Hawaiian-born Richard E. Cunha received his film training in the
newsreel and motion picture units of the US Army Air Corps during World
War II. He made his first step into the civilian film business by
making industrial films and commercials, and then moved on to write,
shoot and direct such early TV shows as "The Adventures of Marshal
O'Dell" and "Captain Bob Steele and the Border Patrol" for Toby Anguish
Productions. Cunha and his friend
Arthur A. Jacobs then plunged into the
adventurous arena of shoestring 1950s exploitation by forming
Screencraft Enterprises and cranking out the horror/sci-fi films
In den Klauen des Giganten (1958)
and She Demons (1958) (both directed
by Cunha). Cunha later added to his legend by helming two more
well-remembered schlock titles,
Frankensteins Tochter - Die Unheimliche (1958)
and
Bestie des Grauens (1958).
