Richard E. Cunha

Who was Richard E. Cunha?

Richard Earl Cunha was a Hawaiian born cinematographer and film director. Cunha's father was Albert "Sonny" Cunha, a Hawaiian songwriter.

During World War II, Cunha served as an aerial photographer for the military, and then was transferred to Hal Roach Studios in Los Angeles, where he made military training films, newsreels and documentaries.

After the war, Cunha worked as a TV photographer, eventually working his way to up director of photography for the TV shows Death Valley Days and Branded.

Cunha wrote and directed only a handful of films, with his four best-known ones all being low-budget, sci fi-horror B-movies released in 1958 by Astor Pictures -- Giant from the Unknown, She Demons, Missile to the Moon, and Frankenstein's Daughter.

In an interview with The Astounding B Monster Archive, Cunha said his low-budget films were completed for around $65,000 apiece and took about six days each to shoot.