Dwain Atkins Esper (October 7, 1894 – October 18, 1982) was an American director and producer of exploitation films.
Biography
Esper who was born in Snohomish, Washington was a veteran of World War I and worked as a building contractor before switching to the film business in the mid-1920s. He produced and directed inexpensive pictures including Sex Maniac, Marihuana, and How to Undress in Front of Your Husband. To enhance the appeal of these low-budget features, he included scenes containing gratuitous nudity and violence that led some to label him the "father of modern exploitation."[1]
Esper's wife, Hildagarde Stadie, wrote many of the scripts for his films.[2] They employed extravagant promotional techniques that included exhibiting the mummified body of notorious Oklahoma outlaw Elmer McCurdy before it was acquired by Dan Sonney.[3]
It is considered by many film critics and historians to be one of the worst films of all time. Danny Peary believes that Maniac is the worst film made, Charlie Jane Anders of Gawker Media's io9 described it as "possibly the worst movie in history" and Chicago Tribune critic Michael Wilmington wrote that it may be the worst film he had seen, writing: "There are some voyages into ineptitude, like Dwain Esper's anti-classic Maniac, that defy all reason."[4][5][6] Rotten Tomatoes placed Maniac on its list of movies "So Bad They're Unmissable",[7] the Italian Vanity Fair included the film on its list of the 20 worst movies, and it is featured in The Official Razzie Movie Guide.[8]
Esper died in San Diego, California at the age of 88.[9] He and Hildagarde had two children.
Freaks (uncredited) as Forbidden Love, and later Natures Mistakes with Sam Alexander providing a live appearance with some disfigured members of his 'troupe'
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