystery writer husband to create his next book. They soon find themselves in the middle of a real-life mystery when a corpse turns up in their apartment.
Counter-Espionage
Assistant Art Director
The Lone Wolf tracks down Nazi spies in London during the German bombing.
Meet the Stewarts
Art Direction
A young newlywed couple learns to make their new marriage work; trying to impress family, stay on budget, and remain as diplomatic towards each other as possible.
Alias Boston Blackie
Assistant Art Director
It is the Christmas Holidays and reformed thief, Boston Blackie goes to Castle Theater to pick up players who will perform for prisoners that are still in prison. He takes a girl with him who has a brother already in prison. She has visited the prison twice in the month, so is not suppose to visit again. However when the group is completed the girl is included as well as Inspector Farrady. One of the clowns in the show is kidnapped and replaced by a con who wants to get even with two ex-partners. Boston Blackie figures out that a con has replaced one of his clowns but is unable to stop him. Blackie's clothes are stolen and a murder is committed. Of course, the Inspector immediately suspects Blackie of being involved. Now it is Blackie's job to find the killer, exonerate himself and help the girl free her brother.