A highly regarded editor he cut the classic Sunrise 1927 Harold D Schuster started out in films as an actor It didnt take him long to abandon that career and he turned to the production side of the business working his way up to editor and eventually taking the reins as a director While much of his directorial output is routine there are some real gems scattered throughout My Friend Flicka 1943 is a beautiful serene tale of a boy and a spectacular horse and was a major success in its day Although typed as an outdoors director Schuster could turn out tough gritty little thrillers when he wanted to such as Loophole 1954 about a bank teller who gets framed for an embezzlement it ranks right up there with the edgy crime dramas of Don Siegel and Phil Karlson Schusters western Dragoon Wells Massacre 1957 despite its potboiler title is a sharp wellpaced effort about two disparate groups of travelers who must band together to fight off rampaging Indians Good writing a rousing score and Schusters tight direction raise this several notches above the product normally churned out by its studio the usually lowgrade Allied Artists Schuster eventually turned to series television and finished out his career there
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