King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Phil Karlson

American film director (1908–1982)

Born
2 July 1908, Chicago
Died
12 December 1985
Citizenship
United States
Occupation
film director, screenwriter, director
Films here
2

Philip N. Karlstein (July 2, 1908 – December 12, 1982), known professionally as Phil Karlson, was an American film director, noted for his gritty crime films and films noir. His notable works included Kansas City Confidential (1952), Scandal Sheet (also 1952), 99 River Street (1953), Hell's Island (1955), The Phenix City Story (also 1955), Tight Spot (also 1955), and 5 Against the House (also 1955).

Karlson's other films including Gunman's Walk (1958), Hell to Eternity (1960), The Young Doctors (1961), the Elvis Presley vehicle Kid Galahad (1962), the Dean Martin spy comedy The Silencers (1966), the horror film Ben (1972), and the original Walking Tall (1973).

Filmography (martial arts films)

YearFilmCredit
195399 River StreetDirector
1962Kid GalahadDirector

Frequent collaborators

External links

Facts from Wikidata Q1888272 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.